User:Timpcrk87/sandbox/Cardinals

Actual article here: St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals
2024 St. Louis Cardinals season
Established in 1882
Major league affiliations
National League (1892–present) Central Division (1994–present)
Retired numbers	1, 2, 6, 9, 14, 17, 20, 42, 42, 45, 85
Name
St. Louis Cardinals (1900–present) St. Louis Perfectos (1899) St. Louis Brown Stockings/Browns (1882-1898)
Other nicknames
The Cards, The Redbirds, The Birds
Ballpark
Busch Stadium (III) (2006–present) Busch Stadium (II) (1966-2005) aka Busch Memorial Stadium (1966-1982) Sportsman's Park (III) (1920-1966) aka Busch Stadium (I) (1953-1966) Robison Field (1893-1920) aka Cardinal Field (1917-1920) aka League Park (1899-1911) aka Sportsman's Park (II) (1893-1899) Sportsman's Park (I) (1882-1892)
Major league titles
World Series titles (10)	2006 · 1982 · 1967 · 1964 1946 · 1944 · 1942 · 1934 1931 · 1926
NL Pennants (17)	2006 · 2004 · 1987 · 1985 1982 · 1968 · 1967 · 1964 1946 · 1944 · 1943 · 1942 1934 · 1931 · 1930 · 1928 1926
AA Pennants (4)	1888 · 1887 · 1886 · 1885
Central Division titles (7)	2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2002 2001 · 2000 · 1996
East Division titles (3)	1987 · 1985 · 1982
Wild card berths (1)	2001
Front office
Principal owner(s)	William DeWitt, Jr. and Fred Hanser
General manager	John Mozeliak
Manager	Tony La Russa

For the National Football League team that played in St. Louis from 1960 to 1987, see Arizona Cardinals.

The St. Louis Cardinals (also referred to as "the Cards" or "the Redbirds") are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball and are the reigning World Series Champions. The Cardinals have won 10 World Series in all, the most of any National League team, and second only to the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball, who have 26.

The Cardinals were founded in the American Association in 1882 as the St. Louis Brown Stockings, taking the name from an earlier National League team. They joined the National League in 1892 and have been known as the Cardinals since 1900. The Cardinals began play in the current Busch Stadium in 2006, becoming the first team since 1923 to win the World Series in their first season in a new ballpark. The Cardinals have a strong rivalry with the Chicago Cubs that began in 1885.

History

Main articles: History of the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Cardinals seasons

1880s-1930s

The Cardinals were founded in 1882 as a member of the American Association called the St. Louis Brown Stockings, which was quickly shortened to the Browns. The club quickly achieved success, winning four AA pennants in a row, 1885-1888. Following these titles St. Louis played in an early version of the World Series, the first two times against the National League's Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs). The 1885 series ended in dispute, but St. Louis won the 1886 series outright, beginning a St. Louis-Chicago rivalry that continues today. The American Association went bankrupt in 1892 and the Browns moved to the National League, leaving much of their success behind for the next three decades. The club changed its name to the Perfectos in 1899 before adopting the Cardinals name in 1900.

Rogers Hornsby won two Triple Crowns with the Cardinals.

The Cardinals' fortunes in the National League began to improve in 1920 when Sam Breadon bought the club and made Branch Rickey general manager. Rickey immediately moved the Cardinals to Sportsman's Park to become tenants of their American League rivals, the St. Louis Browns, and sold the Cardinals' ballpark. Rickey used the money from the sale to invest in and pioneer the minor league farm system with the Cardinals, which would produce many great players and lead to new success for the Cardinals.

Led by Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby, who won the triple crown in 1922 and 1925, the Cardinals improved drastically during the 1920s. They won their first National League pennant in 1926, and then defeated the favored New York Yankees in seven games to win the World Series. The Cardinals, now led by Frankie Frisch, fell just short in 1927 before claiming another pennant in 1928. However, the Yankees avenged their 1926 loss by sweeping the Cardinals in four games in the World Series. The Cardinals, though, kept winning in the new decade, claiming back-to-back pennants in 1930 and 1931. The Cardinals matched up with the Philadelphia Athletics in both World Series, losing in 1930 but returning to win the 1931 series. In 1934 the team, nicknamed the Gashouse Gang for their shabby appearance and rough tactics, again won the pennant and then the World Series over the Detroit Tigers. Dizzy Dean won 30 games that season, the last National League pitcher to reach that mark. Joe Medwick won the triple crown in 1937, the last National League hitter achieve the feat, but the Cardinals failed to win another pennant until the end of the decade.

