Albert
Pujols reached 1,000 career hits and 200 career home runs in fewer games than
any player in Major League history (806 games).... the record had been held by
Willie Mays, who notched 1,000 career hits and 200 home runs in 825 games.
Albert
Pujols holds the Cardinals record for the most HRs (37 in 2001) by a rookie.
"I
believe he's been reincarnated. That he played before, in the twenties
and thirties, and he's back to prove something" - Mark McGwire, speaking
about Albert Pujols.
"The way to catch a
knuckleball is to wait until it stops rolling and then pick it up." -- Bob Uecker
"Baseball has been very good
to me since I quit trying to play it." -- Whitey Herzog
"Tradition here in St. Louis
is Stan Musial coming in the clubhouse and making the rounds. Tradition in San Diego
is Nate Colbert coming into the clubhouse and trying to sell you a used car." -- Bob
Shirley
"He has an upper body like
Charles Atlas and a lower body like Lana Turner." -- Whitey Herzog talking about
Pedro Guerrero
"You can't worry if it's
cold. You can't worry if it's hot. You can only worry if you get sick, because
if you don't get well, you die." -- Joaquin Andujar
"There is one
word in America that says it all, and that one word is 'You never know.'"
-- Joaquin Andujar
"It has options through the
year 2020 -- or until the last Rocky movie is made." Reliever Dan Quisenberry,
describing his 1990 contract with the Cardinals
"Stan Musial could have hit
.300 with a fountain pen." -- Joe Garagiola
"How
good was Stan Musial? He was good enough to take your breath away." --
Vin Scully
Stan Musial leads the
Cardinals with 12 walk-off home runs.
Stan Musial led the NL in;
batting average 7 times, slugging 6 times, hits 6 times, doubles 8 times, triples 5 times,
runs 5 times, RBIs 2 times.
Stan
Musial played in the All-Star game 24 times in his career, tied for the most
ever with Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.
Stan
Musial's 3,630 career base hits.... 1815 came at home, 1815 were on the
road...
Stan
Musial (3,026) and Lou Brock (2,289) are the only two players to have played
in 2,000 or more games with the Cardinals.
Stan
Musial was the first National League player to win three Baseball Writers MVP
awards.
Stan
Musial was the first Cardinal to have his uniform number retired. (#6 in
1963)
Stan
Musial was given the Lone Sailor Award by the US Navy Memorial in 2007.
Stan
Musial played himself in a 1970 episode of "That Girl." (Season 5,
Episode 7)
Bruce Sutter was the second
pitcher to reach the 300-save mark and his 300 ranks him 11th all time; his lifetime 2.83
ERA is actually among the lowest for relievers with 300 or more saves.
Bruce
Sutter and Tommy Herr are both from Lancaster, PA.
Bruce
Sutter was the winning pitcher in the 1978 & 1979 MLB All-Star game.
Bruce
Sutter was the first Cardinals player to wing the Rolaids Relief Man Award.
Al Hrabosky was cut from his
Little League team three years in a row and two consecutive years from his junior high
school team.
"One paragraph on
obstruction and I'm asleep." -- Whitey Herzog
The
Cardinals hold the ML record for the most consecutive errorless games, going
16 straight contests, from July 30th to August 16th, 1992.
Keith Hernandez was the
42nd-round pick in 1971, the 783rd player selected in the draft. The team's
first-round choice that year also was a first baseman, Ed Kurpiel.
For most players, one game in
which they get five hits is the highlight of their careers. In the 1948 season
alone, Stan Musial did it four times.
"The difference between
playing at home and on the road is that on the road, you can't go down to the kitchen to
get a cup of coffee in the morning in your underwear." -- Andy VanSlyke
In 1985, Tommy Herr drove in 110
runs with just eight homers. He's one of three players in the post-WW2 era to
collect 100 RBIs on less than ten home runs.
On August 1st, 1985, Vince
Coleman steals two bases, running his season total to 74 and breaking the rookie record of
72 set by Juan Samuel in 1984. St. Louis loses to the Cubs, 9-8.
On August 9th, 1972, Ted Simmons
finally gets around to signing his contract, though he's been playing all season.
It's believed that Simmons is the only big leaguer ever to play without a contract.
Ted Simmons has more career hits
(2,472) and doubles (483) than any other catcher in big league history.
Ted
Simmons led the team in RBIs for seven consecutive seasons. (1972-78)
When former Cardinals
pitcher John Denny posted a NL-best 2.52 ERA mark in 1976, he tied for the
youngest ever to win an ERA crown. He was 23.
