The St. Louis
Cardinals is an American Major League Baseball team based in Saint
Louis, Missouri. They play in the Central Division of the National
League. The team was founded in 1882 and moved to the National League
in the 1892. Earlier the team was known St. Louis Brown Stockings
(1882), St. Louis Browns (1883-1898) and St. Louis Perfectos (1899).
In 1889, the team was purchased by Frank DeHauss Robinson and the
club uniform was changed. The St. Louis Republic sportswriter William
McHale started calling the team the "Cardinals" and by 1900
the nickname was accepted. The Cardinals have their home arena at
Busch Stadium since 1966. The name of the stadium comes from the Busch
family of Anheuser-Busch, who owned the baseball team until March
1996. In 1934, Dean and his younger brother, Paul, combined to win
49 games - still a single season record for brothers. Dizzy, whose
real name was Jerome Herman Dean, won 30 of them, with Paul (nicknamed
"Daffy") contributing 19 wins. In the 1940s, the Cardinals
dominated the National League, and in 1944 they met their crosstown
rivals, the St. Louis Browns, in the "trolley car Series".
Stan "The Man" Musial arrived in St. Louis. Known to loyal
fans as "Ol' Number 6", Musial spent 23 years in a Cardinal
uniform. In the 1970s, a statue of Musial was constructed outside
Busch Stadium downtown. In 1947, the Cardinals gained notoriety by
attempting to boycott games against the Brooklyn Dodgers to protest
the Dodgers' signing of a black player, Jackie Robinson. The alleged
ringleader of the boycott was Enos Slaughter. National League president
Ford Frick threatened to ban any players who boycotted any games,
and the boycott never happened. The Cardinals did not sign a black
regular until Curt Flood in 1958. The 1960s brought three National
League pennants to St. Louis. Hall of Famers such as Lou Brock, Bob
Gibson, Steve Carlton, and Orlando Cepeda led the "Redbirds"
to a pair of World Series titles in the decade. In his 11 years as
Cardinal manager, Herzog won three National League pennants, and a
1982 World Series title. The 1980s era Cardinals included stars Ozzie
Smith, Willie McGee (who won two batting titles in a Cardinal uniform),
John Tudor, Tom Herr, Jack Clark, Bruce Sutter, Keith Hernandez, Terry
Pendleton, and Joaquin Andujar. In 2003 season, Pujols had a batting
average of .359 with 43 home runs and 124 RBIs, winning the National
League batting title. Widely expected to finish in third place, the
Cardinals defied all expectations, except perhaps their own, with
105 wins and the franchise's first pennant in 17 years. Scott Rolen
and Jim Edmonds posted MVP-caliber seasons, Albert Pujols put up his
usual amazing numbers and the August addition of Larry Walker helped
St. Louis lead the National League in runs scored. Meanwhile, Chris
Carpenter headed a pitching staff of relative no-names that combined
with an airtight defense to lead the league in runs allowed as well.
Four starters totaled at least 15 wins, topped by Jeff Suppan's 16,
as the Cardinals defeated the Dodgers and Astros in the playoffs to
advance to the World Series. There they ran into the mighty Red Sox
and were swept, giving Boston its first World Series title since 1918.
The uniform colors of Cardinals are Cardinal red, White, and Navy
blue with a logo design of one or two cardinals suspended on a baseball
bat. St. Louis Cardinals have won one Wild Card title in 2001 and
seven Division Titles in, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1996, 2000, 2002 and 2004.
The Saint Louis Cardinals have won four American Association pennants
in, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888 and sixteen National League Pennants, 1926,
1928, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1968,
1982, 1985, 1987, and 2004. The most Prized possession in Baseball,
the World Series has been captured by the St Louis Cardinals nine
times, in 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, and 1982.
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