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In a 1964 World Series featuring Cardinals such as future Hall of Famer Lou Brock and all-stars Ken Boyer, Curt Flood, Dick Groat and Bill White, the hitter who performed with the most sustained excellence was their 22-year-old catcher, Tim McCarver.

Defeating the Yankees in seven games, the 1964 Cardinals received spectacular performances from pitcher Bob Gibson (two wins, 31 strikeouts in 27 innings), Boyer (two home runs, including a game-winning grand slam), Brock (nine hits, .300 batting average) and relievers Roger Craig and Ron Taylor (a combined 9.2 scoreless innings).

McCarver was every bit as good; perhaps the best of all. He hit a game-winning home run, stole home, led the Cardinals in hits (11) and walks (five) and fielded flawlessly (no errors in 63 innings) while helping a pitching staff navigate a Yankees lineup led by Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris.

Hot hitter

In hitting .478 with five RBI in the 1964 World Series, McCarver compiled a .552 on-base percentage.

The Cardinals have appeared in nine World Series since then and no St. Louis regular has had a higher on-base percentage than McCarver’s. (Among those who came close: Dane Iorg at .529 in 1982, Lance Berkman at .516 in 2011 and Brock, also at .516, in 1968.)

McCarver had the highest batting average by a Cardinal who played in every game of a World Series since Pepper Martin hit .500 in 1931, The Sporting News reported.

Gibson deservedly won the 1964 World Series Most Valuable Player Award, though a case could be made for McCarver, who was runner-up in the voting.

In Game 1, McCarver had a double and a triple against Whitey Ford, who was making his last World Series start in a Hall of Fame career. After his double in the sixth inning, McCarver scored the go-ahead run on a Carl Warwick single, breaking a 4-4 tie and sparking the Cardinals to a 9-5 victory at St. Louis. Boxscore

Swinging away

After the Cardinals and Yankees split the first four games, the score in Game 5 on Oct. 12, 1964, at Yankee Stadium was tied 2-2 after nine innings.

In the 10th, with White on third and Groat on first and one out, McCarver batted against reliever Pete Mikkelsen.

Cardinals manager Johnny Keane told The Sporting News he almost instructed McCarver to bunt.

“I considered a squeeze for Tim, but I was afraid of a pitchout,” Keane said.

With the count at 3-and-2, Mikkelsen threw a fastball and McCarver pulled it over the right-field fence for a three-run home run, lifting the Cardinals to a 5-2 victory. Boxscore and Video

“I was just trying to meet the ball, to get the guy (White) in from third base,” McCarver said. “I hit it good _ it was a waist-high fastball _ but at first I didn’t think it would be a homer. I didn’t think it would carry.

“I was dazed when I saw the ball go out. By the time I got to third, I was laughing out loud. I’m always laughing, even when I’m sad. The way I feel now, I’ll never be sad again.”

McCarver had singled in the two at-bats before hitting the home run. He also singled in his first two at-bats in Game 6, giving him five hits in a row. That was one short of the World Series record of six consecutive hits by Goose Goslin of the 1924 Senators.

Daredevil on base

In the fourth inning of Game 7 at St. Louis, McCarver was on third and Mike Shannon on first with one out and the Cardinals ahead, 1-0. With Dal Maxvill at the plate and Mel Stottlemyre pitching, Shannon broke for second base on a steal attempt.

Catcher Elston Howard threw to second, trying to nail Shannon, who eluded the tag of second baseman Bobby Richardson. McCarver dashed for home, beating Richardson’s return peg to Howard. McCarver had a steal of home. It would be his lone stolen base in 21 World Series games. Video

The Cardinals went on to a 7-5 victory and their first World Series title in 18 years. Boxscore

The next day, McCarver turned 23, celebrating his birthday as a World Series sensation.