On May 22nd, 1970, Steve Carlton
fans 16 Phillies, but the Cardinals still lose, 4-3.
Vic Davalillo set a
National League record (since surpassed) with 24 pitch-hits in 1970.
Davalillo's manager was Red Schoendienst, holder of the old NL record of 22.
On September 13th, 1964, during a
15-2 blowout at Wrigley Field, the Cards become the first team to score in every inning in
more than 40 years. It had last been done on June 1st, 1923, by the Giants.
Specs Toporcer, a shortstop for
the Cards, was the first non-pitcher to wear glasses. On June 12th 1922, Specs hit
his first big league homer, but was called out when he passed a base runner.
On September 29th, 1952, Stan
"The Man" Musial makes his only pitching appearance. He has his 6th
batting title wrapped up (he will finish at .336) and asks to pitch to the runner-up, Cubs
outfielder Frankie Baumholtz. Baumholtz reaches base on an error, and Harvey Haddix
relieves Musial.
On September 7th, 1993, Cards
outfielder Mark Whitten goes 4-for-5, with four home runs and 12 RBIs. The home run
performance puts him in company with 11 other players, including Lou Gehrig, Willie Mays,
and Mike Schmidt. The RBI tally has been equaled by only one other player in
baseball history. Jim Bottomley, also a Cardinal, did it in 1924.
After the Yankees, which have 22
World Series titles, the winningest teams are the As and the Cardinals, with nine apiece.
Five teams in baseball history
have managed 300 stolen bases in a season. The only ones in the past 80 years:
The 1976 As with 341 and the 1985 Cards with 314.
Stan "The Man" hit 475
career home runs, but never once won a home run title. He also led NL
outfielders in fielding percentage three times: once each in the 40s, 50s, and
60s.
For a season of complete hitting
dominance, it's hard to top Stan "The Man" Musial's 1948 campaign. Stan
led his league in average (.376), slugging (.702), on-base percentage (.450), hits (230),
doubles (46), triples (18), runs (135), and RBIs (131). The only thing he didn't
lead in was homers, as his 39 were one short of the 40 that led the league. Not
surprisingly, Musial won that year's MVP award going away.
In 1963, his 22nd and
final season, Stan Musial passed a few milestones. Early in the season,
he collected his 1357th extra-base hit, passing Babe Ruth for the all-time
lead (to that point). In July, he played in his 24th All-Star
Game. And on September 12th, he hit a home run in this first at-bat as a
grandfather. He finished the year hitting .255 with 12 homers and 58RBIs
in 337 at-bats.
An aggressive slide in Game 7 of
the World Series by Joe Medwick results in a set-to with third baseman Marv Owen.
When Medwick returns to his outfield post, angry Tigers fans pelt him with fruit.
Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis makes Medwick leave the game "for his own
safety." The Cards go on to an 11-0 win to clinch the Series.
In 1924, Rogers Hornsby goes
2-for-5 on opening day against the Cubs. He will remarkably end up improving on the
.400 clip during the rest of the season and will wind up the year hitting .424.
In a two month stretch between June 28 and August 28, he went an astonishing
149-for-302 (.489) at the plate.
In each of his first 10 full
Major League seasons (1916-1925), Rogers Hornsby led the Cardinals in batting, slugging,
and on-base percentage. He repeated the feat with the 1927 Giants, 1928 Braves, and
1929 Cubs.
In 1906, Jack Taylor threw the
last of his 187 consecutive complete games. He had not required bullpen help since
June 13th, 1901.
Harvey
Haddix was the only Cardinals pitcher to have a 20 win season in the 1950s.
George
Hendrick hit the most HRs for the Cardinals in the 1980s.
"We could finish first or in
an asylum." - Frank Frisch, manager of the wild and talented "Gas House
Gang" Cardinals, on the team's prospects for 1936
"Hoo-ee! I been
to two county fairs and a goat roast, and I ain't never seen nothin' like
this." -- World Series MVP Darrell Porter, amid the celebration in 1982.
Boastful bumpkin Dizzy
Dean hurls a three-hit shutout (9/21/1934) against the Dodgers in the first
game of a doubleheader. Brother Paul Dean, a rookie, then completes the
sweep with a no-hitter. "If'n Paul had told me he was gonna pitch a
no-hitter," Dizzy says, "I'd of throwed one too."
