Ozzie    

"The Wizard" is considered by most to be one of the greatest shortstops to play the game.  When he first started playing "you could knock the bat out of his hands with a good fastball," but as he matured as a player he became a very potent offensive threat as well.       

"What I did, I did every day.  Anyone can make a great play every now and then on any given day.   But what I did, I did everyday."  -- Ozzie

"I may not drive in 100 runs each year, but I can prevent 100 runs from scoring against us." -- Ozzie

Click to hear Jack Buck's famous call of Ozzie's 1985 playoff HR!!!

Top three "Ozzie" defensive moments:

1.  4/20/78 vs. Atlanta, 4th inning, 2 out -- Jeff Burroughs hits a ground ball up the middle.  As Ozzie dives to his left, the ball caroms into the air.  Ozzie reaches high, grabs the ball barehanded and throws Burroughs out at first.

2.  8/4/86 vs. Pittsburgh, 9th inning, 1 out -- Von Hayes hits a shallow fly to left field.  Outfielder Curt Ford dives headfirst toward the infield while Ozzie dives head long toward the outfield and makes a basket catch in midair.

3.  8/6/86 vs. Philadelphia, 3rd inning, 1 out, 1 on --  With Ronn Reynolds running from second on the play, Gary Redus hits an infield single to deep short.  Instead of throwing to first, Ozzie throws behind Reynolds, who is tagged our after rounding third base.

The Sporting News has ranked Ozzie number 87 in their list of the top 100 greatest players of all time!!!!

Career Highlights

• NL record for fielding percentage in a year, .987   (1987 & 1991)
• NL record for least errors in one year, 8. (1991)
• NL record for games played at shortstop in a career, over 2,500. (broken in 1993)
• 2nd to Luis Aparicio for most games played at shortstop in a ML career.
• NL record for most years leading the league in fielding percentage, 7.
• ML record for most Assists in a season, 621 in 1980.
• ML record for Assists in a career, over 8300. (broken in 1993)
• ML record for Double Plays in a career, over 1560. (broken in 1995)
• NL record for 500 assists seasons with 8.
• Tied Honus Wagner with 16 consecutive 20-steal seasons.
• 13 consecutive Gold Gloves awards, from 1980 to 1992.
• Voted MVP in 1985 NLCS.
• Runner-up for NL MVP in 1987, setting career highs in batting avg. (.303), RBIs (75), Runs (104), and hits (182).
• In 1994, won the Brach Rickey Award for "service above self."
• In 1995, won the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his great work in the community.
• Selected to the NL All-Star team 15 times.
• In 1989, Sports Illustrated names Ozzie, the "Shortstop of the Decade."
• The Cardinals retired Ozzie's #1 uniform in 1996.
• Collected 110 sacrifice hits during the 1980s.  More than any other player.
• Hit his last ML HR on 9/2/1196 of Astros pitcher (and future Cardinals pitcher) Darryl Kile.

Career Stats:

Ozzie links:

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Ozzie Photo Gallery

MLB Hall of Fame

Ozzie Smith Sports Academy

        Missouri Sports Hall of Fame

        St. Louis Walk of Fame

Baseball Library

The Baseball Page

Ozzie visits the Little League WS

Baseball Reference

Baseball Almanac

Spring Training - 1993 -  Regular Season

          CNNsi -- Ozzie's Inside Baseball column            

(9/12/00) 

(8/28/00)  (8/15/00)    (8/9/00)    (8/1/00)

(7/4/00)    (7/19/00)    (7/26/00)

(6/27/00) (6/20/00)   (6/13/00)   (6/06/00)

(5/31/00)  (5/22/00)   (5/15/00)    (5/8/00)    (5/3/00)

(4/26/00)    (4/21/00)    (4/14/00)    (4/11/00)    (4/6/00)     (4/4/00)

(9/30/99)   (9/22/99)   (9/8/99)    (9/1/99)

(8/25/99)  (8/18/99)    (8/11/99)

(7/28/99)  (7/21/99)   (7/8/99)   

(6/30/99)  (6/23/99)   (6/17/99)   (6/10/99)   (6/2/99)    

          (5/5/99)

        (4/28/99)  (4/21/99)  (4/15/99)  (4/8/99)

Thanks for the memories Ozzie!!!

Sources:

   -  Cardinals GameDay Magazine/September 1996

(This site is in no way affiliated or sponsored by the St. Louis Cardinals or Major League Baseball and is intended to be used for non-commercial, personal enjoyment.  Although I attempt to be as correct/accurate as possible when giving information in these documents, I make no guarantees as to their accuracy.  Questions/comments may be sent to the address below. Mark Mobley (1999-2008) all rights reserved.  All photos and/or images may be copyrighted by their original owners.)

Lou | Bob | Mark | Willie

1982 | 1985 | 1987 | 1996 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006

Home | Dolores' Family Tree |  Gleanings from the Kinmundy Express | Mark's Family Tree | Dolores' Favorite Links | Mark's Favorite Links | Other Useful Links | Other Genealogy Sites | Cardinal Tribute Site | Chain Letters and Hoaxes | Weather

(To cancel background music, click your stop button after page fully loads!)

Updated: 01/20/08                                Comments? Cardsfan@ford-mobley.com