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 was being called up to the majors to take the roster spot of Cardinals first baseman Tom Alston. Earlier that year, Alston had made history as the first black player to make the Cardinals’ major-league club.

Rather than leaving immediately for Cincinnati, where the Cardinals were playing the Redlegs, Cunningham played Rochester’s scheduled doubleheader before heading to the majors.

“I was so happy and surprised I hardly could see up there at the plate,” said Cunningham, who went hitless in his seven at-bats.[1]

In preparation for Rochester’s upcoming road trip, Cunningham had sent out his laundry, which meant that he would have to join the Cardinals without his clothes. Even worse, the doubleheader ran long, causing him to miss his train. To make it to Cincinnati, Rochester’s publicity staffer drove him to the Buffalo airport, where he caught a flight and arrived in the Queen City in midafternoon. He signed his Cardinals contract after 7 p.m.[2]

Cunningham’s debut came against Redlegs right-hander Art Fowler, a 31-year-old rookie from South Carolina whose minor-league journey had taken him to the Bristol Twins, Danville Leafs, Jersey City Giants, Minneapolis Millers, Jacksonville Tars, Atlanta Crackers, and Milwaukee Brewers.

In the first inning, center fielder Wally Moon (who homered in his first major-league at-bat earlier in the season) led off the game with a double and scored on an RBI single by Ray Jablonski. Cincinnati answered in the bottom half of the inning when Gus Bell hit a solo home run off Cardinals starter Brooks Lawrence.

The game remained tied until Cunningham broke it open in the fifth. After Moon drew a walk and Red Schoendienst singled, Jablonski hit his second RBI single of the game to give the Cardinals the lead. Cunningham then pulled a three-run homer over the right-field wall to make the score 5-1 and chase Fowler from the ballgame.

Two innings later, after Moon and Schoendienst led off with singles, the Redlegs intentionally walked Jablonski to load the bases and face Cunningham with one out. Cunningham rose to the challenge, punching a two-run single up the middle. Repulski followed with a three-run homer, quickly giving the Cardinals a 10-1 lead.

Repulski hit another home run in the ninth inning to give him four RBIs on the day and make the final score 11-3. The two homers gave Repulski 14 on the season.

Moon finished with three hits and three runs scored, and Schoendienst, Jablonski, Cunningham, and Repulski each scored twice.

Lawrence, making just the second start of his career, worked around nine hits and five walks for the complete-game win. He went on to enjoy a 15-6 rookie campaign for the Cardinals even as he led the league with eight hit batsmen.

Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky was pleased with both rookies, though he cautioned reporters not to read too much into Cunningham’s debut, especially with the Braves expected to start Warren Spahn the following day.

“Don’t go overboard,” Stanky said. “I thought enough of this boy to want him, yes, but I told him that while I’d be happy if he hit .300, I’d be satisfied with .270. Let’s wait at least until he faces a good lefthander – Warren Spahn.”[3]

In the Cardinals’ 9-2 win over the Braves, Cunningham hit two homers – both off of Spahn. His second-inning home run was a solo shot, and in the third inning, he hit a three-run homer to give him nine RBIs in his first two games.

“I’ve seen it before – one man gives a ball club a shot in the arm, that is – and I believe the kid has done it,” Stanky said. “Gerry Staley, who hadn’t been pitching, comes in with a great relief job, and Stan Musial, who hadn’t been hitting, rips the cover off the ball.

“Cunningham is so strong he even squeezes the hell out of your hand when you shake it as he rounds third base on his way home.”

For the season, Cunningham went on to bat .284/.375/.445 with 11 homers and 50 RBIs. Despite his successful rookie campaign, the Cardinals encouraged him to change his batting stance in 1955.[4] The adjustment didn’t work, as he struggled in spring training, then suffered an injury after he was hit in the head by a pitch. Instead of returning Cunningham to first base, the Cardinals moved Musial to first and sent Cunningham back to Rochester, where he spent all of 1955 and most of 1956.

