St. Louis Cardinals

Team information

• Inaugural season: 1882
• Home ballpark: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
• Owner: William DeWitt, Jr.
• Team colors: Cardinal red, midnight navy blue, yellow, and white

Overview

The St. Louis Cardinals is a Major League Baseball (MLB) team playing in the Central division of the National League (NL). Originally founded in 1882 as an American Association (AA) team called the St. Louis Brown Stockings, the team first took the field as the Cardinals in 1900. Over the course of their long history, the Cardinals have won numerous World Series championships, NL pennants, and other accolades. Headed into the 2020 season, the Cardinals had an all-time record that included 10,918 wins and 10,063 losses for an overall .520 win/loss percentage. Known for their considerable on-field success, the Cardinals have long been recognized as one of baseball’s most competitive teams. The Cardinals are also one of MLB’s most financially successful franchises, worth an estimated $2.2 billion in 2020.

History

The history of the St. Louis Cardinals began with a barnstorming team known as the Brown Stockings. Entrepreneur Chris von der Ahe purchased the Brown Stockings in 1881, making his new franchise a charter member of the new AA. Making their official debut in St. Louis, Missouri in 1882, the Brown Stockings—known as the Browns and the Perfectos at various times during their early years—quickly found success on the field. Between 1885 and 1888, the team won four consecutive AA pennants. After subsequently joining the NL in 1892, however, the team began to struggle. Through most of its first seven seasons in the NL, the Brown Stockings regularly finished at or near the bottom of the standings. In any event, the team finally became known as the Cardinals in 1900.

The Cardinals’ early on-field struggles ultimately continued through the 1900s and 1910s. It was not until the 1920s that their situation finally began to turn around. With the help of standout infielder Rogers Hornsby, the Cardinals had a breakout season in 1926. In addition to winning eighty-nine regular season games, Hornsby and the Cardinals successfully claimed the NL pennant and went on to face the New York Yankees in the World Series. In that matchup, the Cardinals beat the Yankees four games to one to win the first World Series championship in franchise history. The team’s success continued through the remainder of the 1920s and into the 1930s, with additional World Series appearances coming in 1928, 1930, and 1931. In the third of these appearances, the Cardinals won their second championship. A third World Series championship followed in 1934.

After falling into a slump during the latter half of the 1930s, the Cardinals resumed their winning ways in the 1940s. The team’s return to form was due in part to the 1941 arrival of popular outfielder and first baseman Stan Musial. With Musial at the helm, the Cardinals were consistently one of the best teams in baseball throughout the decade. During what would become the most celebrated period in Cardinals history, the team won four World Series championships in five years from 1942 to 1946. Through 1949, the Cardinals finished in no worse than second place in their division.

While the Cardinals’ performance generally declined in the 1950s, the team experienced yet another resurgence in the 1960s. Over the course of that decade, the Cardinals appeared in the World Series three more times and won additional championships with wins over the Yankees in 1964 and the Boston Red Sox in 1967. A 1968 World Series matchup against the Detroit Tigers ended in defeat. In the midst of this run, the Cardinals also moved into their longtime home at what was originally known as Busch Memorial Stadium, where they would continue to play until 2005.

The 1970s brought another stretch of mediocrity for the Cardinals that did not subside until the 1980s. The critical turning point in the team’s return to success was the arrival of all-time great shortstop Ozzie Smith in 1982. In his first year with the team, the Cardinals claimed the NL pennant and met the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series. At the end of a back-and-forth contest, the Cardinals won yet another World Series championship. The Cardinals subsequently returned to the World Series in both 1985 and 1987, but lost on both occasions.

Despite remaining relatively competitive for most of the 1990s, the Cardinals did not find real success again until the 2000s. During that decade, the team appeared in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) on several occasions and won the NL pennant in 2004 and 2006. In the latter campaign, the Cardinals ultimately went on to defeat the Tigers in the World Series. The team’s success continued through the 2010s, a decade during which the Cardinals became firmly entrenched as one of the NL’s elite teams. The team was particularly dominant from 2011 to 2015. Through that stretch, the Cardinals appeared in the NLCS four consecutive times and won NL pennants in 2011 and 2013. The first of these wins cleared the way for a World Series matchup with the Texas Rangers that ended in another championship victory. The second led to a losing effort in a World Series contest against the Boston Red Sox.

