The Cardinals drafted Bucky Dent in the 1st round (6th pick) of the 1970 amateur draft (January Secondary), but was not signed
The Cardinals released Rafael Santana in 1984.
The Cardinals signed Jim Chamblee as a free agent in 2002.
In 2012, calling them the “greatest comeback team in the history of baseball,” President Barack Obama welcomes the World Champion Cardinals to the White House.
Birthdays
- Ray Cunningham (1905) –played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1931 and 1932. He batted and threw right-handed. A native of Mesquite, Texas, Cunningham played briefly for the Cardinals at third base before an injury cut short his career. He injured himself, whipping a sidearm throw to first base on a swinging bunt.Cunningham was a 26-year-old rookie when he joined the Cardinals for the final weeks of the 1931 season. His salary was $500 a year. During his time with St. Louis, Cunningham roomed with two Cardinal legends, Dizzy Dean and Pepper Martin. In a two-season career, Cunningham was a .154 hitter with one RBI and no home runs in 14 games.
Jay Porter (1933) – a Cardinal player in 1959. Porter played in 229 major league games, 91 as a catcher, 62 as an outfielder, 16 as a first baseman, 3 at third base and was a career .228 hitter who had his best season in 1957 when he hit .250 in 58 games while with the Detroit Tigers.
Darrell Porter (1952) -In a 17-year major league career, Porter played in 1,782 games, accumulating 1,369 hits in 5,539 at bats for a .247 career batting average along with 188 home runs, 826 runs batted in and a .354 on-base percentage.[1] He ended his career with a .982 fielding percentage. As of the 2009 season, he ranked 21st on the all-time list for home runs by a catcher and 20th all-time for RBI by a catcher. Porter caught two no-hitters during his career—Jim Colborn in 1977 and Bob Forsch’s second career no-hitter in 1983. Porter was also notable for being one of the few Major League catchers of his time to wear eyeglasses behind the plate at a time when most players needing vision correction were using contact lenses.
Mark Littell (1953) –Littell was traded along with Buck Martinez to the St. Louis Cardinals for Al Hrabosky during the Winter Meetings on December 8, 1977. He saved 13 games in 1979 and had a 2.53 ERA in his first two seasons as a Cardinal, but suffered an arm injury that limited his effectiveness afterwards.[He began the 1980 and 1981 seasons on the disabled list as he required surgery during both seasons to remove bone spurs from his elbow. On August 10, 1981, Pete Rose recorded his 3,631st hit off Littell to become the National League’s all-time hits leader.Littell was a member of the Cardinals during their 1982 championship season;[6] however, the club designated Littell for assignment in June. He accepted an assignment to the Louisville Bats. In July, Littell went on the disabled list with an elbow injury. He retired after the 1982 season with a 32–31 win–loss record, a 3.32 ERA, and 56 saves.
Jeff Tabaka (1984) – was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the second round of the 1986 amateur draft. In his six seasons in the major leagues he pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Cardinals and finished with a 6-5 lifetime record and a 4.31 ERA.
Deaths
- Pat McCauley (1917) –
- Roy Radebaugh (1945)
- Bud Tinning (1961)
- John Grimes (1964)
- Harry Brecheen (2004)
- Bob Repass (2006)