1902 saw a team from Milwaukee move into St. Louis as competition for the Cardinals. This team also took on the name of the Browns and was an instant rival with the Cardinals. In fact, they built a new stadium, Sportsman’s Park, at the site of a previous Cardinals stadium.
Turmoil in St.Louis
The 1902 season finds turmoil in St. Louis as Jesse Burkett, Jack Harper and Bobby Wallace are all trying to leave the Cardinals and join the new team in town, the Browns. The Robison brothers file a lawsuit to keep the players from leaving but they lose the suit and the players exit. The 1902 Major League Baseball season involved the Milwaukee Brewers moving to St. Louis and become the St. Louis Browns, and the Chicago Orphans were renamed as the Cubs.
The first pinch hit major league grand slam takes place in St. Louis (June 3) by Cardinals pitcher Mike O’Neill of Boston’s Togie Pittinger to lead the team in a 11-9 win. Another oddity to this comes from the fact that it was an inside-the-park homer.
Cardinals rookie righthander Clarence “Cupid” Currie pitched 16 innings, all out of the bullpen, but the game is called a tie because of darkness on August 17th.
The Cardinals finish in sixth place as they are swept in a doubleheader on the final day (Oct. 5) of the season to end 56-78 and 44.5 games behind the Pittsburgh team.
Manager Patsy Donovan was removed as player-manager despite his .327 batting average. The two leagues (American and National) reached an agreement to not allow league jumping which was a blow to the Cardinals as they lost their best players in the last jump and now will struggle for a lengthy period.
56-78, Finished 6th in National League
Manager: Patsy Donovan (56-78)
Scored 517 runs, Allowed 695 runs.
Ballpark: Robison Field · Attendance: 226,417
Uniforms worn in 1902 by the Cardinals
ROSTER
Pitchers
Joe Adams
Clarence Currie
Wiley Dunham
Jim Hackett
Chappie McFarland
Ed Murphy
Mike O’Neill
Alex Pearson
Bill Popp
Bob Wicker
Stan Yerkes
Catchers
Jack O’Neill
Jack Ryan
Art Weaver
Infielders
Roy Brashear
Jack Calhoun
John Farrell
Fred Hartman
Doc Hazleton
Rudy Kling
Otto Krueger
John Murphy
Art Nichols
Otto Williams
Outfielders
George Barclay
Patsy Donovan
Homer Smoot
Manager– Patsy Donovan