» April 23, 1902: St. Louis Cardinals owner Frank DeHaas Robison offers to put up $10,000 that the Pirates will not repeat as NL champions. Pittsburgh players accept the challenge with a matching pool, and go on to win the pennant by 27 1/2 games.
» December 12, 1903: During the post-season City Series in Chicago, the Cubs veteran Jack Taylor is chided for losing three games to the White Stockings and Cubs president John Hart is convinced that gambling was involved. Taylor is traded to the St. Louis Cardinals with rookie C Larry McLean for pitcher Mike O'Neill and a righthander who was 9–13 in his first season, Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown.
» April 28, 1906: It's the only time two managers steal home on the same day. Cubs pilot Frank Chance steals in the 9th to give Chicago a 1-0 win over the Reds, and Fred Clarke matches it in the Pirates' 10-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
» July 1, 1906: Righthander Jack Taylor, 8-9 with the St. Louis Cardinals, returns to the Cubs in exchange for 2nd-string C Pete Noonan, rookie P Fred Beebe, and cash. New Chicago owner Murphy is not as apoplectic on the subject of Taylor as his predecessor Hart, and the acquisition denies the Giants of Taylor's services. Taylor will help the Cubs by going 12-3 the rest of the year.
» April 9, 1907: The St. Louis Cardinals whip the St. Louis Browns 9-1 to take the City series four games to 3. The two teams will reprise the rivalry in the fall, and the Cards will also take that one, 5-2.
» August 11, 1907: In the 2nd game of a doubleheader, shortened to seven innings by prior agreement, St. Louis Cardinals' Ed Karger pitches a perfect game 4-0 against the Boston Doves.
» August 4, 1908:
At Brooklyn, the Superbas and St. Louis Cardinals play an entire game with one ball. Brooklyn wins 3-0.
» May 9, 1909: The St. Louis Cardinals take out a $50,000 life insurance policy on manager Roger Bresnahan for reasons having to do more with publicity than concerns about his health.
» May 30, 1910: In an A.M.–P.M. doubleheader with the St. Louis Cardinals at the West Side Grounds, Chicago takes the morning contest, 6–1, behind Mordecai Brown. It's Chicago's 11th straight win, but St. Louis stops them in the afternoon, 3–1.
» May 13, 1911: At Hilltop Park, Fred Merkle has six RBIs in one inning—on a double and a Fred Merkle inside-the-park home run—as the Giants tee off on three St. Louis pitchers for 13 runs in the first inning, including seven before an out is recorded. Merkle adds a 3-run double in the inning and then scores the last run on the front end of a successful double steal. The spree ties a first inning major-league record enjoyed by the Boston Beaneaters against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1900, and it remains a Giants club record through the 20th century. John McGraw decides to save starter Christy Mathewson for another day and lifts him after one inning, but the official scorer credits Matty with the win. McGraw wants to give Marquard some experience in pitching without pressure and brings in Rube to finish. He works the last eight innings and strikes out 14, setting a 20th century National League record, and a since broken ML record, for strikeouts by a reliever: Walter Johnson will K 15 batters in 1913 and Randy Johnson will match it in 2001, while Denny McLain will rack up 14 in 1965. The Giants roll, 19–5, pinning the loss on Harry Sallee.
» July 11, 1911: The Federal Express of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, carrying the St. Louis Cardinals to Boston, plunges down an 18-foot embankment outside Bridgeport, CT, killing 14 passengers. The team's Pullmans were originally just behind the baggage coaches near the front. When noise prevented the players from sleeping, manager Bresnahan requested the car be changed. The day coach that replaced the players' car was crushed and splintered. The players help remove bodies and rescue the injured, then board a special train to Boston, where the day's game is postponed. The railroad pays each player $25 for his rescue work and for lost belongings.
» December 13, 1911: At the National League meetings at the Waldorf-Astoria, The Sporting Life reports that "For the first time in history a woman sat in at a major league meeting. Mrs. H.H. Britton, owner of the St. Louis Cardinals, remained throughout the entire session of the National League on the second day. Mrs. Britton took no voice in the meeting. She allowed President Steininger to do all the voting."