1940s-1970s

Outfielder Stan "The Man" Musial joined the Cardinals in 1941. Known to loyal fans as "Ol' Number 6", Musial spent 23 years in a Cardinals uniform and won three NL MVP Awards. In 1968, a statue of Musial was constructed outside Busch Stadium to honor his career. During World War II the Cardinals dominated the National League, winning three straight pennants from 1942-1944. The 1942 "St. Louis Swifties" won a franchise record 106 games and defeated the Yankees in the World Series. The team posted the second best records in team history with 105 wins in both 1943 and 1944. The Cardinals fell to the Yankees in the 1943 World Series in a rematch of the previous year. The 1944 World Series was particularly memorable as the Cardinals met their crosstown rivals, the St. Louis Browns, in the "Streetcar Series" with the Cardinals prevailing for their fifth title. In 1946 the Cardinals finished the season tied with the Brooklyn Dodgers, but claimed the pennant in a three-game playoff series. The Cardinals then won the World Series in seven games against the Boston Red Sox. In the bottom of the eighth inning in game seven with the score tied at 3-3, Enos Slaughter scored on a "Mad Dash" from first on a double to left-center to win the game and the series.

Rickey left the Cardinals to become general manager of the Dodgers in 1942, and after their 1946 win the Cardinals slid back to the middle of the National League for the next two decades. In 1953 the Anheuser-Busch brewery bought the Cardinals and August "Gussie" Busch became team president. He soon purchased Sportman's Park from St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck and renovated and renamed the ballpark Busch Stadium. 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. After the 1953 season, the Browns left St. Louis to become the Baltimore Orioles, and the Cardinals were left as the only major league team in town.

The Cardinals achieved another period of success in the 1960s with the help of a trade and a dominating pitcher. In 1964 the Cardinals traded pitcher Ernie Broglio and two other players to the rival Cubs for outfielder Lou Brock and two other players. The trade, since nicknamed Brock for Broglio, has become definitive of a trade which in retrospect is ridiculously lopsided. The Cardinals would prove to be on the good side of the trade as Brock would replace Musial, who had retired at the end of 1963, in leftfield and become a Hall of Famer. Behind Brock and pitcher Bob Gibson, who won 20 games for the first time, the Cardinals won the 1964 World Series over the Yankees. In 1966 the Cardinals moved to the new Busch Memorial Stadium and hosted the MLB All-Star Game that summer. The next year the team reached and won the 1967 World Series over the Red Sox. Gibson pitched three complete game wins, allowing only three earned runs, and was named World Series MVP for the second time (he was also MVP in 1964). In 1968, nicknamed the "Year of the Pitcher" for the domination of pitching over hitting throughout the majors, the Cardinals' Bob Gibson proved to be the most dominant pitcher of all. Gibson's earned run average of 1.12 is a live-ball era record and he won both the NL Cy Young Award and NL MVP Award. Behind Gibson's season the Cardinals reached the 1968 World Series against the Detroit Tigers. Gibson would pitch another three complete games and set the a World Series record with 35 strikeouts, including a single game record 17 in Game 1. However, a key error by Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood in Game 7 allowed the Tigers to win the series. Gibson would win a second Cy Young Award in 1970, but the Cardinals would fail to win a pennant during the next decade.

1980s-present

The Cardinals returned to their winning ways in 1981, however a rule change because of the strike-shortened season left the Cardinals out of the playoffs. Despite having the best overall record in the NL East, the Cardinals finished in second in both halves of the strike-split season. But just like in 1964, a trade would propel the Cardinals upward. Before the 1982 season began the Cardinals acquired shortstop Ozzie Smith from the San Diego Padres via a trade. With Smith, and playing a form of baseball nicknamed Whiteyball after manager Whitey Herzog, the Cardinals won the 1982 World Series over the Milwaukee Brewers. Whitey's Cardinals return to the 1985 World Series against the Kansas City Royals. The series was nicknamed the "I-70 Series" after the highway that connects the in-state rivals. The Royals won in seven games, but the series in most remembered for a blown call by umpire Don Denkinger in Game 6 that turned the tide of the series for the Royals. The Cardinals would also reach the 1987 World Series, losing to the Minnesota Twins.

Mark McGwire broke the single-season home run record while playing with St. Louis in 1998.

