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St. Louis Cardinals
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The St. Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards" or "the Redbirds") are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won a National League record 10 World Series championships, second only to the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball who have 26.
The Cardinals were founded in the American Association in 1882 as the St. Louis Brown Stockings, taking the name from an earlier National League team.
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Encyclopedia
The St. Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards" or "the Redbirds") are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won a National League record 10 World Series championships, second only to the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball who have 26.
The Cardinals were founded in the American Association in 1882 as the St. Louis Brown Stockings, taking the name from an earlier National League team. They joined the National League in 1892 and have been known as the Cardinals since 1900. The Cardinals began play in the current Busch Stadium in 2006, becoming the first team since 1923 (NYY) to win the World Series in their first season in a new ballpark. They are the oldest current professional sports franchise west of the Mississippi. The Cardinals have a strong rivalry with the Chicago Cubs that began in 1885.
History
1880s–1930s
The Cardinals were founded in 1882 as a member of the American Association called the St. Louis Brown Stockings. The club quickly achieved success, winning four AA pennants in a row, 1885-1888. Following these titles, St. Louis played in an early version of the World Series, the first two times against the National League's Chicago White Stockings, now named the Chicago Cubs. The 1885 series ended in dispute, but St. Louis won the 1886 series outright, beginning a St. Louis-Chicago rivalry that continues today. The American Association went bankrupt in 1892, and the Browns moved to the National League, leaving much of their success behind for the next three decades. The club changed its name to the "Perfectos" in 1899, before adopting the "Cardinals" name in 1900.
The Cardinals' fortunes in the National League began to improve in 1920, when Sam Breadon bought the club and named Branch Rickey his general manager. Rickey immediately moved the Cardinals to Sportsman's Park to become tenants of their American League rivals, the St. Louis Browns, and sold the Cardinals' ballpark. Rickey used the money from the sale to invest in and pioneer the minor league farm system, which produced many great players and led to new success for the Cardinals.
Led by Rogers Hornsby, who won the Triple Crown in both 1922 and 1925, the Cardinals improved drastically during the 1920s. They won their first National League pennant in 1926 and then defeated the favored New York Yankees in seven games to win the World Series. In 1927, now led by Frankie Frisch, the Cardinals fell just short, before claiming another pennant in 1928. The Yankees avenged their 1926 loss, however, by sweeping the Cardinals in four games in the 1928 World Series.
The Cardinals kept winning in the next decade, claiming back-to-back pennants in 1930 and 1931. The Cardinals matched up with the Philadelphia Athletics in both World Series, losing in 1930 but returning to win the 1931 series. In 1934 the team, nicknamed the "Gashouse Gang" for their shabby appearance and rough tactics, again won the pennant and then the World Series over the Detroit Tigers. Dizzy Dean won 30 games that season, the last National League pitcher to reach that mark. Joe Medwick won the Triple Crown in 1937, the last National League hitter to achieve the feat, but the Cardinals failed to win a pennant in the second half of the decade.
1940s–1970s
Outfielder Stan "the Man" Musial joined the Cardinals in 1941. Musial spent 22 years in a Cardinals uniform and won three NL MVP Awards. In 1968 a statue of Musial was placed outside Busch Stadium to honor his career. Led by Musial, the Cardinals dominated the National League during World War II, winning three straight pennants from 1942–1944. The 1942 "St. Louis Swifties" won a franchise record 106 games and defeated the Yankees in the World Series. The team then posted 105 wins in both 1943 and 1944. The Cardinals fell to the Yankees in the 1943 World Series rematch. The 1944 World Series was particularly memorable, as the Cardinals met their crosstown rivals, the St. Louis Browns, in the "Streetcar Series," with the Cardinals prevailing for their fifth title. In 1946 the Cardinals finished the season tied with the Brooklyn Dodgers, but claimed the pennant in a 3-game playoff series. The Cardinals then won the World Series in 7 games against the Boston Red Sox. In the bottom of the 8th inning in Game 7, with the score tied at 3–3, Enos Slaughter scored on a "Mad Dash" from first on a double to left-center to win the game and the series.