» November 4, 1912: Miller Huggins is named manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, beginning his 17-year career as a skipper.
» April 19, 1915: St. Louis Cardinals righthander Lee Meadows makes his NL debut and becomes the first player to wear glasses regularly on the field since P Will White in 1886. Later in the season, Carmen Hill will become the 2nd pitcher to do so.
» August 8, 1922: The Giants Shufflin’ Phil Douglas is suspended and fined $100 by John McGraw. (Douglas, an alcoholic, and McGraw did not enjoy the best of relationships after McGraw forced Douglas to undergo a terrible treatment for alcoholism.) Douglas writes a letter to St. Louis Cardinals OF Les Mann, his former roommate at Chicago, offering to disappear if they make it worth his while, lest he help McGraw win the pennant. Mann turns the letter over to Branch Rickey, who relays it to Commissioner Landis. In Pittsburgh on the 16th, Douglas admits he wrote the letter, and Landis bars him from baseball for life. Sadly, when Douglas sobered up he asked Mann to destroy the letter, but Mann had already passed it on. Douglas was 11-4 at the time, with the lowest ERA on the club (2.63).
» November 18, 1924: Oakland Oaks (PCL) owner Cal Ewing announces that he has sold the team to Washington Senator star Walter Johnson, represented by George Weiss, who deposited a check for $5,000 towards the purchase. Last month, Ewing announced that the sale price was an enthusiastic $450,000 (the St. Louis Cardinals recent sale was for $275,000). Nothing will come of all the talk, and Johnson will return to the Washington team.
» November 7, 1927: Bill McKechnie, who had been a coach, replaces Bob O'Farrell as St. Louis Cardinals manager, and Burt Shotton moves up from Syracuse (IL) to manage the Phils.
» October 4, 1930:
Bill Hallahan blanks the A's 5-0, giving up
5 walks and 7 hits. Philadelphia A's hurler Jack Quinn,
at age 46, pitches 2 innings of relief against the
St. Louis Cardinals, thereby becoming the oldest player
to appear in a WS game.
» September 16, 1931: World Series tickets can now be printed as the St. Louis Cardinals repeat as NL champions. They beat the Phillies 6–3 behind Bill Hallahan's 18th win of the year, and prepare for a rematch of the 1930 World Series. Earlier in the day, The Reds clinched it for the Birds by sweeping the Giants, 7–3 and 4–3.
» July 24, 1933:
Frank Frisch is appointed manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, replacing Gabby Street.
» October 31, 1933:
The St. Louis Cardinals release spitballer Burleigh
Grimes.
» February 3, 1934: The St. Louis Cardinals and Browns discontinue broadcasts from Sportsman's Park. Games had been aired since 1926 but on weekdays for only the last two years. The cutback is a response to declining attendance, and the radio broadcasts are thought to keep fans at home.
» March 20, 1934: All-around female athlete Babe Didrickson pitches the first inning for the Philadelphia Athletics in a spring training exhibition game against the Brooklyn Dodgers. She gives up one walk but no hits. Two days later she pitches again, this time one inning for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Red Sox. She is less successful this time, giving up four hits and three runs in the first inning. Bill Hallahan relieves her. Didrickson does not have an at bat in either game. She will also play several games for the House of David this season. Didrickson is the 2nd of only two females to play exhibitions with a ML team (1B Lizzie Murphy played for an AL all-star team on August 14, 1922).
» March 5, 1936: The St. Louis Cardinals, without the Dean brothers, who are once again holdouts, visit Cuba and are beaten by the Cuban all-stars. Luis Tiant Sr. , whose son will win 229 ML games, is the starting pitcher for the Cubans.
» November 9, 1937: St. Louis Cardinals Triple Crown winner Joe Medwick is named National League MVP by the BBWAA.
» November 6, 1938:
The St. Louis Cardinals hire Ray Blades to manage the team in 1939. Blades, manager of Rochester this past season, will be replaced by Billy Southworth.