The Cardinals hit another period of little success in the early 1990s. That changed in 1996 when the Cardinals hired Tony LaRussa away from the Oakland Athletics. The team won the NL Central that season and defeated the Padres in the NLDS before falling to the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS. In 1998 the Cardinals were the focus of the baseball world as slugging first baseman Mark McGwire broke the single season home run record by hitting 70 home runs. McGwire's epic pursuit of the record along with the Cubs' Sammy Sosa helped to re-popularize baseball after the 1994 strike.

The start of the new millennium coincided with a new era of success for the Cardinals as the team, led primarily by Albert Pujols, won the NL Central in six of seven years. The Cardinals would fall short in the post-season in 2000, 2001, and 2002 before missing the playoffs altogether in 2003. However, in [[2004 in baseball|2004] the Cardinals won 105 games for the best record in baseball. They then defeated the Dodgers in the NLDS and the Houston Astros in an epic seven game NLCS to reach the 2004 World Series. But the Cardinals were swept by the Boston Red Sox, who won their first World Series in 85 years. The Cardinals won 100 games and another Central Division title in 2005, but lost in an NLCS rematch to the Astros. The Cardinals moved to the new Busch Stadium in 2006 and finally overcame the playoffs. The team struggled during the season, winning only 83 games. However that was enough to win a very weak Central division. In the playoffs the Cardinals caught fire and defeated the San Diego Padres in the NLDS, and then the New York Mets in another incredible seven game NLCS. In the 2006 World Series the Cardinals faced the heavily-favored Detroit Tigers, but won in five games for the franchise's tenth World Series title.

The 2000's also brought an incredible amount of tragedy to the Cardinals as several deaths struck the franchise. On June 18, 2002 long-time Cardinals radio broadcaster Jack Buck passed away at the age of 77. Just four days later, and much more shockingly, Cardinals starting pitcher Darryl Kile died the night before a game in Chicago against the Cubs. Kile was only 33 years old when he suffered heart failure in his sleep. Five years later, on April 29, 2007, Cardinals relief pitcher Josh Hancock, age 29, was killed in a car accident while driving drunk when his vehicle collided with a stopped tow truck that was aiding a disabled motorist.

Ballpark

Main article: Busch Stadium

Busch Stadium has been the Cardinals home since 2006.

The Cardinals play their home games at Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. Busch Stadium, also called Busch III, opened for the 2006 season at a cost of $346 million and can hold 46,861 people. The Cardinals finished their inaugural season in the new Busch Stadium by winning the 2006 World Series, becoming the first team since the 1923 New York Yankees to win the World Series in their first season in a new ballpark. The ballpark has numerous statues of great former Cardinal players outside, including the iconic statue of Stan Musial in front of the third base entrace.

Busch Stadium is the Cardinals fourth home ballpark and the third to be named Busch Stadium. The Cardinals' original home ballpark was Sportsman's Park from 1882-1893 when they were playing in the American Association and known as the Browns. During 1893 the Cardinals moved to a new ballpark originally called New Sportsman's Park but more commonly remembered as Robison Field which served as their home from 1893-1920. During 1920 the Cardinals returned to the original Sportsman's Park and became tenants of their crosstown rivals, the St. Louis Browns. In 1953 the Cardinals were purchased by the Anheuser-Busch Brewery and the new owner subsequently purchased Sportsman's Park from the Browns and renamed it Busch Stadium, becoming Busch I. The Browns then left St. Louis for Baltimore after the season. The Cardinals moved to Busch Memorial Stadium, or Busch II, in downtown St. Louis during the 1966 season and played there until 2005. It was built as the multi-purpose home of both the baseball Cardinals and the St. Louis football Cardinals, now the Arizona Cardinals. The current Busch Stadium was constructed immediately south of and partly on top of the site of Busch Memorial Stadium.

Logos and Uniforms

The original "birds on the bat" logo.

