July 18 in Cardinals History

  • The Cardinals purchased Frank Gilhooley from Adrian (Southern Michigan) for $1,500 in 1912. 
  • Cardinals released Jeff Pfeffer in 1924. 
  •  Dizzy Dean pitches a complete game in 1935 and the Cardinals win 13-3. It is their 18th straight win at home. 
  • Trailing 11-0 after three innings, in 1952 against Sal Maglie at the Polo Grounds, the Cardinals pull off a major comeback, defeating the Giants, 14-12. The rally equals the largest come-from-behind win in National League history.
  •  In the fifth inning at Sportsman’s Park in 1954, Babe Pinelli forfeits the second game of the twin bill to the visiting Phillies. The umpire makes the rare call when the Cardinals, trailing 8-1 in the not-yet-official game and darkness approaching, delay the game by bringing in three new pitchers during the inning.  At the time the Phillies were leading 8-1 with one man on base and two outs. A few minutes earlier players from both teams had swarmed onto the field where several punches and wrestling matches broke out. Redbirds catcher Sal Yvars and Phillies batter Earl Torgeson started the brawl and were both ejected. Managers Terry Moore and Eddie Stanky also tangled. Moore had previously been fired as a Cardinal coach by Stanky. Moore came out of his dugout after Yvars but Stanky tackled Moore. With darkness approaching and the game not yet official, Eddie Stanky brought in three new pitchers in the inning. As the game was not official, no statistics counted for the players, and the Cards Joe Frazier had a lost home run. The first game had been delayed 78 minutes by rain.
  • In 1961 at Busch Stadium, Bill White ties Ty Cobb’s 49-year-old record by collecting 14 hits in consecutive doubleheaders as the Cardinal first baseman goes three for four in both games of a doubleheader sweep over the Cubs. The future NL president started the streak on the day Cobb died.
  • The St. Louis Cardinals traded John Tamargo to the San Francisco Giants for Rob Dressler in 1978.
  • On this date in 1994, the Cardinals and Astros played a game at the Astrodome that unfolded according to the three-inning breaks. The Cardinals led 11-0 after three innings. The Astros led 15-11 after six innings. The Cardinals “won” the last three innings 1-0 but the Astros won the game 15-12.

Birthdays

  • Larry McLean 1881
  • Johnny Hopp 1916
  • Eddie Kazak 1920
  • Joe Torre 1940
  • Allen Craig 1984
  • Ryan Helsley 1994

Debuts

  • Terry Pendleton 1984- he singled in his first at-bat and was 3-for-5 in the game  BOXSCORE
  • John Rodriguez 2005- he flew out to center in the first at-bat and was 1-for-5 in the game  BOXSCORE 
  • Trevor Rosenthal 2012- he pitched 1IP/1H/0ER/0BB/2K in the game

Deaths

  • Howard Freigau 1932
  • Donnie Moore 1989
  • Del Wilber 2002

Tracking Musial’s Home Runs

Hank Behrman of the Brooklyn Dodgers,, in 1948, allowed a solo home run which was the 93rd of Musial’s career.

Bob Gibson’s Complete Games

In 1961, he pitched career complete game #9 with a 7-5 win over the Cubs with 9IP/9H/5ER/5BB/9K.

He notched CG #24 with a 2-1 over Chicago with 9IP/3H/1ER1NN/12K in 1962.

Walk-Off Wins (WOW)

1984- Darrel Porter hit a 3-run home run to break a 4-4 tie with the Giants in the bottom of the 11th inning. It was a Walk-off Winner. WOW.

1993- Mark Whiten produced a one-out sacrifice fly with one out and bases loaded for a 7-6 win over the Astros.It was a Walk-off Winner. WOW.

2010- TFacing Jonathan Broxton and trailing 4-3 to the Dodgers in the bottom of the 9th inning, Yadier Molina led off with a walk. Then two outs later Jon Jay walked for two runners on when Allen Craig singled in the run to tie it and Matt Holiday singled to win the game 5-4  It was a Walk-off Winner. WOW.