In 1953 Busch convinced the board of directors of the St. Louis-based brewery Anheuser-
Busch to purchase the hometown Cardinals and renovate Sportsman's Park. Busch became
president and chief executive officer of the team and rose to become one of the National
League's most powerful owners. In the 1970s, when developers ran out of funds while
building the new downtown stadium, he raised the final $3 million and the park was
named Busch Stadium.
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Referred to at his death as "the last of the old-time beer
barons," Busch began working for his father, August Anheuser Busch, Sr., at the brewery
started by his grandfather, Adolphus A. Busch, and Eberhard Anheuser. Control of
the company passed to Gussie and his brother, Adolphus III, in 1934, and solely to
Gussie on his brother's death in 1946. Busch built the ailing company into the largest
brewery in the world by the time he retired from an active role in 1975. The brewery's
ownership of the Cardinals led the team organist to use the Budweiser theme, and
before each home game a team of Clydesdales, the symbol of Budweiser Beer, paraded
around the playing field.
(SFS)