TheSt. Louis Cardinals, aprofessional baseballfranchise based inSt. Louis,Missouri, compete in theNational League (NL) ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). In 1953, theAnheuser-Busch (AB)brewerybought the Cardinals, andAugust "Gussie" Busch became team president. Busch's influence is still seen today as three of the Cardinals' homestadia are or were named some form ofBusch Stadium. ThreeWorld Series titles in the 1960s and 1980s, contrasted with missing the playoffs for the entirety of the 1950s and 1970s checkered the team's success distinctly by decades. However, the team still remained generally competitive in each of those decades - they did not see a last place finish until 1990, which had been the first since 1918. With Busch's tenure as owner, the Cardinals also won sixNL pennants.[1]
Soon after A–B purchased the team, Busch boughtSportsman's Park from St. Louis Browns ownerBill Veeck, renovated it, and renamed itBusch Stadium.[2][3] The Browns, who had not been as successful or popular as the Cardinals in three decades, realized they could not compete with the deep pockets of the brewery.[4] After the1953 season theBrowns left St. Louis to become theBaltimore Orioles (but kept the same colors), leaving the Cardinals as the only major league team in town.[5]
With the breaking of thecolor barrier that had started in1947, in1954, the Cardinals debutedTom Alston, the first African-American player on the Major League club.[6] This was at the initiative ofGussie Busch, CEO of Anheuser-Busch and team president. Shortly after taking over ownership of the team, he asked managerEddie Stanky where the team's black players were. Upon hearing that there were not any, he told Stanky and the coaches to find one and sign him, since his company sold more beer to African-Americans than any other brewery and he feared a possibleboycott. "It can't be the great American game if blacks can't play," he said.[7]
When the Cardinals bought Alston, they learned that he was two years older than he had been represented to them as, and Busch demanded $20,000 back since he believed the team had been swindled out of two seasons' of his career.[7] Alston did not ultimately work out for the Cardinals, but other black players such asBob Gibson,[8]Lou Brock[9] andCurt Flood[10] led the competitive Cardinals clubs of the 1960s. The Cardinals' dissolution of the color barrier actualized a new phase when they became the first Major League organization to integratespring training housing, albeit reluctantly.[11]
Between1954 and1959, the Cardinals finished below the .500 mark in four of five seasons. In 1954,Wally Moon replaced the popularEnos Slaughter incenter field and won the firstRookie of the Year (ROY) award in franchise history with a .304batting average, 12home runs and 193hits.[12] Replacing Moon in center––who shifted toright field––Bill Virdon was voted ROY thenext season.[13] In1957, the Cardinals finished in second place, leading the league in batting average (.274) and finishing third inearned run average (3.78).[14]
Meanwhile, aNational Football League (NFL)Cardinals franchise relocated fromChicago toSt. Louis in1960. Chicago was distinctly becoming theBears' town and the Cardinals could not match their success. The 12 NFL owners unanimously voted to allow the Chicago Cardinals franchise to move.[15] Ironically, Chicago forms the other half of the MLB's Cardinals'baseball rivalry with theCubs.[16] The football Cardinals called St. Louis andBusch Stadium/Busch Memorial Stadium home through the1987 season,after which the Cardinalsmigrated toPhoenix to become theArizona Cardinals.[17][18] Local sports fans and media coverage referred to the two teams as the "baseball Cardinals" and "football Cardinals". For decades before the NFL Cardinals moved into St. Louis, the baseball team was also known as the "Redbirds", while the football team was the "Gridbirds" or "Big Red".[19]
Stan Musial remained St. Louis' most consistent player, winningseven batting titles and gaining election to theMajor League Baseball All-Star Game every yearfrom 1946 until his retirementin 1963, which ironically was the last year before the Cardinals' next World Series appearance and win.[20]In 1958, Musial became the eighth player in Major League Baseball history toaccumulate 3,000 hits.[21] In1968, the Cardinals erected a statue of Musial outside ofBusch Memorial Stadium[22] that was moved to the newBusch Stadium in2006[23] and is inscribed with this quote: "Here stands baseball's perfect warrior. Here stands baseball's perfect knight."[22]PresidentBarack Obama bestowed Musial with thePresidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.[24][25]
The Cardinals returned to the top in the 1960s with the help of a franchise-altering trade and the emergence of a dominating pitcher. In1964 the Cardinals traded pitcherErnie Broglio and two other players to the rivalCubs for outfielderLou Brock and two other players.[27][28][29] The trade, since nicknamed "Brock for Broglio", has become emblematic of trades which in retrospect are ridiculously lopsided; from it, the Cardinals gained substantially.[30] Brock successfully replaced Musial, who had retired at the end of1963, in left field.[20][31]
