Glory Days I n the 1800s St Louis Missouri was called the Gateway to the West For many travelers the city was a welcome stop on their way to America’s untamed wilderness A lot of baseball talent made its way to St Louis starting in the 1870s A team called the Browns played there from 1882 to 1891 They were champions of the American Association AA four times In 1892 Browns owner Chris von der Ahe decided to move his team to the National League NL A few years later von der Ahe sold the team The new owners changed the color of the players socks from brown to cardinal red Some called the team the Perfectoes but soon they became known as the Cardinals No matter what the name the team struggled to win Despite having famous players such as Cy Young Kid Nichols Roger Connor Jake Beckley and Jesse Burkett St Louis did not finish higher than third place for 34 years 6
LEFT Chris von der Ahe RIGHT This trading card celebrates Rogers Hornsby’s record-setting 424 batting average in 1924 The Cardinals finally put together a good team in the 1920s Their star was second baseman Rogers Hornsby He was a powerful hitter who won the batting championship six years in a row Hornsby was the player-manager in 1926 when St Louis won its first championship Over the next 20 years the Cardinals won the pennant nine times The team’s hitting stars included Joe Medwick Frankie Frisch Jim Bottomley Chick Hafey Pepper Martin Johnny Mize Stan Musial Marty Marion and Enos Slaughter The Cardinals top pitchers were Jesse Haines Flint Rhem Bill Sherdel and Grover Cleveland Alexander Their most colorful players were the Dean brothers Jay and Paul better known as Dizzy and Daffy After struggling in the 1950s the Cardinals rose to the top of the NL again Led by pitcher Bob Gibson catcher Tim McCarver and outfielders Curt Flood and Lou Brock St Louis won three pennants from 1964 to 1968 The Cardinals won three more pennants during the 1980s By then St Louis was known for its great speed 7
and excellent defense During those years fans cheered for popular players such as Ozzie Smith Willie McGee Vince Coleman and Tommy Herr More stars wore the Cardinals uniform during the 1990s including Todd Zeile Ray Lankford Brian Jordan Mark McGwire and Matt Morris Despite this talent the team did not return to the World Series It would take a new generation of players to get the Cardinals back to the top of the standings The player who helped the Cards return to their winning ways was Albert Pujols No one knew much about him when he joined the team LEFT Bob Gibson won 251 games for the Cardinals during his career ABOVE Albert Pujols watches a home run leave the ballpark 9
