Cardinals History
1963 The Cardinals trade outfielder George Altman and pitcher Bill Wakefield to the Mets for veteran right-hander Roger Craig. Next season, the hard-luck hurler, who has lost 20 games the last two years, will win Game 4 of the Fall Classic, beating the Yankees, for the World Champion Redbirds.
2004– Woody Williams of the St. Louis Cardinals granted free agency.
2009- The St. Louis Cardinals released Brad Thompson.
Birthdays
Bobby Wallace 1873 -In 1899, Wallace moved to the St. Louis Perfectos (renamed the Cardinals in 1900) and changed position to shortstop. He hit .295 with 108 RBI and 12 home runs (second in the league behind Buck Freeman’s 25). Wallace changed teams again in 1902, when he joined the St. Louis Browns.
His playing time began decreasing a decade later, with his last season as a regular coming in 1912. Wallace played in just 55 games in 1913, and never played that much again for the rest of his career. In July 1917, he returned to the National League and the Cardinals, and played in just eight games that season. After batting .153 in 32 games in 1918, Wallace retired with a .268 career batting average, 1059 runs, 34 home runs, 1121 RBI and 201 stolen bases. He played his last game on September 2, 1918, at the age of 44 years and 312 days, making him the oldest shortstop to play in a regular-season game.
Ted Menze 1897 -as an outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1918 for one game which was on April 23, 2918 with 3 at-bat and no hits.
Skeeter Webb 1909 -He began his 12 year major-league career on July 20, 1932, with the St. Louis Cardinals at the age of 23. He appeared in only one game in 1932, and did not have a plate appearance
Carl Sawatski 1927 – The last three years of his 13 year career (1960-1963) he spent with the Cardinals and finished his career with a .263 batting average
Jay Van Noy 1928 -an outfielder, his only Major League Baseball experience came in the middle of the 1951 season as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. He batted left-handed, threw right-handed and was listed as 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and 200 pounds. His first game was played on June 18,1951 and last was on June 28,1951. He got no career hits in 7 at-bats.
Dick Groat 1930 – Broke in with the Pirates. 32-year-old Groat had an inkling that he would be traded while he still had value, and his fears were realized in November, when he was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for pitcher Don Cardwell, a 15-game winner the previous season. Groat was deeply hurt by the trade, having hoped to become a Pirates’ coach and possibly manager after his retirement as a player. He subsequently severed ties with the organization until a 1990 reunion of the 1960 World Series team. Fully intent to prove that Brown had made an egregious mistake, Groat responded with a vengeance in the 1963 campaign. In his best season in the big leagues, he set career marks in RBI (73), hits (201), doubles (43), triples (11), on-base percentage (.377), and slugging percentage (.450) to finish second to Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax in the NL Most Valuable Player vote. His .319 batting average ranked fourth in the league, seven points behind the leader Tommy Davis (Dodgers). He also played in the NBA for the Detroit Pistons.
Tito Francona 1933 -Francona was acquired strictly to strengthen their bench. He batted .259 in 1965, including .265 as a pinch hitter. He remained a pinch hitter with the Cardinals through 1966. During spring training 1967, his contract was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Danny Godby 1946 – appeared in 13 games played for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 1974 season.
Larry Bigbie 1977 -On December 8, 2005, the Rockies traded him and Aaron Miles to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Ray King.He batted .240 in 2006 with the Cardinals, also posting only 1 RBI, in 17 games.
Carmen Cali 1977 -made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on September 8, 2004 against the San Diego Padres, working 2/3 of an inning and giving up three runs. He appeared in 10 games for the Cards that September and another six in 2005.
Evan MacLane 1982 -In 2009, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a minor league free agent, and joined the Cardinals’ Triple-A franchise, the Memphis Redbirds. On May 29, 2010, MacLane was promoted to the big leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals and assigned to the bullpen. He was returned to Memphis two days later, without appearing in a major league game. MacLane was called back up on June 7, 2010. On July 7, 2010, he made his major league debut and allowed a ninth-inning walk-off home run to Chris Iannetta at Coors Field.
Deaths
- Pete Alexander (HOF) 1950
- Cy Young (HOF) 1955
- Harry Trekell 1965