» April 23, 1940:
A flood at Crosley Field washes out a game
against the St. Louis Cardinals, the first time
a flood has caused the postponement of an NL
game. The teams will later decide to replay the game
on May 13th when both teams will be heading east from
St. Louis, but they neglect to inform the NL office.
» May 13, 1940: In a replay of their washed-out game of April 23rd called on account of darkness, the Reds and the Cards neglect to inform the league office, and no umpires are assigned to Crosley Field. Coach Jimmy Wilson and P Lon Warneke are pressed into service as umpires before umpire Larry Goetz, at home in Cincinnati on a day off, arrives to officiate. Warneke will later become a full-time umpire, while Wilson will return to active duty at the end of the year and star in the World Series. Johnny Mize of the St. Louis Cardinals hits three home runs, and the Reds Bill Werber has five hits and collects four doubles in a 14-inning, 8–8 tie with the Reds. Mize's is his 3rd 3-homer game, breaking the tie for the National League record he shared with George Kelly. After 1910, there will be only five games this century in which active players umpire: Besides today these are: 1912: Ham Hyatt (Pit-N) and Ed Phelps (Bro-N); 1935: Jocko Conlan (Chi-A); 1941: Johnny Cooney (Bos-N) and Freddie Fitzsimmons (Bro-N); and 1978: Don Leppert (coach, Tor-A) and Jerry Zimmerman (coach, Min-A). (as noted by historian Wayne McElreavy)
» September 8, 1940:
In the opener of a doubleheader, Johnny Mize of
the St. Louis Cardinals rips 3 consecutive HRs, his
second 3-homer game of the season. For "Big John,"
it is number 38 through 40 HR of the year. Pittsburgh
still sweeps the 2 games.
» April 26, 1941:
The Chicago Cubs are the first team to install
an organ. With Roy Nelson at the keyboard, the Cubs
hit sour notes, losing 6-2 to the St. Louis Cardinals.
» May 3, 1941: Hank Gornicki of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches a one-hitter in his big-league debut, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 6–0. Stan Benjamin's single is the lone hit. It is the Cards' 8th straight win.
» June 4, 1943:
Mort Cooper of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches back-to-back one-hitters, beating the Brooklyn Dodgers on May 31 and the Philadelphia Phillies on June 4. Hits by Billy Herman on May 31 and by Jimmy Wasdell of the Phils deprive him of no-hitters. Cooper has six wins and three shutouts on the way to his second 20-win year.
» June 10, 1944:
P Joe Nuxhall of the Cincinnati Reds is the youngest player in major-league history. Nuxhall, only 15 years, 10 months old, pitches 2/3 of an inning in an 18-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. He manages to give up five walks and two hits before Bill McKechnie takes him out.
» May 6, 1946: Pinch runner Joffre Cross steals home in the 10th inning, giving the first-place St. Louis Cardinals a 9–8 victory over the Boston Braves.
» August 11, 1946:
Stan Musial gets eight hits in nine at bats, as the St. Louis Cardinals sweep the Cincinnati Reds 15-4, 7-3.
» October 3, 1946: The St. Louis Cardinals wallop the Brooklyn Dodgers 8–4 at Ebbets Field to win the National League playoffs 2-0 and advance to the World Series. Erv Dusak and Enos Slaughter lead the attack, while winning pitcher Murry Dickson adds a triple. Dickson allows just two hits till the last inning, before the Dodgers score three runs off him. Harry Brecheen strikes out two batters with the bases full to end it. Joe Hatten is the loser.
» October 9, 1946: Boo Ferriss records the 50th shutout in World Series history. He holds the opposition to only six hits, as the Boston Red Sox blank the St. Louis Cardinals 4–0. Rudy York's 3-run home run in the first is the big blow.
» June 6, 1948:
Erv Dusak, Red Schoendienst, Enos Slaughter, and Nippy Jones homer in the sixth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Phillies 11-1.
» June 3, 1950: In direct challenge to a new league rule, the St. Louis Cardinals book a Sunday night game with Brooklyn, the first in ML history.