It wasn’t until 1957 that Cunningham returned to the majors and enjoyed the best seasons of his career. That year, he hit .318 with a .439 on-base percentage. In 1958, he hit .312 with a .449 on-base percentage and a career-high 12 homers.

At a time when the majors played two All-Star Games per season, Cunningham made both of his career All-Star appearances in 1959. That year marked the high point of his career as he hit .345 with a .453 on-base percentage to lead all of baseball.

Though Cunningham never again hit over .300, he did hit .280 and .286, respectively, in the final two years of his Cardinals career. After the 1961 season, the Cardinals traded Cunningham to the White Sox for Minnie Minosa. In seven seasons in St. Louis, Cunningham hit .304 with a .413 on-base percentage.

Cunningham “kept us loose,” teammate Bill White said. “He was always there with the positive word and attitude. He did not have as much ability as a lot of guys, but he made up for it by hustling.”[5]

Cunningham played the final five years of his career with the White Sox and Senators. He finished his 12-year major-league career with 980 hits, a .291 career batting average, and a .403 on-base percentage.

After his career ended, Cunningham served as a minor-league coach for the Cardinals before joining the front office and becoming the team’s director of sales. He was also a coach on the Cardinals’ 1982 World Series championship team.

Cunningham passed away in March 2021.

“Joe was a great ambassador for us for many years and a pillar in the community,” team president Bill DeWitt III said in a statement after Cunningham’s passing. “He was also a warm, positive person with a great wit. He will be sorely missed.”[6]

Give the gift of Cardinals history! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available now on Amazon.

[1] “Rookie in Such a Hurry to Join Redbirds He Left Clothes Behind,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 1, 1954.

[2] “Rookie in Such a Hurry to Join Redbirds He Left Clothes Behind,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 1, 1954.

[3] “Haddix’s Injury Not Serious,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 2, 1954.

[4] “Joe Cunningham Vows to Return,” Herald-News, July 5, 1955.

[5] Rick Hummel, “Popular player, coach for Cards dies at 89,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 26, 2021.

[6] Rick Hummel, “Popular player, coach for Cards dies at 89,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 26, 2021.

The post Joe Cunningham drives in five in his debut: June 30, 1954 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

That April, Gibson had made three appearances for the Cardinals, each in relief.

On April 15, Gibson made his major league debut, pitching the seventh and eighth innings of a 5-0 loss to the Dodgers. Pitching opposite Don Drysdale, who threw a complete-game shutout, Gibson allowed a home run to the first batter he faced, Jim Baxes, and another run in the eighth on a sacrifice bunt.

The following day, he entered the game in the fifth inning and allowed one run on three hits, retiring just one of the four batters he faced. On April 18, Gibson entered a game against the Giants down 7-1 in the eighth inning. Orlando Cepeda greeted Gibson with an RBI double before Gibson got Felipe Alou to ground out to the shortstop to end the inning.

With three earned runs allowed in 2 2/3 innings, Gibson was returned to Triple-A Omaha. He remained in his hometown until July 29, when right-hander Dick Ricketts was optioned to Rochester and Gibson was summoned to take his spot on the roster.[1] Gibson had been 9-9 with a 3.07 ERA in Omaha.[2]

It was poetic that Gibson was making his first start against the Reds, the franchise that had come so close to signing him out of Creighton University.

“As late as two in the morning he agreed to verbal terms with us, but by daylight he had jumped to the Cardinals,” Reds farm director Phil Seghi told the Cincinnati Enquirer, noting that he believed a family member had nixed the deal. “I don’t know what he’ll do tonight, but he’s a pretty good major league prospect.”[3]

The 23-year-old Gibson’s biggest challenges came in the first and ninth innings. After Johnny Temple walked to lead off the first, Vada Pinson singled to left. With runners on first and second, Gibson got Gus Bell to ground into a force out at second, Frank Robinson to fly out to center field, and Jerry Lynch to ground out.