Rickey had left the Cardinals to become general manager of the Dodgers in 1942, and after their 1946 win, the Cardinals slid back to the middle of the National League. In 1953 the Anheuser-Busch brewery bought the Cardinals, and August "Gussie" Busch became team president. He soon purchased Sportsman's Park from St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck, renovated the ballpark, and renamed it Busch Stadium. The Browns, who had not been as successful or popular as the Cardinals in three decades, realized they could not compete with the deep pockets of the brewery. After the 1953 season the Browns left St. Louis to become the Baltimore Orioles, and the Cardinals were left as the only major league team in town.
The Cardinals achieved another period of success in the 1960s with the help of a trade and a dominating pitcher. In 1964 the Cardinals traded pitcher Ernie Broglio and two other players to the rival Cubs for outfielder Lou Brock and two other players. The trade, since nicknamed "Brock for Broglio," has become definitive of a trade which in retrospect is ridiculously lopsided. The Cardinals would prove to be on the good side of the trade, as Brock would successfully replace Musial, who had retired at the end of 1963, in left field. Behind Brock and pitcher Bob Gibson, who won 20 games for the first time, the Cardinals won the 1964 World Series over the Yankees, with Gibson named series MVP. In 1966 the Cardinals moved to the new Busch Memorial Stadium, where they hosted the MLB All-Star Game that summer. The next year the team reached and won the 1967 World Series over the Red Sox. Gibson pitched three complete-game wins, allowing only three earned runs, and was named World Series MVP for the second time. In 1968, nicknamed the "Year of the Pitcher" for the domination of pitching over hitting throughout the majors, the Cardinals' Bob Gibson proved to be the most dominant pitcher of all. Gibson's earned run average of 1.12 is a live-ball era record, and he won both the NL Cy Young Award and the NL MVP Award. Behind Gibson's season the Cardinals reached the 1968 World Series against the Detroit Tigers. Gibson would pitch another three complete games and set a World Series record with 35 strikeouts, including a single-game record 17 in Game 1. However, a key error by Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood in Game 7 allowed the Tigers to win the series. Gibson would win a second Cy Young Award in 1970, and Joe Torre won the NL MVP Award in 1971, but the Cardinals would fail to win a pennant during the 1970s.
1980s–present
The Cardinals returned to their winning ways in 1981, but were left out of the playoffs in the strike-affected season. The Cardinals posted the best overall record in the NL East, however they finished in second place in each half of the split season. But just like in 1964, a trade would propel the Cardinals upward. Before the 1982 season began the Cardinals acquired shortstop Ozzie Smith from the San Diego Padres via a trade. With Smith, and playing a form of baseball nicknamed Whiteyball after manager Whitey Herzog, the Cardinals won the 1982 World Series over the Milwaukee Brewers. Herzog's Cardinals then reached the 1985 World Series against the Kansas City Royals. The series was nicknamed the "I-70 Series" after the highway that connects the two in-state rivals. The Royals won in seven games, but the series is most remembered by Cardinals fans for a blown call by umpire Don Denkinger in Game 6. The Cardinals would also reach the 1987 World Series, losing to the Minnesota Twins in seven games.
The Cardinals hit another period of little success in the early 1990s. Joe Torre replaced Herzog as manager, but failed to make the playoffs despite several winning seasons. Before the 1996 season the Cardinals were purchased by new owners led by William DeWitt, Jr. and hired Tony La Russa away from the Oakland Athletics. The team won the NL Central that season and defeated the Padres in the NLDS before falling to the Atlanta Braves in 7 games the NLCS. In 1998, the Cardinals were the focus of the baseball world as slugging first baseman Mark McGwire broke the single season home run record by hitting 70 home runs. McGwire's epic pursuit of Roger Maris' record along with the Cubs' Sammy Sosa helped to re-popularize baseball after the 1994 strike.
