The St. Louis Cardinals have been shaped by iconic first basemen, but in the early 1960s, Bill White quietly delivered one of the most productive and defensively dominant stretches at the position in franchise history. With four .300 seasons, a 200-hit campaign, three 100-RBI years, and a championship in 1964, White’s Cardinals tenure stands as […]
Bill White: Remember Your Redbirds Read More »
Outside of the Gateway Arch and Busch Stadium itself, there aren’t many St. Louis monuments as recognizable as the Stan Musial statue. Now a familiar meeting place for Cardinals fans, the statue was dedicated on August 4, 1968, as part of a daylong celebration of Musial’s incredible career. The $35,000 monument was paid for through
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When the Cardinals traded Vinegar Bend Mizell and Dick Gray to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Julian Javier and Ed Bauta, St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports editor Bob Broeg had three questions: Why couldn’t the Cardinals get more for Mizell? Who was going to pitch for the Cardinals now? And who in the world was Javier?[1] As
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Is Stan Musial the greatest general manager in St. Louis Cardinals history? The question may be tongue in cheek, but no one can argue with Musial’s record: in his lone season as the Cardinals’ general manager in 1967, the Cardinals won the World Series. Musial was named to the position on January 23, 1967, just
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When August A. Busch Jr. fired general manager Bing Devine in August 1964, it seemed all but certain that Cardinals manager Johnny Keane would soon join his former boss among the unemployed. When Keane and the Cardinals surprised everyone by surging to their first World Series championship in 18 years, Busch decided to keep his
Why Cardinals manager Johnny Keane quit one day after winning the World Series Read More »
Exactly one year after Mike Shannon made his major league debut, he launched the first home run of his career in a 4-0 win over the Chicago Cubs. A St. Louis native who played his high school football and baseball at Christian Brothers College (CBC) High School and his college ball at the University of
Mike Shannon hits his first career home run (9/11/1963) Read More »
On April 9, 1964, the Cardinals traded outfielder Gary Kolb and catcher Jim Coker to the Milwaukee Braves to acquire Mr. Baseball himself, Bob Uecker. A backup catcher throughout his two seasons in St. Louis, Uecker was a member of the Cardinals’ 1964 World Series championship club. Though Uecker didn’t appear in the postseason, starting
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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
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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 Cardinals’ first game at Busch Stadium II: May 12, 1966 Read More »
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 grand slam wins Game 4 of the World Series Read More »