Remembering the St. Louis Cardinals of Yesteryear
Desperate to bolster their relief corps, the Cardinals purchased the rights to future Hall of Famer Jim Kaat from the Yankees on April 30, 1980. The three-time all-star and 16-time Gold Glove Award winner played the final four seasons of his career in St. Louis, including 62 appearances as a valuable bullpen piece for the…
With three home runs, including a walk-off, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, Albert Pujols closed Busch Stadium III’s first homestand in style. Pujols and more than 36,000 Cardinals fans[1] celebrated Easter on April 16, 2006, with an 8-7 win over the Reds that included three home runs and five RBIs from…
It didn’t take long for Jim Edmonds to officially introduce himself to Cardinals fans. Just two weeks after the Cardinals traded Kent Bottenfield and Adam Kennedy to acquire the two-time Gold Glover, Edmonds launched his first home run as a Cardinal in a 10-4 victory over the Cubs. Two days earlier, the Cardinals opened their…
Nolan Arenado was 10 games into his major league career when he arrived in St. Louis for the first time in May 2013. The young slugger already had three home runs to his name, and as he prepared to face Cardinals starting pitcher Shelby Miller, all-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki sidled up alongside the rookie with…
The 1981 Hall of Fame ballot was stacked with stars who would one day receive their day in Cooperstown. Joining Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson among the candidates were future Hall of Famers Don Drysdale, Gil Hodges, Harmon Killebrew, Juan Marichal, and Hoyt Wilhelm. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch even ran a story noting that all six…
At spring training, Tony La Russa found that he had no choice – he had to put Albert Pujols in the lineup. By the end of the season, voters saw the same – and unanimously named him the 2001 National League Rookie of the Year. Pujols received all 32 votes (two voters from each National…
On September 23, 1941, Stan Musial hit the first home run of his Hall of Fame career. Though it was just his eighth game since the Cardinals called him up from their minor-league affiliate in Rochester, Musial already had established himself as a dangerous hitter. In his big-league debut, Musial tallied two hits, including a…
On August 22, 1982, Glenn Brummer became arguably the most unlikely game-winning hero in Cardinals history. An Illinois native, Brummer had played his college baseball at Lake Land College in Mattoon, Illinois, and signed with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 1974. After working his way through the Cardinals’ farm system, Brummer made…