» October 16, 1950:
Manager Eddie Dyer is out after five seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals. He will return to off-season oil and real estate businesses in Houston.
» November 25, 1952: The St. Louis Cardinals seek payment from the New York Giants for two televised games in an effort to determine the TV and radio rights of visiting teams for revenue.
» September 18, 1953:
The St. Louis Cardinals appeal the U.S. claim for
$215,025 in back taxes from 1947-49.
» September 22, 1953:
The Dodgers tie the record for the most wins in a
home park, beating Pittsburgh 5-4. They go an
incredible 60-17 at Ebbets Field, tying the record
of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1942. Only the 61 wins
of the San Francisco Giants in an 81-game home season
will surpass the mark.
» April 13, 1954:
Hitting against the Cubs Paul Minner, Cardinal rookie Wally Moon homers in his first ML AB. But Minner homers to back his own pitching, as the Cubs win 13–4. Tom Alston becomes the first black to play for the St. Louis Cardinals.
» August 7, 1963:
In the Mets 7–3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Jim Hickman hits for the cycle, doing it in order. Both are firsts for the New York Mets.
» May 17, 1994: Six St. Louis Cardinals pitchers combine to shut out the Pirates on two hits, 2-0. It is only the 3rd time in National League history, and the 2nd time in three days, that six hurlers have combined to blank another team. Tom Urbani gets the win, allowing one hit in seven 1/3 innings.
» July 18, 1994: The Houston Astros spot the visiting St. Louis Cardinals an 11-run lead after three innings, but rally to win 15–12. The Astros score 11 runs in the 6th on the way to matching the largest comeback in National League history.
» July 31, 1997:
Baseball's premier power hitter, Mark McGwire, leaves the A's for the St. Louis Cardinals, who send three pitchers to Oakland. McGwire's five-year $28 million contract runs out at the end of this year and Oakland fears they will not be able to sign him. The A's receive minor leaguers Eric Ludwick and Blake Stein, along with T.J. Mathews (4–4).
» September 14, 1997:
Mark McGwire notches his 51st homer, and St. Louis Cardinals score seven runs in the eighth to win, 10–4. McGwire, the first player with consecutive 50-homer seasons since Babe Ruth in 1927-28, connects off Joey Hamilton (11-6) in the sixth. He has 17 homers in 37 games since St. Louis acquired him from Oakland on July 31 and has 14 games remaining to chase Roger Maris' season record of 61.
» February 18, 1998: Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray dies four days after collapsing at a Valentine's Day supper. Caray, age 84, was known, among other things, for leading the fans in a rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th–inning stretch at Wrigley Field. He previously broadcast the games of the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox in a career that spanned half a century.
» May 5, 1999: The Rockies defeat the Cubs, 13-6, and become the 1st team in 35 years—and only the 3rd this century—to score in all nine innings. The last team to do so was the St. Louis Cardinals, on September 13, 1964, against the Cubs.
» February 3, 2000: The St. Louis Cardinals take out insurance by signing veterans Shawon Dunston, OF Brian McRae, 1B Eduardo Perez, and C Rick Wilkins.
» May 8, 2000:
Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hits his 12th home run of the season, against the San Francisco Giants. The homer tied "Big Mac" with Jimmie Foxx for ninth place on the all-time list with 534 career homers. McGwire needs just two taters to catch number eight on the list, Mickey Mantle, at 536.
» May 20, 2000:
Catcher Keith Osik of the Pittsburgh Pirates is pressed into service on as a relief pitcher in the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals. Manager Gene Lamont has Osik finish the game and save the bullpen with the Pirates down, 14-3. Osik made a relief appearance last year giving up four runs in one inning of work, and today is not any better as he allows five runs on five hits, hits two batters, has a wild pitch and a home run in one inning.
» June 22, 2002:
St. Louis Cardinals P Darryl Kile is found dead in his hotel room prior to Saturday's scheduled game against the Cubs. His room is locked from the inside and he is believed to have died in his sleep. The game between the Cubs and Cardinals is postponed.
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