The Cardinals gave Gibson all the offense he would need in the second. Ken Boyer led off the inning with a double to center field. Bill White advanced Boyer to third base, then Joe Cunningham singled to left off Reds left-hander Jim O’Toole, giving the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

From there, Gibson refused to allow a runner past first base until the ninth inning.

The 22-year-old O’Toole pitched seven innings for the Reds, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the sixth when he got Hal Smith to ground into an inning-ending double play. After O’Toole was removed for a pinch hitter, Brooks Lawrence threw two scoreless innings in relief.

In the ninth, Cardinals manager Solly Hemus subbed Curt Flood into the game to play center field, moving Gino Cimoli to left field and White to first base in place of the 38-year-old Stan Musial. Lynch led off the inning with a single to right field, but was retired when White knocked down a liner by Ed Bailey and threw to second for the force out.

Gibson got Willie Jones to pop up for the second out of the inning before he walked pinch hitters Frank Thomas and Don Newcombe on eight consecutive pitches. With the bases loaded and Marshall Bridges warm in the bullpen,[4] Gibson fell behind in the count 2-0 before Temple flied out to Flood to end the game.

Gibson finished the game with eight hits and three walks allowed. He struck out two.

“I can throw a lot harder but my shoulder has been a little sore for the past week,” Gibson said.[5]

Boyer led the Cardinals’ offense with three hits, including a double, and Smith and Alex Grammas each singled twice.

While Gibson’s performance demonstrated his outstanding potential, he wasn’t yet the dominant pitcher of the mid- to late-1960s. He allowed five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings in his next start, a 7-3 loss to the Pirates, then walked eight batters in his next outing, a 10-inning performance against the Phillies. After losing five consecutive decisions, he finished the year strong, striking out 10 Cubs in a complete-game win on September 12 and throwing 4 2/3 innings of relief to earn the win in a 14-8 victory over the Giants.

It was a mixed season for Gibson, who was still learning the slider, which would become a key pitch for him when paired with his fastball. On the other hand, Gibson was unlikely to reach his full potential while playing for Hemus.

“He told me, like he told Flood, that I would never make it in the majors, and he went so far as to suggest that I take a shot at basketball instead,” said Gibson, who had played for the Harlem Globetrotters before Cardinals general manager Bing Devine increased his salary enough to convince him to give up basketball. “He was apparently convinced that I didn’t have a thought in my head when I was on the mound, and was not the least reluctant to insult my intelligence. When the pitchers would meet before a series to review the hitters on the other team, Hemus would say things like, “You don’t have to listen to this, Gibson. You just try to get the ball over the plate.”[6]

In his third season as the Cardinals’ manager in 1961, Hemus was fired and replaced with Johnny Keane. With Keane’s encouragement changing the trajectory of his career, Gibson went on to establish himself as the most dominant pitcher in franchise history. Over 17 seasons, Gibson won one National League MVP trophy, two Cy Young awards, two World Series MVP awards, and nine Gold Globe Awards. He led the Cardinals to two World Series championships and appeared in nine all-star games before retiring in 1975. Gibson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981 with 251 career wins, 3,117 strikeouts, and a 2.91 ERA.

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[1] “Ricketts Sent To Rochester; Gibson Back,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 29, 1959.

[2] “Birds to Start Gibson, Former Basketball Pro,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 30, 1959.

[3] Bill Ford, “Don’s Control Just Too Good,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 31, 1959.

[4] Neal Russo, “Cards’ Gibson, in First Big League Start, Shuts Out Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 31, 1959.

[5] Neal Russo, “Cards’ Gibson, in First Big League Start, Shuts Out Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 31, 1959.

[6] Bob Gibson and Lonnie Wheeler (1994), “Stranger to the Game,” Penguin Books USA, New York, Page 52.

The post Bob Gibson gets his first career win: July 30, 1959 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.