The start of the new millennium coincided with a new era of success for the Cardinals as the team, led primarily by Albert Pujols, won the NL Central in six of seven years. The Cardinals would fall short in the post-season in 2000, 2001, and 2002 before missing the playoffs altogether in 2003. However, in 2004 the Cardinals won 105 games as they amassed the best record in baseball. They then defeated the Dodgers in the NLDS and the Houston Astros in a seven game NLCS to reach the 2004 World Series. However, the Cardinals were swept by the Boston Red Sox, who won their first World Series in 86 years. The Cardinals won 100 games and another Central Division title in 2005, but lost in an NLCS rematch to the Astros. The Cardinals moved to the new Busch Stadium in 2006 and finally overcame the playoffs. Despite winning only 83 games during the season, the Cardinals defeated the San Diego Padres in the NLDS and the New York Mets in a seven game NLCS. In the 2006 World Series, the Cardinals faced the heavily-favored Detroit Tigers, but won in five games for the franchise's tenth World Series title.
In addition to their on-field success, several tragedies have struck the Cardinals in the 2000s. On June 18, 2002 long-time Cardinals radio broadcaster Jack Buck died. Four days later, Cardinals starting pitcher Darryl Kile died in his sleep, apparently of heart failure, before a game in Chicago against the Cubs. The game was canceled on the field by the Cubs captain at the time, Joe Girardi, in a brief tearful statement to the fans. That day's game was canceled but Kile was scheduled to start the next day and in observance of their teammate, who never missed a start, the Cardinals played the game, as scheduled, against the Chicago Cubs. On April 29, 2007, also during a series with the Cubs, Cardinals relief pitcher Josh Hancock, age 29, was killed in a car accident while driving drunk when his vehicle collided with a stopped tow truck that was aiding a disabled motorist on Interstate 64, not far from Busch Stadium.
Ballpark
The Cardinals play their home games at Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. Busch Stadium, also called Busch III, opened for the 2006 season at a cost of $346 million and can hold 46,861 people. The Cardinals finished their inaugural season in the new Busch Stadium by winning the 2006 World Series, becoming the first team since the 1923 New York Yankees to win the World Series in their first season in a new ballpark. The ballpark has numerous statues of great former Cardinal players outside, including the iconic statue of Stan Musial in front of the third base entrance.
Busch Stadium is the Cardinals' fourth home ballpark and the third to be named Busch Stadium. The Cardinals' original home ballpark was Sportsman's Park from 1882–1893 when they were playing in the American Association and known as the Browns. During 1893 the Cardinals moved to a new ballpark originally called New Sportsman's Park but more commonly remembered as Robison Field which served as their home from 1893–1920. During 1920 the Cardinals returned to the original Sportsman's Park and became tenants of their crosstown rivals, the St. Louis Browns. In 1953 the Cardinals were purchased by the Anheuser-Busch Brewery and the new owner subsequently purchased Sportsman's Park from the Browns and renamed it Busch Stadium, becoming Busch I. The Browns then left St. Louis for Baltimore after the season. The Cardinals moved to Busch Memorial Stadium, or Busch II, in downtown St. Louis during the 1966 season and played there until 2005. It was built as the multi-purpose home of both the baseball Cardinals and the St. Louis football Cardinals, now the Arizona Cardinals. The current Busch Stadium was constructed immediately south of and partly on top of the site of Busch Memorial Stadium.
The Cardinals hold spring training at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, FL. They share the complex, which opened in 1998, with the Florida Marlins. Before moving to Jupiter, the Cardinals hosted spring training at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, FL from 1937–1997.
