1995- After a Southwest Bank investment group promises to keep the franchise in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch agrees to sell the Cardinals to the financial establishment. The price tag of approximately $150 million is considered a bargain with Forbes Magazine estimating the club’s value to be worth twice that amount. Bill DeWitt, Jr. and two investment partners, Frederick and Stephen Brauer, come to an agreement to purchase the Cardinals from Anheuser-Busch for a reported $150 million. The new owner of the Redbirds, whose dad started in baseball selling soda at Redbirds games in 1916, lent his uniform as the Browns’ 9-year-old bat boy to Eddie Gaedel, the shortest player in the history of the game, who made a single plate appearance and was walked with four consecutive balls in a Bill Veeck stunt in 1951.
Pujols Replacement
2011- The Cardinals announce Carlos Beltran (.300, 22, 84) and the team have come to an agreement on a two-year deal, pending the results of a physical. The 34 year-old outfielder, who signed for a reported $26 million, will play right field, allowing Lance Berkman to shift to first base to fill the void created by the departure of Albert Pujols to free agency.
Trading History and Transactions
The Cardinals traded Mick Kelleher in 1975 to the Chicago Cubs for Vic Harris.
The Cardinals released Bobby Bonds and traded Ty Waller, Leon Durham and Ken Reitz to the Chicago Cubs for Bruce Sutter in 1980.
The Chicago White Sox traded Bill Dawley to the Cardinals for Fred Manrique in 1986.
The Cardinals signed Wayne Kirby as a free agent in 1997.
1999- The Cardinals signed Thomas Howard as a free agent.
In 2000, the Cardinals signed Quinton McCracken as a free agent.
The Cardinals signed Jon Nunnally as a free agent in 2002.
Cardinals in 2004, signed So Taguchi as a free agent.
The Cardinals signed Braden Looper in 2005 as a free agent.
Cardinals signed Mike Leake as a free agent in 2015
Birthdays
Charlie James (1937) -Born in St. Louis, Missouri, he grew up in suburban Rock Hill and graduated from Webster Groves High School. James was also a letterman as a football halfback for the University of Missouri Tigers in 1956 and 1957 before starting his professional baseball career. He later earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. He signed with his hometown Cardinals and began his baseball career in the high minors in 1958, where he collected 104 runs batted in in the Double-A Texas League and made the Triple-A International League’s All-Star team in successive seasons. The Cardinals recalled him in August 1960, and he spent the rest of his baseball career in the majors. James platooned in right field with left-handed hitter Joe Cunningham in 1961, then was the Redbirds’ most-used right-fielder in 1962, starting 95 games and hitting a career-best .276. In 1963, he shared the left field job with Baseball Hall of Famer Stan Musial in Musial’s last season in the game. He began 1964 as the Cardinals’ regular left fielder, but after he had started 40 games, St. Louis acquired future Hall of Famer Lou Brock from the Chicago Cubs on June 15, and Brock took command of the position, hitting .348 and leading the Cardinals into the 1964 World Series. James spent the rest of the season as an occasional right fielder and frequent pinch hitter, and his batting average fell to .223. In the World Series against the New York Yankees, James was hitless in three at bats as a pinch hitter, but the Cardinals prevailed in seven games and James earned a championship ring.
Matty Alou (1938) -Alou was the middle of a trio of baseball-playing brothers that included the older Felipe and younger Jesús. They were the first set of three siblings to all bat in the same half-inning in the majors (September 10),) and play together in the same outfield (on September 15), accomplishing both with the Giants in 1963.He won the 1966 NL batting title with a .342 average, with his brother Felipe finishing second, and finished in the top five in hitting four more times – in 1967–1969, 1971.
His contract was sold by the St. Louis Cardinals to the San Diego Padres on October 24, 1973 In 1969 Alou led the major leagues in at-bats (698), doubles (41), and hits (231). His 231 hits in 1969 remain the highest total by any National League player since Joe Medwick’s 237 in 1937.