"The
good Lord was good to me. He gave me a strong body, a good right arm and
a weak mind." - Dizzy Dean
On May 14th, 1988, after using up
seven pitchers, the Cards bring in utility man Jose Oquendo to pitch the sixteenth inning
of a tie game with Atlanta. Oquendo manages to shut out the Braves for three innings
before giving up two runs in the nineteenth and suffering the loss. It's the first
decision by a non-pitcher in the major leagues in twenty years.
On July 26th, 1900, Gus Weyhing
is released by the Cards. He claims to have been cheated out of ten days pay and
persuades a sheriff to seize the St. Louis share of gate revenues for a game at
Brooklyn. The money winds up being less than the $100 Weyhing claims he's entitled
to.
Under
Branch Rickey's direction, the Cardinals were one of the first teams to
experiment with uniform numbers, adopting them briefly and then abandoning
them in the mid-1920s.
On July 12th, 1931,
45,715 fans are admitted to Sportsman's Park (seating capacity: 34,000) for a
Cards-Cubs doubleheader. The extra bodies are corralled in the outfield,
with any hits into the throng counting as ground-rule doubles.
Thirty-two doubles are hit in the twin bill, 23 of them in game two, won by
the Cards, 17-13.
Curt
Flood won seven Gold Glove Awards in his last seven years with the team.
(first was in 1963)
Curt
Flood was the only Cardinals player to lead the league in hits in the 1960s.
Robinson Field, the park where the Cardinals played from 1893-1920, featured a
wooden roller coaster encircling the outfield.
Geronimo Pena was the last Cardinals player to hit home runs from both sides
of the plate in a single game. (4/17/1994)
Tom
Pagnozzi was the first Cardinal catcher to win a Gold Glove. (1991)
Marty
Marion is the only Cardinal shortstop to win a NL MVP (1944).
Larry
Walker is the only (modern era) Canadian-born player ever to win a ML batting title.
Lee
Smith is the all-time franchise leader in saves for both the Cardinals (160)
and the Cubs (180).
Bob
Tewksbury had almost as many wins (17) as walks given up (20) in 1993.
Scott
Rolen was once named Indiana's "Mr. Baseball."
During
his 15 years in St. Louis, Ozzie Smith led all NL shortstops in assists five
times, double plays four times, and fielding percentage seven times.
Hall of
Famers, Bob Gibson and Stan Musial spent their entire careers with the
Cardinals.
From
1957, the first year for the Gold Gloves, to 2003, the Cardinals have claimed
64 awards, more than any other franchise!
In
2003, Albert Pujols held the second best slugging percentage (.6667) ever for
a 23 year old. Willie Mays holds the best. (.6673)
Garry
Templeton became the first player in history to lead the league in triple
three years in a row. (1977-79)
Garry
Templeton became the first player in history to have 100 hits from both sides
of the plate in the same year. (1979)
The
Cardinals retired uniform number 85 in honor of longtime owner August Busch.
The number corresponds with Busch's age when the franchise bestowed the honor
on him in 1984.
John
Tudor holds the franchise record for career winning percentage. (62-26
over 5 seasons)
In 1964
the Cards were 5 games out of 1st place on September 23rd. Then they
reeled off 8 straight wins, including 3 against the Phillies, to claim the NL
pennant by one game over the Phillies and the Reds.
All
three Cruz brother, Jose, Hector, and Tommy, played for the Cardinals together
in 1973.
The
"birds on the bat" logo was first worn on the Cardinals jersey in 1922.
The
starting infield for the NL in the 1963 All-Star Game was an all-Cardinals
affair... Bill White (1B), Julian Javier (2B), Dick Groat (SS), Ken
Boyer (3B)
Butch
Yatkeman served as Cardinals equipment manager for 50 years, 1932-1982
Paul
Molitor originally signed with the Cardinals in 1974, but never played for the
Cards.
Pitcher
Bob Tewksbury won the most games (66) for the Cards in the 1990s.
Pitcher
Donovan Osborne struck out the most batters (535) for the Cards in the 1990s.
Stan
"The Man" Musial holds the club record for the most grand slams. (9)
Willie
McGee has the most hits (1,194) for the Cards in the 1980s.
The
Cards play their first night game on July 31st, defeating the Reds 4-3 in ten
innings. (This was also the first-ever extra-inning night game.)
Tim
McCarver was the first catcher ever to lead the National League in triples, 13
in 1966.
Cardinals 3rd baseman, Ken Boyer, had an uncredited guest appearance in the
1960s movie The Odd Couple.