After losing a divisional series matchup with the Chicago Cubs in 2015, the Cardinals entered a minor slump for a few years. Although they managed no worse than a third-place finish, the team failed to make a postseason return. That finally changed in 2019, when the Cardinals finished in first place and enjoyed a playoff run that culminated in a losing NLCS contest against the Washington Nationals.

Notable players

Numerous former St. Louis Cardinals players have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Chief among these honorees is leftfielder and first baseman Stan Musial. Often regarded as the greatest player in franchise history, Musial played his entire twenty-two-season career with the Cardinals from 1941 to 1963. Most notably, he led the team to three World Series championships in the 1940s. An outstanding performer in virtually all aspects of the game, Musial was still the Cardinals’ all-time leader in games (3,206), runs (1,949), hits (3,630), doubles (725), triples (177), home runs (475), total bases (6,134), runs batted in (RBIs) (1,951), bases on balls (1,599), total bases (6,134), extra base hits (1,377), and plate appearances (12,712) as of 2020. Ozzie Smith, who was affectionately known as “The Wizard of Oz,” distinguished himself as one of the game’s greatest defensive shortstops while playing for the Cardinals from 1982 to 1996. A thirteen-time Gold Glove winner and fifteen-time All-Star, Smith amassed 2,460 hits, 580 stolen bases, 8,375 assists, 1,590 double plays, and a .262 batting average by the time of his retirement. Second baseman Rogers Hornsby played for the Cardinals for thirteen seasons of his twenty-three-season professional career. Regarded as one of the greatest right-handed batters of all time, Hornsby recorded 2,110 hits, 1,089 runs, 193 home runs, and 1,072 RBIs during his time with the Cardinals. First baseman Jim Bottomley spent 11 seasons with the Cardinals from 1922 to 1932. During that time, he was one of the team’s best and most popular players. By the time he left St. Louis, Bottomley had accumulated 1,727 hits, 921 runs, 181 home runs, and 1,105 RBIs. Some other notable Cardinals Hall of Famers include Lou Brock, Dizzy Dean, Bob Gibson, and Jesse Haines.

There have been many other notable St. Louis Cardinals’ players as well. First baseman, leftfielder, and third baseman Albert Pujols played with the Cardinals from 2001 to 2011. In that time, he recorded 2,073 hits, 1,291 runs, 15 home runs, and 445 RBIs. Centerfielder Curt Flood spent 12 seasons in St. Louis from 1958 to 1969. During his time with the team, Flood had 1,853 hits, 845 runs, 84 home runs, and 633 RBIs. Pitcher Adam Wainwright made his MLB debut with the Cardinals in 2005 and was a part of the team’s 2006 championship squad. Heading into the 2020 season, he had 1,776 career strikeouts, a 3.39 earned run average (ERA), and 162 wins. Catcher Yadier Molina joined the Cardinals as a rookie in 2004 and contributed to the team’s World Series victories in both 2006 and 2011. Through the 2019 season, Molina had 1,963 runs, 701 runs, 156 home runs, and 916 RBIs. First baseman Keith Hernandez played with the Cardinals from 1974 to 1983. In that time, he had 1,217 hits, 662 runs, 81 home runs, and 595 RBIs. First baseman Mark McGwire played for the Cardinals from 1997 to 2001. During that period, he distinguished himself as one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history. In 1998, McGwire hit a record-breaking 70 home runs in a single season. However, his accomplishments later came under scrutiny when he admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs during much of his career, and eventually had to testify before Congress about steroid use in the MLB.

Bibliography

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“St. Louis Cardinals.” National Baseball Hall of Fame, 2020, baseballhall.org/explorer?name=&team=169&induction=All&pos=All&state=All&born%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=&bats=All&throws=All. Accessed 19 May 2020.

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“St. Louis Cardinals Team History.” Sports Team History, 2020, sportsteamhistory.com/st-louis-cardinals. Accessed 19 May 2020.

“St. Louis Cardinals Team History & Encyclopedia.” Baseball Reference, 2020, www.baseball-reference.com/teams/STL/. Accessed 19 May 2020.