Remembering the St. Louis Cardinals of Yesteryear
At its height, Branch Rickey’s innovative farm system produced such a wealth of quality players that he could trade away the defending National League batting champion and a future Hall of Famer and barely skip a beat. On April 11, 1932, the Cardinals traded outfielder Chick Hafey to the Reds for outfielder and first baseman…
On January 18, 1938, Grover Cleveland Alexander, the hero of the Cardinals’ 1926 World Series championship, became the lone player elected in the National Baseball Hall of Fame class of 1938. Alexander spent just 3 ½ seasons with the Cardinals as part of a 20-year career, but he made them count. In 1911, Alexander debuted…
After pitching their second complete game in three days, most men would have applied every cube of ice they could find to their aching pitching arm. After shutting out the Reds on the final day of the 1934 season to secure the National League championship, Dizzy Dean had other ideas. Shortly after Dean walked off…
On July 16, 1935, as he accepted the Sporting News 1934 National League Most Valuable Player trophy, Dizzy Dean took the opportunity to win over the fans once again following a brief controversy regarding an exhibition game in Illinois. It was, perhaps, surprising that Dean had to win over the fans at all after his…
Dizzy Dean may not have been at his best when he faced the Reds July 1, 1934, at Crosley Field, but his 17-inning pitching performance kept the Cardinals in the game long enough to top Cincinnati, 8-6. Dean entered the game having won 11 of his last 12 decisions and each of his last four…
With a single, double, triple, and home run on June 29, 1935, Joe Medwick became the first player to reach 100 hits and the only one to hit for the cycle that season. Signed off the New Jersey sandlots, the muscular and quick-tempered Medwick quickly developed a reputation as one of the best bad-ball hitters…
Two months after signing his first major-league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, Paul Dean’s burgeoning career was at a crossroads. His big brother, Dizzy Dean, had taken it upon himself to serve as Paul’s spokesperson, telling anyone who would listen that his little brother was an even better pitcher than he was, and predicting…
In many ways, the 1934 season marked the passing of a torch. Babe Ruth, the premier slugger of his era, played his final season with the New York Yankees. As Ruth’s career was winding down, young Dizzy Dean vaulted to the national spotlight. As the Oklahoma farmboy led the Gashouse Gang to the World Series…
On May 5, 1933, Pepper Martin, “the wild horse of the Osage” himself, ran wild on Frank Pearce and the Philadelphia Phillies. Batting leadoff, Martin singled, doubled, tripled, and homered while scoring four times in a 5-3 St. Louis win. Martin’s assault on Phillies pitching even surpassed the swings of two female fans who struck…
With the National League championship wrapped up and a berth to the World Series guaranteed, the St. Louis Cardinals used their regular-season finale to get their first glimpse of 20-year-old Jay Hanna Dean – more commonly known as Dizzy Dean. One year prior, Dean had been pitching while stationed with the U.S. Army at Fort…