T he St Louis Cardinals had reason to feel confident as summer turned into fall in 1964 They had just won three straight games against the Philadelphia Phillies Now the New York Mets were coming to town The 1964 Mets were one of the worst teams in the history of baseball The National League NL pennant race had become a mad scramble with one weekend remaining in the regular season The Cardinals the Phillies the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants all remained in contention But most people figured the Cardinals would easily beat the Mets and go on to win the title They figured wrong The Mets had nothing to play for but pride and a chance to ruin the Cardinals season They set out to do just that The Mets won the first two games of the series One was a 15 5 embarrassment Cardinals ace Bob Gibson pitches in the 1964 World Series He won two of Cardinals ace Bob Gibson pitches in the 1964 World Series He won two of his three starts and struck out 31 batters in 27 innings his three starts and struck out 31 batters in 27 innings THE GREAT ESCAPE 5
in which the Cardinals commit ted five errors The Cardinals were playing their worst base ball when they needed to play their best The Cardinals could at least force a one-game playoff with the Reds if they beat the Mets that Sunday A loss would send the Cardinals packing their bags for the off-season The Cardinals rose to the occasion this time They had 14 hits in an 11 5 win at Sports man’s Park in St Louis They clinched the pennant when the Reds lost to the Phillies Orlando Magic Orlando Magic The Cardinals had talented first The Cardinals had talented first The Cardinals had talented first baseman ou ielder Orlando C eda baseman outfielder Orlando Cepeda baseman outfielder Orlando Cepeda for only three seasons but they for only three seasons but they certainly got the most out of him certainly got the most out of him in 1967 C eda batted 325 with 25 in 1967 Cepeda batted 325 with 25 in 1967 Cepeda batted 325 with 25 home runs and led the NL with 111 home runs and led the NL with 111 runs batted in RBIs that year He runs batted in RBIs that year He also won the leag e's Most Valuable also won the league's Most Valuable also won the league's Most Valuable Player MVP Award while helpi g Player MVP Award while helping Player MVP Award while helping the Cardinals win the pennant the Cardinals win the pennant A celebration ensued in the Cardinals locker room fol lowing the game The fans were excited as well Some 3,000 peo ple gathered under the stairway leading to the team clubhouse They chanted for every player and for manager Johnny Keane to come out and take a bow and they got their wish But the job was not finished The Cardinals still had the mighty New York Yankees to deal with in the World Series The American League AL champion Yankees did not intimidate the Cardinals St Louis featured some of the most talented players in base ball Top three starting pitchers Bob Gibson Curt Simmons and Ray Sadecki had com bined for 57 wins that season Barney Schultz was one of the best relievers in the game The offense was led by speedy out fielders Lou Brock and Curt 6 ST LOUIS CARDINALS
Cardinals catcher Tim McCarver scores on a double steal in Game 7 of the 1964 World Series The Cardinals held off the Yankees 7 5 for the win Flood and slugging infielders Bill White and Ken Boyer The team was among the top three in the NL in runs scored hits doubles triples and stolen bases And just as the pennant race came down to the final game so did the World Series A sellout crowd of 30,346 stuffed themselves into tiny Sports man’s Park to watch Game 7 They left in joyful celebration as Boyer hit a double and a home run to lead the Cardinals to a 7 5 victory Gibson pitched the game on just two days of rest But he threw a complete game and struck out nine Yankees to give his team its first World Series title since 1946 Gibson’s performance earned him MVP honors in the Series But the Cardinals tired THE GREAT ESCAPE 7
