As he started preparing for the 1997 season, Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty was looking for a second baseman who could hit for power or inherit the top spot in the St. Louis lineup. On November 20, 1996, he opted for the latter, signing Delino DeShields to a one-year contract with a team option for …
November 20, 1996: Cardinals sign Delino DeShields Read More »
Just two days after naming Tony La Russa the Cardinals’ new manager and one day after they began removing the AstroTurf from Busch Stadium to install natural grass, Anheuser-Busch shocked St. Louis on October 25, 1995, with the announcement that it was selling the team. “As a publicly held company, we had to ask ourselves …
October 25, 1995: Anheuser-Busch announces plans to sell the Cardinals Read More »
Eighteen years after Tony La Russa ended his playing career with the St. Louis Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate, he was named the 48th manager in franchise history. On October 23, 1995, general manager Walt Jocketty signed La Russa to a two-year contract to manage the Cardinals, ending a 10-year run with the Oakland Athletics in which …
October 23, 1995: Cardinals name Tony La Russa manager Read More »
The pitching matchup between Cardinals starter Jeff Weaver and Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander certainly appeared lopsided on paper. But in Game 5 of the 2006 World Series, Weaver outpitched that season’s American League Rookie of the Year, needing just 99 pitches to get through eight innings in a 4-2 win that clinched the 10th world …
In the right-field bleachers, Cardinals fans hung a bedsheet declaring that evening’s starting pitcher, Joaquin Andujar, “one tough Dominican” in honor of the right-hander’s favorite self-description. On October 21, 1982, Andujar proved to be exactly that, pitching seven innings to lead the Cardinals to a 6-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 7 of …
Willie McGee thought he had made a name for himself during the regular season when he burst onto the scene with a .296 average, 56 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases in 123 games on his way to a third-place finish in the National League Rookie of the Year balloting. After he hit two home runs …
October 15, 1982: Willie McGee homers twice as Cardinals win Game 3 of the World Series Read More »
The Boston Red Sox and their fans weren’t afraid to give the Cardinals a little extra motivation heading into Game 7 of the 1967 World Series. Knowing that Game 7 would match Cardinals ace Bob Gibson against Red Sox ace Jim Lonborg, Boston first baseman George Scott predicted that Gibson wouldn’t “survive five” innings.[1] Earlier …
On October 9, 1944, the St. Louis Cardinals clinched their second World Series championship in three years, defeating the crosstown rival Browns 3-1 and establishing themselves as baseball’s dominant wartime franchise. With America at war in Europe, players from every team either volunteered for or were drafted into the war effort. Though Cardinals stars Enos …
At the end of a roller-coaster season, it was fitting that the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals’ final game was a madcap affair, complete with a fight between players, a near-riot in the stands, and Dizzy Dean testing out new pitches en route to an 11-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers in Game 7 of the …
On October 5, 1942, third baseman Whitey Kurowski struck the deciding blow in Game 5 of the World Series to beat the New York Yankees and begin a five-year run of dominance in which the St. Louis Cardinals won three world championships. The heavily favored Yankees entered the 1942 Fall Classic as the defending world …