Later that season, a procession of events off the field induced events on the field. Busch, impatient that the team had not caught up with thePhiladelphia Phillies, firedGMBing Devine in August.[32] Although he had considered firing managerJohnny Keane, Busch relented; however, he secretly met withLeo Durocher to offer him the manager position forthe next season.[33][34] Word of the meeting leaked to Keane.[35] Resolutely propelled by Brock, MVP third basemanKen Boyer and 19-game winnerBob Gibson, the Cardinals beset the Phillies torelinquish a6+1⁄2 game lead with 12 to play, and St. Louiswon the league pennant.[26][29][36] Next, the Cardinals met and defeated theNew York Yankees in the1964 World Series as Gibson was namedseries MVP.[36][37] Busch changed his mind about firing Keane after the Series, but Keane, affronted about the way he and Devine were treated, instead accepted the manager position with the Yankees.[38]Red Schoendienst succeeded Keane as manager.[39] Three years later, regretting Devine's firing, Busch successfully negotiated his return with theNew York Mets to bring him back as GM.[40]
In1966, the Cardinals moved to the just-completedBusch Memorial Stadium and hosted theMLB All-Star Game that summer. Behind the performance of MVPOrlando Cepeda the next year, St. Louis won101 regular season games, the league, and theWorld Series over theRed Sox. Gibson pitched three complete-game wins - allowing just three earned runs - and was named World Series MVP for the second time.In 1968 - nicknamed the "Year of the Pitcher" because of the domination of pitching over hitting throughout the majors - Gibson proved to be the most dominant of all. Hisearned run average of 1.12 is alive-ball era record (he allowed only 38 earned runs in304+2⁄3 innings pitched), garnering him both the NLCy Young Award and theNL MVP Award.[41] Fueled by Gibson's historic season,the Cardinals led the Major Leagues in staff ERA at 2.49 and faced theDetroit Tigers in theWorld Series.[42] Gibson again pitched three complete games and set a World Series record with 35 strikeouts, including a single-game World Series record 17 in Game 1, but ended up losing the deciding Game 7.[43]
Following the 1968 season,Major League Baseball implemented realignment by splitting both theNational and theAmerican Leagues into "East" and "West" divisions to coincide with theexpansion of four teams. The Cardinals, along with theChicago Cubs, were placed in theNational League East division, thus helping to maintain the strength oftheir rivalry.[44]
Although the Cardinals remained competitive in the 1970s, their best season was1971, when they won 90 games and finished second in the NL East. They also finished secondin 1973 and1974 and with a .500 record or better six times.[1] The decade featured crucial links to the division rivalPhiladelphia Phillies. First, before the1970 season, Flood refused a trade toPhiladelphia, challenging thereserve clause and eventually helping to bring aboutfree agency.[45] Second, due to a salary dispute,Steve Carlton was traded to thePhillies for fellow pitcherRick Wise, which like the Brock trade turned out to be lopsided, but this time left theCardinals on the wrong end.[46] Led by Carlton, the Phillies won three division titles before the end of the decade.[47] Gibson won a second Cy Young Award in1970, andJoe Torre andKeith Hernández each won a NL MVP Award in1971 and1979 respectively.[36][48][49][50]Ted Simmons became one of the top hitting catchers in team history, batting .298, finishing in the top ten in team history inhome runs,RBIs,extra base hits,walks, among others; and appearing in sixAll-Star games and receiving MVP votes six times.[51][52] Gibson retired as the franchise career leader, among other categories, in wins (251), strikeouts (3117) and shutouts (56).[53] Brock set the modern-day (since1898)stolen base record of 118in 1974, since eclipsed by onlyRickey Henderson in1982, and is second all-time to Henderson in career stolen bases with 938.[54][55][56] Brock also collected his3,000th hit in 1979, and is the franchise leader in stolen bases (888), and is second in franchise history in hits (2,713) and runs scored (1427).[52][57]
In 1980, Busch hiredWhitey Herzog to manage the Cardinals. He became known for a style of play known asWhiteyball that catered toBusch Stadium'sAstroturf to maximize speed, defense and pitching.[58] Herzog's multifaceted operations emphasized pitching,line drivegap hitters for the exaggerated bouncing effects of the Astroturf, workingthe count to get on base,stealing bases, thehit and run, hitting the ball the other way,bunting, and smooth, fleet-footed fielders—essentially expandingsmall ball large.[59] He also built lineups around a primarypower hitter, such asJack Clark, with one or two others for protection.[60] Other players that drove this style of play included outfieldersLonnie Smith,[61]Willie McGee (1985NL MVP who wontwo batting titles in a Cardinals uniform),[62]Andy Van Slyke,[63] andVince Coleman;[64] infieldersKeith Hernández,[50]George Hendrick,[65]Terry Pendleton,[66]José Oquendo,[67]Darrell Porter,[68]Tom Herr,[69] andOzzie Smith;[70] and pitchersJohn Tudor,[71]Bruce Sutter,[72]Bob Forsch[73] andJoaquín Andújar.[74] One of themost successful managers in team history, Herzog's Cardinals operated on lower payrolls andwon the league three times and theWorld Series once.[58][75][76]