The Cardinals have had few logos throughout their history, although those logos have evolved over time. The first logo associated with the Cardinals was an interlocking "SL" that appeared on the team's caps and or sleeves as early as 1900. Those early uniforms usually featured the name "St. Louis" on white home and gray road uniforms which both had cardinal red accents. In 1920 the "SL" largely disappeared from the team's uniforms, and for the next 20 years the team wore caps that were white with red striping and a red bill. In 1922, the Cardinals wore uniforms for the first time that featured two cardinal birds perched on a baseball bat over the name "Cardinals" with the letter "C" of the word hooked over the bat. This logo, colloquially referred to as the "birds on the bat" originally had the birds on a black bat and Cardinal in printed letters. An alternate version of this logo with "St. Louis" replacing "Cardinals" appeared in 1930 and was the primary logo in 1931 and 1932 before "Cardinals" returned. In 1940 the now familiar "StL" logo was introduced on the team's caps. The interlocking "StL" has undergone several slight modifications over the years but has appeared on the team's caps every year since. The first appearance of the "StL" in 1940 coincided with the introduction of navy blue as a uniform color. From 1940 until 1955 the team wore navy blue caps with red bills and a red interlocking "StL" while the jerseys featured both cardinal red and navy blue accents. In 1951 the "birds on the bat" logo was changed to feature a yellow baseball bat. In 1956 the Cardinals changed their caps to entirely navy with a red "StL", removing the red bill. Also, for that one season, the Cardinals wore a script "Cardinals" wordmark on the their uniforms without the "birds on the bat". However, an undated version of the "birds on the bat" logo would return in 1957 with the word "Cardinals" now written in cursive beneath the bat.

The current "birds on the bat" logo introduced in 1998.

In 1964 the Cardinals changed their caps to be all red with a white interlocking "StL". Following the trend in baseball at the time, the Cardinals replaced their more traditional front button shirts and pants with belts with new pullover t-shirts and elastic waist pants. Yet another trend in baseball led the Cardinals to change their road uniforms from gray to light blue from 1976-1985. In 1992 the Cardinals returned to wearing more traditional button-down shirts and pants with belts. That same year they also began wearing an all navy cap with a red "StL" on the road only while wearing the same red and white cap at home games. In 1998 the "birds on the bat" was updated for the first time in 40 years with more detailed birds and a bolder letters. In 2000 the Cardinals introduced a cap featuring a single cardinal bird perched on a bat, which they wear only during home games on Sundays. Over the years the Cardinals have also used other marketing logos that never appeared on uniforms that showed anthropomorphized cardinals in a pitching stance, swinging a baseball bat, or wearing a baseball cap.

Players

Current roster

St. Louis Cardinals 2025 spring training roster
40-man roster				Non-roster invitees		Coaches/Other
Pitchers 12 Erick Fedde 64 Ryan Fernandez 67 Gordon Graceffo 54 Sonny Gray 56 Ryan Helsley -- Tink Hence 47 John King 62 Kyle Leahy 52 Matthew Liberatore 68 Ryan Loutos 32 Steven Matz 36 Michael McGreevy 39 Miles Mikolas -- Roddery Muñoz 55 Riley O'Brien 53 Andre Pallante 61 Sem Robberse -- Tekoah Roby 59 JoJo Romero 58 Chris Roycroft -- Matt Svanson 57 Zack Thompson		Catchers 40 Willson Contreras 48 Iván Herrera 43 Pedro Pagés Infielders 28 Nolan Arenado 26 Luken Baker 15 José Fermín 16 Nolan Gorman 25 Thomas Saggese  0 Masyn Winn Outfielders 41 Alec Burleson 33 Brendan Donovan -- Matt Koperniak 21 Lars Nootbaar 11 Victor Scott II 63 Michael Siani 18 Jordan Walker				Manager 37 Oliver Marmol Coaches 87 Brandon Allen (assistant hitting) 90 Dusty Blake (pitching) -- Brant Brown (hitting) 82 Stubby Clapp (first base) 34 Daniel Descalso (bench) 88 Packy Elkins (game planning) 19 Jon Jay (assistant coach) 89 Dean Kiekhefer (assistant pitching) 94 Jamie Pogue (assistant coach/bullpen) 74 Julio Rangel (assistant pitching/bullpen) 76 Kleininger Teran (bullpen catcher) 75 Ron 'Pop' Warner (third base) 38 active, 0 inactive, 0 non-roster invitees 7-, 10-, or 15-day injured list * Not on active roster † Suspended list Roster, coaches, and NRIs updated November 22, 2024 Transactions • Depth chart → All MLB rosters

Individual achievements and awards

Main articles: St. Louis Cardinals award winners and league leaders and St. Louis Cardinals team records

• Cardinal pitchers have thrown ten no-hitters: Ted Breitenstein (1891), Jesse Haines (1924), Paul Dean (1934), Lon Warneke (1941), Ray Washburn (1968), Bob Gibson (1971), Bob Forsch (two, in 1978 and 1983), Jose Jimenez (1999), and Bud Smith (2001). The Cardinals have never been involved in a perfect game, win or lose.

• Three Cardinal pitchers have won Cy Young Awards: Bob Gibson in 1968, Gibson again in 1970, and Chris Carpenter in 2005.

