February 23 in Cardinals History

1922– The Cardinals receive news that catcher William “Pickles” Dilhoefer dies of pneumonia. He was 27 years of age.

1937– The St. Louis Cardinals purchased Dick Siebert from the Chicago Cubs

1954– The St. Louis Cardinals purchased Vic Raschi from the New York Yankees for $85,000

2004- The St. Louis Cardinals selected Luis Martinez off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.

Birthdays

Rudy Hulswitt  (February 23, 1877 in Newport, Kentucky – January 16, 1950 in Louisville, Kentucky), was a professional baseball player who played shortstop in the Major Leagues from 1899-1910. He would play for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Louisville Colonels, and St. Louis Cardinals. His last at bat came with the Cardinals on August 25, 1910.

Lou Lowdermilk (February 23, 1887 – December 27, 1975), was a pitcher who played in 1911 and 1912 with the St. Louis Cardinals. Lowdermilk had a 4–5 record with a 3.38 ERA, in 20 career games, in his two-year career.

Lynn Myers  (February 23, 1914 – January 19, 2000) was a backup infielder in Major League Baseball, playing mainly at shortstop from 1938 through 1939 for the St. Louis Cardinals. He batted and threw right-handed. In a two-season career, Myers was a .241 hitter (83-for-344) with one home run and 29 RBI in 144 games, including 42 runs, 16 doubles, three triples, and 10 stolen bases.

Ron Hunt (born February 23, 1941 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a former Major League Baseball player. A second baseman who also played third base sparingly, Hunt played for the New York Mets (1963–1966), Los Angeles Dodgers (1967), San Francisco Giants (1968–1970), Montreal Expos (1971–1974) and St. Louis Cardinals (1974). In 1971 Hunt set a single-season record for being hit by more pitches (50) than any player since 1900.Late in the 1974 season, he was waived to his hometown St. Louis Cardinals, with whom he closed out his career after playing 12 games. The Cardinals brought Hunt to Spring training in 1975, but released him in March.

Don Shaw (born February 23, 1944 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched all or part of five seasons in the majors, between 1967 and 1972, for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland Athletics. Shaw was the winning pitcher in the Montreal Expos’ first game ever in their franchise history against the Mets at Shea Stadium in New York City in April of 1969. He won 13 games and lost 14 in his career.

Juan Agosta  (born February 23, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals and the Seattle Mariners. In 13 seasons, Agosto had 40 wins, 33 losses, and a 4.01 earned run average (ERA)

John Morris  (born February 23, 1961, in Freeport, New York) is a former professional baseball player who played seven seasons in the major leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, and California Angels.Morris was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the first round of the 1982 amateur draft out of Seton Hall University, where he played baseball for the Pirates under head coach Mike Sheppard. He played in the Royals organization until May 1985, when he was traded to the Cardinals for outfielder Lonnie Smith.
He was limited to 38 at-bats after coming back from surgery for a ruptured disc in 1989.

Bobby Bonilla  born February 23, 1963 in The Bronx, New York) is a former player in Major League Baseball of Afro-Puerto Rican descent who played from 1986 to 2001.
Through his 16 years in professional baseball, Bonilla accumulated a .279 batting average, with a .358 OBP and a .472 slugging. He was also part of the Florida Marlins team that won the 1997 World Series. Bonilla also led the league in extra base hits (78) during the 1990 MLB season and doubles (44) during the 1991 MLB season. He also participated in six All-Star Games and won three Silver Slugger Awards.
From 1992 to 1994, Bonilla was the highest paid player in the league, earning more than $6 million per year. Bonilla is currently being paid approximately $1.19 million by the New York Mets each year. This was part of a deal made when the Mets released Bonilla before the 2000 season while still owing him $5.9 million for the final year of his contract. The deal expires in 2035, at which point Bonilla will have been paid $29.8 million for a season in which he did not even play for the Mets. In 2001, he was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals, but injuries reduced his playing time. He played his final game on October 7, 2001 and finished the season with a .213 average, 37 hits, 5 home runs, and 21 runs batted in. He officially retired after the season finished citing “injuries and reduced playing time” as the main reason for his decision.
Overall, Bobby Bonilla finished his career with one championship, six All-Star appearances, and career statistics of 2,010 hits, 287 home runs, 1,173 runs batted in, and a career .279 batting average

Former Cardinals that Died on this Date

  • William “Pickles” Dilhoefer
  • Jim King