Remembering the St. Louis Cardinals of Yesteryear
To acquire a relief pitcher who would become a cornerstone of their bullpen during their 1985 and 1987 National League pennant seasons, the Cardinals traded away one of the few remaining players from their 1982 world championship club. On June 15, 1984, the Cardinals traded infielder Ken Oberkfell, the team’s leading hitter at the time…
Long before Cardinals general manager Bing Devine traded Ernie Broglio, Doug Clemens, and Bobby Shantz to the Cubs for Lou Brock, Jack Spring, and Paul Toth in June 1964, he’d been laying the groundwork for a deal. The preceding winter, Devine had inquired with Cubs general manager John Holland about Brock’s availability, but been rebuffed.…
On June 23, 1961, Stan Musial hopped off the trainer’s table, took the field at Busch Stadium I and proceeded to hit two homers and drive in seven runs to lead the Cardinals to a 10-5 win over the San Francisco Giants. Just imagine what he could have accomplished if he had been fully healthy.…
Over the course of his 12-year career, Wally Moon was better known for his “Moon shot” home runs than his base-stealing ability. Nonetheless, on May 25, 1954, the rookie center fielder came one stolen base shy of breaking a 50-year-old National League record as he swiped four bags in a 9-4 Cardinals win over the…
Off to a slow start to the 1964 season, the Cardinals had to do something. For manager Bing Devine, that meant making one of the most famous deals in baseball history, trading Ernie Broglio, Bobby Shantz, and Doug Clemens to the Cubs for Lou Brock, Jack Spring, and Paul Toth. For Ken Boyer, that meant…
Whitey Herzog wasn’t certain exactly what caliber of pitcher he was receiving when he traded for Joaquin Andujar in 1981, but he did know one thing – the Cardinals were getting a personality unlike any they’d ever seen. Herzog had been on the search for pitching when Astros general manager Al Rosen called and offered…
When the first inning of Paul DeJong’s major league debut rolled around, the 23-year-old shortstop wasn’t even in the stadium. The Cardinals called DeJong up from Triple-A Memphis earlier that day to fill the roster spot vacated by Kolten Wong, who was placed on the disabled list with elbow discomfort. DeJong had been playing second…
On May 27, 1975, Lou Brock hit for the cycle for the only time in his Hall of Fame career during a 7-1 Cardinals’ victory over the Padres at Busch Stadium II. Brock entered the game on a roll. Since returning from a shoulder injury that occurred in late April, Brock had improved his batting…
If the 1978 Cardinals needed any additional evidence that they needed a bat (or two) in the outfield, they got it in a 6-0 loss to the Cubs on May 26, 1978. Just hours after obtaining outfielder George Hendrick from the Padres for starting pitcher Eric Rasmussen, the Cardinals managed just seven singles against Chicago…
When defending Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter was scratched from his May 24 start against the Giants with inflammation of a bursa sac located between his right shoulder and rib cage, the 2006 Cardinals pitching staff was dealt a blow. In Carpenter’s place, the St. Louis pitching staff started dealing some blows of its…