Steve Carlton (1944) -Carlton debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals as a 20–year-old in 1965 and by 1967 was a regular in the Cardinals rotation. An imposing man (6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m)) with a hard fastball and slider, Carlton was soon known as an intimidating and dominant pitcher. Carlton enjoyed immediate success in St. Louis, posting winning records and reaching the World Series in 1967 and 1968. In 1967, Carlton was 14–9 with a 2.98 ERA in 28 starts. In 1968, he was 13–11 with a 2.99 ERA. On September 15, 1969, Carlton struck out 19 New York Mets, while losing to the Mets, 4–3, setting the modern-day record at that time for strikeouts in a nine-inning game. He finished 1969 with a 17–11 record, a 2.17 ERA, second-lowest in the NL, and 210 strikeouts.
In the 1967 World Series, Carlton started Game 5 and pitched 6 strong innings, giving up only an unearned run, but taking a 3–1 loss. The Cardinals beat the Boston Red Sox to capture the World Series. In the 1968 World Series, Carlton pitched in two games in relief, giving up three runs over four innings as the Cardinals lost to the Detroit Tigers in seven games. A contract dispute with the Cardinals (he had made $26,000 in 1969 and was holding out for $50,000, as opposed to the Cardinals’ contract offer for $31,000) made Carlton a no-show at spring training in 1970. He proceeded to go 10–19 with a 3.73 ERA, leading the NL in losses. In 1971, Carlton rebounded, going 20–9 with a 3.56 ERA, his first of six 20–win seasons. Following another salary dispute, Cardinals owner Gussie Busch ordered Carlton traded. The Cardinals were offering $55,000 and Carlton wanted $10,000 more. He was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on February 26, 1972, just before the 1972 season for pitcher Rick Wise.
Tom Underwood (1953) -In his first start as a Cardinal against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was trailing 2-1 when he exited the game in the fourth with the bases loaded. Clay Carroll allowed all three inherited runners to score, giving Underwood five earned runs in 3.1 innings pitched. He ended his time in St. Louis at 6-9 with a 4.95 ERA. After the season, he and minor league pitcher Víctor Cruz were traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for pitcher Pete Vuckovich and a player to be named later.
Lonnie Smith (1955) -He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in November 1981, for Lary Sorensen, in a deal which eventually netted the Phillies Bo Díaz. Smith continued to hit well in 1982, and to have a good on-base percentage. In fact, 1982 was a high-water year for Smith in several different ways: Smith was in the MLB All-Star Game for the only time in his career in 1982. He had a batting average of .307, and on-base percentage of .381. He led the National League with 120 runs scored, which was the only time that he scored 100+ runs in a season during his major league career. Smith also set career highs in 1982 with 592 at-bats, 182 hits, 35 doubles, and 257 total bases during the regular season. He also ranked second in the National league with a career-high 68 stolen bases, but he was also caught stealing a career-high 26 times. The Cardinals’ manager, Whitey Herzog, had ordered his fastest players to attempt to steal bases whenever possible as part of his strategy for winning.
All of the above pushed Smith all the way up to second place in voting for the regular-season National League Most Valuable Player for 1982. That season, outfielder Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves won the National League MVP award, tying for the lead in runs batted in and walloping 36 home runs. He batted a healthy .321 during the 1982 World Series, and he helped the Cardinals to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers, four games to three.
Towards the end of his first season with the Cardinals, Smith infamously attacked the Phillie Phanatic. Despite his speed, Smith was known for occasionally tripping and falling while running. He attributed this to being “pigeon-toed” as a child. During a series between the Cardinals and the Phillies in September 1982, the Phillie Phanatic began mimicking Smith at close range before the game, doing belly-whops on the turf. Tired of the mocking, Smith tackled the Phanatic, reportedly injuring the mascot’s ankles. Despite this, Smith was still allowed to play, so when he took his position in left field, Phillies fans started throwing beer bottles at him. Rather than seeking shelter, Smith turned around, threw up his arms, and taunted them, daring them to hit him, which none did.
Smith continued to play well during 1983, batting .321 (which placed him second in the National League only to Bill Madlock’s .323), but in just 130 games, to again draw some MVP votes. However, this baseball season was struck with his first bout with illicit drug abuse, which sidelined him for a month at mid-season during a highly publicized rehabilitation stint at the Hyland Center in St. Louis.
Smith returned to the Cardinals after his time on the bench in 1983, and he remained with them through the end of the 1984 baseball season. He was traded to the Royals in exchange for outfielder John Morris on May 17, 1985.
Deaths
- Allyn Stout 1974
- John Mercer 1982
- Hal Rice 1997
- Jose Oliva 1997