• Fifteen Cardinal players have won Most Valuable Player awards, the most recent being Albert Pujols in 2009. Bob Gibson won the both the Cy Young Award and MVP award in 1968.

• Six Cardinals have won the Rookie of the Year award: Wally Moon in 1954, Bill Virdon in 1955, Bake McBride in 1974, Vince Coleman in 1985, Todd Worrell in 1986, and Albert Pujols in 2001.

• Twenty Cardinal players have hit for the cycle, the most recent being Mark Grudzielanek in 2005.

Hall of Famers

Players elected with Cardinals logo on plaque Lou Brock, LF, 1964-1979 Dizzy Dean, P, 1930-1937 Bob Gibson, P, 1959-1975 Stan Musial, LF-1B, 1941-1944, 1946-1963 Red Schoendienst, 2B, 1945-1956, 1961-1963 MGR 1965-1976, 1980, 1990 Enos Slaughter, RF, 1938-1942, 1946-1953 Ozzie Smith, SS, 1982-1996 Billy Southworth, MGR 1929, 1940-1945 Bruce Sutter, P, 1981-1984

Players elected with Cardinals as primary team Jim Bottomley, 1B, 1922-1932 Frankie Frisch, 2B, 1927-1938 Chick Hafey, LF, 1924-1931 Jesse Haines, P, 1920-1937 Rogers Hornsby, 2B, 1915-1926, 1933 Joe Medwick, LF, 1932-1940, 1947-1948 Johnny Mize, 1B, 1936-1941

Other Hall-of-Famers associated with Cardinals Grover Cleveland Alexander, P, 1926-1929 Walter Alston, 1B, 1936 Jake Beckley, 1B, 1904-1907 Roger Bresnahan, C, 1909-1912 Mordecai Brown, P, 1903 Jesse Burkett, LF, 1899-1901 Steve Carlton, P, 1965-1971 Orlando Cepeda, 1B, 1966-1968 Charlie Comiskey, MGR, 1882-1889, 1891 Roger Connor, 1B, 1894-1897 Leo Durocher, SS, 1933-1937 Dennis Eckersley, P, 1996-1997 Pud Galvin, P, 1892 Burleigh Grimes, P, 1930-1931, 1933-1934

Miller Huggins, 2B, 1910-1916 Rabbit Maranville, SS, 1927-1928 Bill McKechnie, MGR, 1928-1929 John McGraw, 3B, 1900 Kid Nichols, P, 1904-1905 Wilbert Robinson, C, 1900 Billy Southworth, RF, 1926-1927, 1929; MGR, 1929, 1940-1945 Dazzy Vance, P, 1933-1934 Bobby Wallace, SS, 1899-1901, 1917-1918 Hoyt Wilhelm, P, 1957 Vic Willis, P, 1910 Cy Young, P, 1899-1900

Retired numbers

Rogers Hornsby 2B, Mgr. Honored 1937	Ozzie Smith SS Retired 1996	Red Schoendienst 2B, Mgr., Coach Retired 1990	Stan Musial 1B, LF Retired 1963	Enos Slaughter RF Retired 1996	Ken Boyer 3B, Mgr., Coach Retired 1984
Dizzy Dean SP Retired 1974	Lou Brock LF Retired 1979	Jackie Robinson Retired by Baseball 1997	Bruce Sutter RP Retired 2006	Bob Gibson SP Retired 1975	Gussie Busch Owner Retired 1984

Jackie Robinson's number 42 was retired throughout baseball in 1997. The Cardinals 'retired' the number 42 a second time in Sept. 2006 as Bruce Sutter had been elected to the Hall of Fame earlier in the year.

Cardinal stockholders honored Busch with the number 85 on his 85th birthday, in 1984. Also, while not officially retired, the number 25 of Mark McGwire (1B, 1997-2001) has not been reissued since he retired, the number 51 of Willie McGee (OF 1982-1990, 1996-1999) has not been reissued since late in the 2001 season, and the number 57 of Darryl Kile (P, 2000-02) has not been reissued since his death in the middle of the 2002 season. (Kile is honored with a small circular logo bearing his initials and number on the wall of the Cardinal bullpen, as is deceased pitcher Josh Hancock.) The team also honored longtime radio commentator Jack Buck by placing a drawing of a microphone on the wall with the retired numbers.

The Cardinals are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers as having retired the second-most numbers in baseball with 10, behind only the New York Yankees' 16.