Amid a cloud of rumor and innuendo, Anheuser-Busch effectively fired Harry Caray as their St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster on October 9, 1969. Caray, a St. Louis native who attended Webster Groves High School, had been the Cardinals’ play-by-play man even longer than Anheuser-Busch had owned the team, dating back to 1945, when Griesedieck Brothers brewery …
Why Harry Caray was fired as Cardinals broadcaster Read More »
It was fitting that Adam Wainwright’s 200th career strikeout came on a 3-and-2 curveball. On September 23, 2021, Wainwright joined the 2,000-strikeout club, whiffing Brewers infielder Luis Urias to reach the milestone in his 16th major league season. Paul Goldschmidt homered twice and the Cardinals won their 12th consecutive game in a streak that would …
September 23, 2021: Adam Wainwright throws his 2,000th strikeout Read More »
One day after hitting for the cycle, Nolan Arenado and the Cardinals did their best to do something even more impressive. On July 2, 2022, Arenado followed his cycle with two home runs, a first-inning blast that was the first of four consecutive Cardinal home runs and a ninth-inning shot that proved to be the …
Steve Carlton’s final start for the St. Louis Cardinals was a milestone game in more ways than one. The Cardinals’ September 28, 1971, win over the New York Mets marked not only Carlton’s final appearance wearing the birds on the bat, but also clinched the first 20-win season of his career. Coincidentally, it also marked …
September 28, 1971: Steve Carlton reaches 20 wins in his final game with the Cardinals Read More »
After the first three batters of the ninth inning reached, putting the go-ahead run on third base, Al Hrabosky knew he needed to tap into something primal to escape the jam against the defending World Series champion Cincinnati Reds. “I talk to the gypsy war gods,” he explained afterward. “I work myself into a controlled …
May 9, 1977: Al Hrabosky and the gypsy war gods stifle Reds Read More »
Busch Stadium II had one heck of an opening night. Even before Lou Brock singled to drive home the game-winning run in a 4-3, 12-inning victory over the Braves, the stadium alone was enough to delight the St. Louis crowd. “This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” declared Mrs. Claudia Hanebrink of …
The biggest moment of Ken Boyer’s career came with his brother Clete just a few feet away, playing third base for the Yankees on the game’s biggest stage. Down two games to one in the 1964 World Series, with the Yankees ahead 3-0 in Game 4, Boyer pulled a grand slam just inside the left-field …
October 11, 1964: Ken Boyer’s grand slam wins Game 4 of the World Series Read More »
Tim McCarver was just an 18-year-old out of Memphis, Tennessee, when the New York Yankees came calling. To recruit the catching prospect, the Yankees called upon no less an authority than Bill Dickey, the Hall of Fame catcher who won 11 World Series titles over a 17-year career. Dickey gave McCarver a brand-new mitt and …
October 12, 1964: Tim McCarver’s extra-inning homer wins World Series Game 5 Read More »
The St. Louis Cardinals’ iconic birds on the bat wasn’t created by a marketing firm. It didn’t undergo focus testing, and it wasn’t developed by a team of graphic designers. Instead, the concept was created by a young woman in Ferguson, Missouri, as she prepared for a meeting of the local Men’s Fellowship organization to …
February 16, 1921: The Cardinals’ birds on the bat logo is born in Ferguson, Mo. Read More »
On the day they set a record more than 15 years in the making, Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina were determined not to come up short. On September 14, 2022, Wainwright and Molina, both age 40, broke a major-league record even older than they were. With their 325th start together, they topped the 324 games …