April 15 in Cardinals History

Following Rogers Hornsby Batting .424 in 1924

This was opening day and he went 2-for-5 with a double and 2 RBI’s  — Now batting .400 on the season. 

 

The Cincinnati Reds returned Johnny Mize to the Cardinals in 1935.

The Cardinals signed Loy Hanning as a free agent in 1938. (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.)

The Cardinals, in 1938, signed Earl Naylor as a free agent.

The Cardinals purchased Gene Handley from the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1940.

In 1941, the Brooklyn Dodgers purchased Newt Kimball from the St. Louis Cardinals

The Boston Braves purchased Ray Sanders from the St. Louis Cardinals for $25,000 in 1946.

Cardinal right-hander Bob Gibson makes his major league debut in 1959 at LA Memorial Coliseum, tossing the final two innings in the 5-0 loss to the Dodgers. The 23 year-old rookie becomes the first future Hall of Fame hurler to give up a home run to the first batter he faces in the major leagues when third baseman Jim Baxes takes him deep in the seventh inning.

The Houston Astros traded Lance Clemons and Scipio Spinks in 1972 to the St. Louis Cardinals for Jerry Reuss.

In 2018, the Cardinals finish a 4 game sweep of the Reds in Cincinnati. That is the first time they have done that since 1949. 

 

Birthdays

  • Dutch Distel (April 15, 1896 – February 12, 1967) played in 8 games in 1918 for the Cardinals and batted .167.
  • Willie Davis was born in 1940. He played for 18 seasons in the major leagues with 1975 in a Cardinals uniform. In the Cardinals uniform, he played in 98 games, hit .291 with 50 runs batted in with 350 at-bats.
  • Ray Bare (April 15, 1949 – March 29, 1994) In 1972, appeared in 14 games as a relief pitcher for the Cardinals, allowing only one earned run for a minuscule 0.54 ERA.

Debuts

  • Bill Byers 1904
  • Spike Shannon 1904
  • Chappy Charles 1908
  • Rube Ellis 1909
  • Forrest More 1909
  • Tink Riviere 1921
  • Wattie Holm 1924
  • George Watkins 1930
  • Ray Pepper 1932
  • Chuck Diering 1947
  • Phil Clark 1958
  • Bob Gibson 1959
  • Brady Raggio 1997
  • Bryan Anderson 2010

 

Deaths

  • Ripper Collins 1970
  • Bill Sarni 1983
  • Chip Marshall 2007 (played in one career game)

Tracking Musial’s Home Runs

  • none on this date in Cardinals History

 

Bob Gibson’s Complete Games

In 1964, he won 6-2 over the Dodgers for CG 42 of his career with 9IP/2H/2ER/2BB/6K

He got CG #48 in 1966 with a 9-2 win over the Pirates with 9IP/6H/2ER/2NN/13K

 

WOW (Walk-Off Winner)

In 1989 the Cardinals and Mets are tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning. Vince Coleman and Ozzie Smith each single to start the inning. Terry Pendleton hits a short flyball that is caught and the runners stay put. Pedro Guerrero lines a shot to the outfield that gets down and Coleman score easily for the Cardinals to in 3-2 and are Walk-Off Winners. WOW