As of
2009, the Cardinals were the last team to steal at least 300 bases in a
season. (1985)
At
the 1963 MLB All-Star game in Cleveland, the NL starting infield was all
Cardinals; Bill White (1B), Julian Javier (2B), Ken Boyer (3B), and Dick
Groat (SS). The NL won the game, 5-3.
Jack
Clark hit more HRs off of Don Robinson than any other pitcher.
John
Tudor struck out Daryl Strawberry more times (18) than any other hitter.
The St. Louis Cardinals
Encyclopedia, Bob Broeg & Jerry Vickery, Masters Press, 1998, (ISBN:
1-57028-171-8)
Celebrating 70: Mark McGwire's
Historic Season, Bernie Miklasz, Ron Smith, Mike Eisenbath, Dave Kindred, The
Sporting News Publishing, 1998, (ISBN: 0-89204-622-8)
Redbirds - A Century of Cardinals'
Baseball, Bob Broeg, Walsworth Publishing, 1992, (ISBN: 1-56166-075-2)
If I were a St. Louis Cardinal,
Joe D'Andrea, Picture Me Books, Inc, 1994, (ISBN: 1-878338-65-X)
Jack Buck - That's a Winner,
Jack Buck with Rob Rains & Bob Broeg, Sangamore Publishing, 1997, (ISBN:
1-57167-110-0)
This Date in Cardinal History,
John Leptich & Dave Baranowski, Stein and Day Publishers, 1983, (ISBN: 0-81286-133-7)
Baseball - An Illustrated History,
Geoffrey C. Ward & Ken Burns, Knoff Publishing, 1994, (ISBN: 0-67940459-7)
The St. Louis Cardinals,
Rob Rains, St. Martins Press, 1992, (ISBN: 0-312-07089-6)
Snap me Perfect - The Darrell
Porter Story, Darrell Porter with William Deerfield, Thomas Nelson Publisher,
1984, (ISBN: 0-8407-5367-5)
Wizard,
Ozzie
Smith with Rob Rains, Contemporary Books, 1988, (ISBN: 0-8092-4594-9)
October 1964, David
Halberstam, Villard Book Publishing, 1994, (ISBN: 0-67941560-2)
St. Louis Cardinals Baseball Trivia,
Morris Jenkins, 1989
White Rat - A Life in Baseball,
Whitey Herzog & Kevin Horrigan, Harper & Row, 1987, (ISBN: 0-06080710-8)
Red - A Baseball Life,
Red Schoendienst with Rob Rains, Sports Publishing Inc, 1998, (ISBN: 1-57167-200-1)
Where's Harry, Steve
Stone with Barry Rozner, Taylor Publishing, 1999, (ISBN: 0-87833-233-2)
The Mac Attack: The Road to 62 and
Beyond, Trade Life Book, 1998, (ISBN: 1-57757-062-6)
Mark McGwire, David
Fisher, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 1999, (ISBN: 0-8362-1462-5)
Mark McGwire - Mac Attack,
Rob Rains, Sports Publishing Inc, 1998 (ISBN: 1-58261-004-5)
Home Run Heroes, Simon
& Schuster, 1998, (ISBN: 0-684-86357-X)
The Cardinals Fan's Little Book of
Wisdom, Rob Rains, Diamond Communications, 1994, (ISBN: 0-912083-77-8)
Musial - From Stash to Stan
the Man, James N. Giglio, University of Missouri Press, 2001, (ISBN:
0-8262-1336-7)
Baseball from A-Z,
A children's book by the Cardinals wives. 2003
"Bullet Bob"
Comes to Louisville, John Morris, Diamond Communications, 1999, (ISBN:
1-888698-20-9)
A View from Second
Base, Tom Herr, Double Day Press, 1998, (ISBN: 09663875-0-3
Fleeter Than
Brids, Doug Feldmann, McFarland Publishers, (ISBN: 0-7864-1165-1)
The Long Season,
Jim Brosnan, Dell Publishers, 1960
Where Have You
Gone?, Rob Rains,
Sports Publishing Inc, 2005, (ISBN: 1-58261-155-6)
A Painted
House, John Grishham, Bantam Dell, 2001, (ISBN: 0-440-23722-X)
3 Nights in
August, Buzz Bissinger, First Mariner Books, 2005, (ISBN:
0-618-71053-1)
Cardinals
Journal, John Snyder, Emmis Books, 2006, (ISBN: 1-57860-254-8)
We Shocked the
World, St. Louis Post Dispatch, 2006, (ISBN: 0-9661397-7-1)