The1980 team featured one of the best offensive units in the league. Theypaced the NL in eight offensive categories including runs scored (738), batting average (.275), on-base percentage (.328), slugging percentage (.400) and featured six players who tallied 275 plate appearances or more and hit over .300. Thus the 1980 Cardinals set the record for the mostSilver Slugger Award winners in one season (five) in the award's inaugural season: Hernández (first base),Garry Templeton (shortstop), Hendrick (outfielder),Ted Simmons (catcher), and Forsch (pitcher).[50][51][65][73][77][78] However, they were an overall disappointment, finishing last in pitching and going through four managers.[79] St. Louis returned to their winning waysin 1981, but missed the playoffs in thestrike-shortened season despite posting the best overall record in the NL East (59–43).[80] A one year-only change in the playoff format declared two half-season division champions rather than one division champion at the end of the season.[81] The Cardinals finished in second place in each half of the split season.[82]
Between 1981 and1984, Sutter saved 132 games and twice finished in third place in theCy Young Award balloting.[72] Forsch, Tudor, and Joaquín each anchored the Cardinals' rotation.[71][73] Joaquín won 20 or more games in both 1984 and1985.[74]
Just like in 1964, another key trade significantly altered the direction of the franchise and propelled the Cardinals back to the top. Before the1982 season, the Cardinals swapped shortstops with theSan Diego Padres: Templeton was shipped for Ozzie Smith, another player for whom the Whiteyball strategy was tailor-made:"The Wizard" wonthirteen Gold Gloves.[70][83] The Cardinals won the1982 World Series over theMilwaukee Brewers.[84] For his hitting excellence in theNLCS (.556 batting average) and the World Series, Porter was awarded both theNLCS MVP and theWorld Series MVP.[68]
On September 26,1983, Forsch hurled his second careerno-hitter as a Cardinal, becoming the first and only player in team history to do so.[85] That season, the Cardinals set ateam record with 207 stolen bases. Thenext season, on their way to again breaking their stolen bases (220), the Cardinals also became the first team since the1916 St. Louis Browns to record 200 or more stolen bases three years in a row.[3]
In 1985, the Cardinals metcross-state rivalsKansas City Royals for the first time in a non-exhibition setting. They won 101 regular-season games andthe league behind theMVP performance ofcenter fielder Willie McGee (he led the league inbatting (.353),triples (18) andhits (216)),[62] and Tudor's 21 wins and 10 shutouts.[71]Rookie of the Year left fielder Vince Coleman dramatically increased the speed of an already larcenous team, pilfering a major-league leading110 bases on the way to anew team record of 314.[58][64][86] After defeating theLos Angeles Dodgers in the1985 NLCS, the Cardinals reached the World Series to face the Royals.[87] The series was nicknamed the "I-70 Series" afterthe highway that connects the two in-state rivals.[3]
The Royals won in seven games, but the infamousblown call by umpireDon Denkinger in Game 6 proved pivotal. In the 9th inning, the Cardinals, who had a 3 games to 2 advantage over the Royals, were leading 1–0 and three outs away from winning the Series when Denkinger's call on a play at first base sparked a Kansas City rally.[88] The Royals wonthe game by a score of 2–1, and went on to defeat the Cardinals in the seventh and deciding game.[89][90] Incidentally, after the Cardinals traded outfielder Lonnie Smith to the Royals on May 17, he stung them for a .333 batting average in the Series.[61]
In1987, Herzog made McGee his number-five hitter, and he responded well to this unconventional choice, driving in 105 runs despite hitting only 11 home runs.[62] Coleman became the first player to steal 100 or more bases in each of his first three seasons in the major leagues.[3] The Cardinals reached the1987 World Series, losing to theMinnesota Twins in seven games.[91] Decimated by injuries to key players such as Clark and Pendleton, St. Louis found it difficult to keep up with the high-powered Twins offense.[3] This series was the first World Series in which the home team won every game—it happened againfour years later when theTwins defeated theAtlanta Braves.[92] It was also the only World Series where one pitcher started Games One and Seven, but none of the others in between—that was rookieJoe Magrane.
In1989, Coleman registered yet another stolen base record by swiping 50 consecutive bases without being caught.[3]Pedro Guerrero led the team with .311 batting average and 117 RBIs and batted .400 with runners inscoring position.[93][94][95] That year, the team set a then-attendance record of 3,080,980.[3] In September, Busch died, concluding the longesttenure of ownership in team history at 37 years.[96] Thebrewery assumed control of the team, but the Cardinals' competitiveness had started to ebb and continued to do so until AB sold them in1995.[97]
Herzog continued managing the Cardinals until abruptly resigning less thanone year after Busch's death.[98] In addition to theWorld Series title and threeNL pennants, Herzog won the1985 NL Manager of the Year award andguided the Cardinals to 822 regular season wins against 728 losses for a .530 winning percentage.[76]
For the next historic period, see:1990–present.
1875–1919 |1920–1952 |1953–1989 |1990–present