Logos and uniforms
The Cardinals have had few logos throughout their history, although those logos have evolved over time. The first logo associated with the Cardinals was an interlocking "SL" that appeared on the team's caps and or sleeves as early as 1900. Those early uniforms usually featured the name "St. Louis" on white home and gray road uniforms which both had cardinal red accents. In 1920 the "SL" largely disappeared from the team's uniforms, and for the next 20 years the team wore caps that were white with red striping and a red bill. In 1922, the Cardinals wore uniforms for the first time that featured two cardinal birds perched on a baseball bat over the name "Cardinals" with the letter "C" of the word hooked over the bat. This logo, colloquially referred to as the "birds on the bat" originally had the birds on a black bat and Cardinal in printed letters. An alternate version of this logo with "St. Louis" replacing "Cardinals" appeared in 1930 and was the primary logo in 1931 and 1932 before "Cardinals" returned. In 1940 the now familiar "StL" logo was introduced on the team's caps. The interlocking "StL" has undergone several slight modifications over the years but has appeared on the team's caps every year since. The first appearance of the "StL" in 1940 coincided with the introduction of navy blue as a uniform color. From 1940 until 1955 the team wore navy blue caps with red bills and a red interlocking "StL" while the jerseys featured both cardinal red and navy blue accents. In 1951 the "birds on the bat" logo was changed to feature a yellow baseball bat. In 1956 the Cardinals changed their caps to entirely navy with a red "StL", removing the red bill. Also, for that one season, the Cardinals wore a script "Cardinals" wordmark on the their uniforms without the "birds on the bat." However, an undated version of the "birds on the bat" logo would return in 1957 with the word "Cardinals" now written in cursive beneath the bat. In 1962, the Cardinals were the first National League team to display names on the back of their jerseys. In 1964 the Cardinals changed their caps to be all red with a white interlocking "StL". Following the trend in baseball at the time, the Cardinals replaced their more traditional front button shirts and pants with belts with new pullover t-shirts and elastic waist pants. Yet another trend in baseball led the Cardinals to change their road uniforms from gray to light blue from 1976–1984. In 1992 the Cardinals returned to wearing more traditional button-down shirts and pants with belts. That same year they also began wearing an all navy cap with a red "StL" on the road only while wearing the same red and white cap at home games. In 1998 the "birds on the bat" was updated for the first time in 40 years with more detailed birds and bolder letters. In 1998 the Cardinals also introduced a cap featuring a single cardinal bird perched on a bat, which they wear only on Sundays. Over the years the Cardinals have also used other marketing logos that never appeared on uniforms that showed anthropomorphized cardinals in a pitching stance, swinging a baseball bat, or wearing a baseball cap.
Players
Current roster
Individual achievements and awards
- No-hitters: Cardinal pitchers have thrown ten no-hitters: Ted Breitenstein (1891), Jesse Haines (1924), Paul Dean (1934), Lon Warneke (1941), Ray Washburn (1968), Bob Gibson (1971), Bob Forsch (two, in 1978 and 1983), Jose Jimenez (1999), and Bud Smith (2001). The Cardinals have never been involved in a perfect game, win or lose.
- MVP Awards: 19 Cardinal players have won Most Valuable Player awards, the most recent being Albert Pujols in 2008. Bob Gibson won both the Cy Young Award and the MVP award in 1968. The Cardinals are second only to the New York Yankees in Most Valuable Player awards won (22).
- Triple Crown: Four of the sixteen Triple Crown of hitting in the major leagues (including three of only six in the National League) were by Cardinals. Tip O'Neill won the American Association Triple Crown in 1887. Rogers Hornsby became the only two-time Triple Crown winner in NL history when he did it in 1922 and 1925 (Ted Williams won two AL Triple Crowns). Joe Medwick's Triple Crown in 1937 is the last in the history of the National League. Hornsby's 1925 numbers led the entire major leagues, making him one of only five players to have won this expanded Triple Crown.
