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An impressive collection of managerial talent participated in an important game in the evolution of the Cardinals.

The Cardinals played a regular-season home game at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis for the first time on July 1, 1920.

In addition to managers Branch Rickey of the Cardinals and George Gibson of the Pirates, seven of the players in the game went on to manage in the big leagues.

Moving in

The Cardinals had been playing their home games at dilapidated Robison Field until club owner Sam Breadon convinced his counterpart with the American League Browns, Sportsman’s Park landlord Phil Ball, to take in the cash-strapped Cardinals as a tenant.

The move to renting at Sportsman’s Park enabled Breadon to demolish Robison Field and sell most of the property to the city of St. Louis for $200,000 and sell the rest of the land for $75,000 to a trolley company.

On June 6, 1920, a Sunday afternoon, the Cardinals played their last game at Robison Field before going on a road trip for the rest of the month. Boxscore.

When the Cardinals got back from the trip, their first game at Sportsman’s Park was scheduled for a Thursday afternoon against the Pirates.

Attracting a crowd

The Pirates vs. Cardinals game was the feature of a program of events held at Sportsman’s Park that day to benefit the St. Louis Tuberculosis Society.

Described by the St. Louis Star-Times as an “athletic carnival.” the program included a five-inning matchup between Army and Navy baseball teams and the completion of a high school boys’ road run. The Navy beat the Army, 7-5. The game between the Pirates and Cardinals was scheduled to follow at 4 p.m.

According to an advertisement in The Sporting News, the price for a ticket to the day’s entire program ranged from 50 cents to $1.50.

Customers poured into Sportsman’s Park early. By 2 p.m., “the reserved seats were taken,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Those with tickets for unreserved seats, referred to by the Post-Dispatch as “the unseated mob,” preferred standing room on the field to the “sun-baked bleachers” and they “swarmed into roped off areas” on both sides of left and right fields.

When the Pirates-Cardinals game began, attendance was 20,000, the Star-Times estimated.

Lots of leaders

The lineups for the Pirates and Cardinals featured these future big-league managers:

_ Pirates center fielder Max Carey, who became manager of the Dodgers (1932-33).

_ Pirates right fielder Billy Southworth, who became manager of the Cardinals (1929 and 1940-45) and Braves (1946-51). Southworth managed the Cardinals to three National League pennants and two World Series titles. He also won a pennant with the Braves.

_ Pirates shortstop Bill McKechnie, who became manager of the Pirates (1922-26), Cardinals (1928-29), Braves (1930-37) and Reds (1938-46). McKechnie managed the Cardinals to the 1928 pennant. He also won a pennant and World Series title with the Pirates, and two pennants and a World Series championship with the Reds.

_ Pirates first baseman Charlie Grimm, a St. Louis native who became manager of the Cubs (1932-38, 1944-49 and 1960) and Braves (1952-56). Grimm managed the Cubs to three pennants.

_ Cardinals left fielder Burt Shotton, who became manager of the Phillies (1928-33), Reds (1934) and Dodgers (1947-50). Shotton managed the Dodgers to two pennants.

_ Cardinals second baseman Rogers Hornsby, who became manager of the Cardinals (1925-26), Giants (1927), Braves (1928), Cubs (1930-32), Browns (1933-37 and 1952) and Reds (1952-53). Hornsby managed the Cardinals to their first pennant and World Series title in 1926.

_ Cardinals third baseman Milt Stock, who managed the Pirates for one game in 1951 and was a longtime coach in the majors.

Five of the participants in the game _ Carey, Hornsby, McKechnie, Rickey and Southworth _ would be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Carey and Hornsby got in as players, Southworth and McKechnie as managers and Rickey as an administrator.

Pirates prevail

The Pirates led, 2-0, through seven innings, but the Cardinals got a run in the eighth and another in the ninth, tying the score at 2-2.

In the 10th, Cardinals starter Ferdie Schupp was relieved by Bill Sherdel, whose “slants were eaten up like hot waffles,” according to the Pittsburgh Daily Post.

Carey led off with a single to left and Southworth struck out looking. Possum Whitted singled to right and Carey dashed to third, beating the throw of right fielder Joe Schultz.

Whitted rounded first on the play, drawing a throw from third baseman Milt Stock. Carey broke for home as Stock’s throw went to first baseman Jack Fournier. Whitted got back to the bag safely and Fournier hurried a throw toward home plate, hoping to nail Carey.

“Fournier should have had him by 40 feet,” the Pittsburgh Press declared, but the low toss eluded catcher Verne Clemons. As the ball rolled toward a dugout, Carey crossed the plate, putting the Pirates ahead, 3-2, and Whitted went to third.

Rattled, Sherdel walked McKechnie. Grimm doubled to center, scoring Whitted and giving the Pirates a 4-2 lead. The Pirates scored twice more against Sherdel and went on to a 6-2 victory. Boxscore

Though the outcome of their first game at Sportman’s Park wasn’t what the Cardinals wanted, the move there was hailed as a positive for the franchise.

In its July 8, 1920, edition, The Sporting News reported, “Everyone seems happy over the shift of the Cards to the Browns’ park. The attendance at the games played there has been all that could be asked for by the club management, and everything has run smoothly to date.”

The Cardinals continued to play at Sportman’s Park, later renamed Busch Stadium, until May 1966 when they moved into a new stadium in downtown St. Louis.