- The Cardinals purchase Larry McLean from the Reds in 1913.
- More on Larry McLean: He played for the Cardinals in 1905 and again in 1913 despite his love of corn whiskey. He was the tallest catcher in history at 6’5″. He was released from baseball after he got in a brawl with his manager and the next day they cut him loose. He died at age 39 at a saloon in which he was disorderly and became physical to the management. The night before he chased the bartender out and this just added to the issues. As the argument continued he was shot dead on the scene.
- Branch Rickey and the Cardinals buy a share of the Houston team in the Texas League to begin a plan for a farm system.
- The Cardinals announced in 1966 that Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium, which replaced Sportsman’s Park, will be renamed Busch Stadium
- In 1996, Busch Stadium has the AstroTurf removed (been that way for 26 years) during this month and plan to replace it with infield grass.
Birthdays
Dave Zearfoss 1868 – He played all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball between 1896 and 1905 for the New York Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals. He had a .208 batting average for his major league career.
Howard Murphy 1882 -He played in 25 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1909. His minor league baseball career spanned sixteen seasons, from 1901 until 1916.
Ethan Allen 1904 – With the Cardinals in 1933, In 1,123 games he compiled 1,325 hits and 47 home runs with 501 RBI, with a batting average of .300, on-base percentage of .336 and slugging average of .410. In 1935, he finished 17th in MVP voting with a batting average of .307 and a league-leading 156 games played. He hit .300 or better six times in his career. Defensively, Allen posted a .981 fielding percentage at all three outfield positions in his career.
Royce Lint 1921 – Lint, a 33-year-old rookie, spent the entire 1954 season with the St. Louis Cardinals as a relief pitcher. He made his major league debut on April 13 against the Chicago Cubs, pitching two innings of work and allowing no runs. The first batter he faced was Bob Talbot and his first strikeout, also recorded in that game, was Randy Jackson.He appeared in 33 games for the Cardinals in 1954 and went 2–3 with a 4.86 ERA in 701⁄3 innings. Though 29 of his appearances were in relief, four were starts — the first of which came in the second game of a doubleheader on July 4. Facing the Cubs, he threw a complete-game shutout.
Carl Scheib 1927 -During his MLB career, Scheib batted an even .250, with five home runs, 59 RBI and 117 hits in 468 at bats. In 11 seasons, Hr had a 45–65 win–loss record, in 267 games, with 107 games started, 47 complete games, 17 saves, 1,070 2⁄3 innings pitched, 290 strikeouts, and a 4.88 ERA. He finished his career in 1954 in a Cardinals uniform.
Fernando Tatis 1975 -At the trade deadline on July 31, 1998, the Rangers traded Tatís along with Darren Oliver and Mark Little to the St. Louis Cardinals for Royce Clayton and Todd Stottlemyre. Tatís had the best season of his career in 1999 with the St. Louis Cardinals. He hit 34 home runs with 107 RBI and 21 stolen bases, with a .298 batting average. On April 23, 1999, Tatís made baseball history when he hit two grand slams in one inning. He is the only batter in MLB history to accomplish this feat. Tatís hit both of his grand slams against starting pitcher Chan Ho Park of the Los Angeles Dodgers. With these two grand slams, Tatís also set a Major League record with eight runs batted in during a single inning. After playing only 96 games for the Cardinals in 2000 because of an injury, Tatís was traded to the Montreal Expos along with Britt Reames for Dustin Hermanson and Steve Kline. Tatís played just 208 games over three seasons with the Expos because of injuries.
Deaths
- Tige Stone 1960. He played in one game in the major leagues and it was on August 23, 1923, for the Cardinals.
- Joe Lotz 1971. He was a right-handed pitcher for the Cardinals in 1916 and he was 0-3 lifetime from the mound.
- Danny Frisella 1977. He played in 18 games as a right-handed pitcher in 1976 for the Cardinals with no record. He had his career cut short when he was killed in a dune buggy accident on New Year’s Day in 1977.
- Carmen Hill 1990. He played 10 years in the major leagues (1929-1939) the last two with the Cardinals as a pitcher. He was in 7 games and finished 0-1 for them.
- Ernie Koy 2007. He played in 1940 and part of 1941 with the Cardinals. He was in 106 games and batted .299 with 2 home runs and 27 runs batted in.
Hall of Famers
- Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg born on this date in 1911 – he played for Detroit and Pittsburgh
- Hall of Famer Willie Keeler died on this date in 1923- he played for NY Giants, Baltimore, Brooklyn, and NY Highlanders