’50s

The deal that angered Stan Musial: Why the Cardinals traded Red Schoendienst to the Giants

It took a lot to make Stan Musial visibly angry. But when the legendary Cardinals outfielder learned just before boarding the team’s train to Pittsburgh that the Cardinals had traded Red Schoendienst, his roommate for more than a decade, Musial made his displeasure clear. “The rest of us got the word that Red had been …

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June 30, 1954: Joe Cunningham drives in five in his major-league debut

On June 30, 1954, Joe Cunningham kicked off his 12-year major-league career with a single, homer, and five RBIs in an 11-3 St. Louis Cardinals victory over the Cincinnati Redlegs. Cunningham had been with the Cardinals’ International League affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings, on June 29 when manager Harry Walker informed the 22-year-old that he …

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Stan Musial

May 2, 1954: Stan Musial hits record five home runs in doubleheader vs. Giants

Even future Hall of Famer Hoyt Wilhelm couldn’t keep Stan Musial in the ballpark on May 2, 1954. In an afternoon doubleheader at Sportsman’s Park, Musial became the first player in major-league history to hit five home runs in a single day, smacking three home runs over the right-field wall in Game 1 before adding …

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April 13, 1954: Tom Alston, Wally Moon make history in their big-league debuts

April 13, 1954, marked a new beginning in Cardinals baseball as Tom Alston became the first black player to make the major-league club and Wally Moon became the second Cardinal to homer in his first career at-bat. Just two and a half months earlier, the Cardinals traded Eddie Erautt and Dick Sisler, agreed to option …

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Curt Flood

December 5, 1957: The Reds trade Curt Flood to the Cardinals

No one seemed to think very much of Bing Devine’s first trade as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. After Devine traded relief pitcher Willard Schmidt and minor-league pitchers Ted Wieand and Marty Kutyna to the Reds for outfielders Curt Flood and Joe Taylor, legendary St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports editor Bob Broeg described the …

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July 30, 1959: Bob Gibson shuts out the Reds in his first career start

On July 30, 1959, Bob Gibson formally introduced himself to the Cincinnati Reds and Major League Baseball, earning the first of 251 career victories in the first starting assignment of his career. That April, Gibson had made three appearances for the Cardinals, each in relief. On April 15, Gibson made his major league debut, pitching …

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May 25, 1954: Wally Moon steals four bases, nearly ties 50-year-old NL record

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 …

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