Players elected with Cardinals logo on plaque (elected year in parentheses)
- Lou Brock, LF, 1964–1979 (1985)
- Dizzy Dean, P, 1930–1937 (1953)
- Bob Gibson, P, 1959–1975 (1981)
- Stan Musial, LF-1B, 1941–1944, 1946-1963 (1969)
- Red Schoendienst, 2B, 1945–1956, 1961–1963)
- MGR 1965-1976, 1980, 1990 (1989)
- Enos Slaughter, RF, 1938–1942, 1946–1953 (1985)
- Ozzie Smith, SS, 1982–1996 (2002)
- Billy Southworth, MGR 1929, 1940–1945 (2008)
- Bruce Sutter, P, 1981–1984 (2006)
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Players elected with Cardinals as primary team
- Jim Bottomley, 1B, 1922–1932
- Frankie Frisch, 2B, 1927–1938
- Chick Hafey, LF, 1924–1931
- Jesse Haines, P, 1920–1937
- Rogers Hornsby, 2B, 1915–1926, 1933
- Joe Medwick, LF, 1932–1940, 1947–1948
- Johnny Mize, 1B, 1936–1941
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Other Hall-of-Famers associated with Cardinals
- Grover Cleveland Alexander, P, 1926–1929
- Walter Alston, 1B, 1936
- Jake Beckley, 1B, 1904–1907
- Roger Bresnahan, C, 1909–1912
- Mordecai Brown, P, 1903
- Jesse Burkett, LF, 1899–1901
- Steve Carlton, P, 1965–1971
- Orlando Cepeda, 1B, 1966–1968
- Charles Comiskey, MGR, 1882–1889, 1891
- Roger Connor, 1B, 1894–1897
- Leo Durocher, SS, 1933–1937
- Dennis Eckersley, P, 1996–1997
- Pud Galvin, P, 1892
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- Burleigh Grimes, P, 1930-1931, 1933-1934
- Miller Huggins, 2B, 1910-1916
- Rabbit Maranville, SS, 1927-1928
- Bill McKechnie, MGR, 1928-1929
- John McGraw, 3B, 1900
- Kid Nichols, P, 1904-1905
- Wilbert Robinson, C, 1900
- Billy Southworth, RF, 1926-1927, 1929; MGR, 1929, 1940–1945
- Dazzy Vance, P, 1933–1934
- Bobby Wallace, SS, 1899–1901, 1917–1918
- Hoyt Wilhelm, P, 1957
- Vic Willis, P, 1910
- Cy Young, P, 1899–1900
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Retired numbers
Jackie Robinson's number 42 was retired throughout baseball in 1997. The Cardinals 'retired' the number 42 a second time in Sept. 2006 as Bruce Sutter had been elected to the Hall of Fame earlier in the year.
Cardinal stockholders honored Busch with the number 85 on his 85th birthday, in 1984. Also, while not officially retired, the number 25 of Mark McGwire (1B, 1997–2001) has not been reissued since he retired, the number 51 of Willie McGee (OF 1982–1990, 1996–1999) has not been reissued since late in the 2001 season, and the number 57 of Darryl Kile (P, 2000–02) has not been reissued since his death in the middle of the 2002 season. (Kile is honored with a small circular logo bearing his initials and number on the wall of the Cardinal bullpen, as is deceased pitcher Josh Hancock. Hancock's number 32 also has not been reissued since his death in early 2007). The team also honored longtime radio commentator Jack Buck by placing a drawing of a microphone on the wall with the retired numbers.
The Cardinals are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers as having retired the second-most numbers in baseball with 10, behind only the New York Yankees' 16.
Minor league affiliations
Radio and television
In St. Louis, Cardinals games on radio can be heard over KTRS, a talk radio station of which the team owns 50 percent. Mike Shannon and John Rooney alternate as play-by-play announcers. KTRS feeds the games to a network comprised of 115 stations, covering all or portions of Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
Prior to moving to KTRS in 2006, the Cardinals and KMOX radio enjoyed a partnership that spanned over seven decades. But the relationship ended after the 2005 season when CBS Radio, KMOX's parent company, and the Cardinals failed to reach terms on a new rights agreement, resulting in the team leaving the 50,000-watt clear-channel station in favor of becoming part-owners of 5,000-watt KTRS.
On television, coverage is split between FSN Midwest and KSDK, St. Louis' NBC affiliate. KSDK replaced KPLR-TV as the Cardinals' over-the-air television broadcaster starting in the 2007 season. KSDK and its predecessor, KSD-TV, previously carried the team from 1963 until 1987.
Dan McLaughlin and Al Hrabosky are the official announcers on FSN Midwest. Joe Buck had previously teamed with Hrabosky but now is the lead play-by-play caller for FOX Major League Baseball and National Football League broadcasts. Buck's father was Cardinals announcer Jack Buck. Jay Randolph and Rick Horton team up for KSDK contests. All telecasts on KSDK will be in HDTV, along with a select number on FSN Midwest.
External links
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