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How Wayne Krenchicki found a way to beat Cardinals

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on October 28, 2018| 3 Comments »

For Wayne Krenchicki, who usually didn’t do well against Cardinals pitching, a game-winning hit, even a crummy one, was a special achievement.

Krenchicki played eight years in the major leagues as an infielder for the Orioles (1979-81), Reds (1982-83 and 1984-85), Tigers (1983) and Expos (1986).

A left-handed hitter, he had a career batting average of .266, though he hit .169 lifetime against the Cardinals.

Right spot

On May 23, 1983, the reigning World Series champion Cardinals looked to end a three-game losing streak when they faced the Reds at Cincinnati. Cardinals starter Joaquin Andujar was matched against Joe Price. Krenchicki played third base and batted seventh.

In the sixth inning, with the Cardinals ahead, 1-0, Johnny Bench drew a one-out walk from Andujar and Ron Oester doubled to right, moving Bench to third. Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog ordered an intentional walk to Paul Householder, loading the bases for Krenchicki.

The Cardinals were hoping for an inning-ending double play from Krenchicki, who was batting .167 for the season. Krenchicki was seeking a sacrifice fly. “I wanted to hit in the air to the outfield,” Krenchicki said to the Cincinnati Enquirer. “All I wanted was the one run.”

Andujar got ahead in the count, 1-and-2, and threw a slider “right in on my fists,” Krenchicki told the Dayton Journal-Herald.

Krenchicki swung and looped a floater to the opposite field. The ball fell softly inside the left-field foul line, barely fair, for a bloop double, scoring Bench and Oester and giving the Reds the lead.

“It was just crummy enough that I knew nobody would catch it,” Krenchicki said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“Yeah, I’d agree with that,” Herzog said to United Press International. “It hit right in the middle of the chalk line.”

Andujar yelled at Krenchicki, “You throw the ball harder than you hit it.”

Bill Scherrer relieved Price, held the Cardinals hitless over the last three innings and the Reds won, 2-1. Boxscore

Cardinals connection

A month later, the Reds traded Krenchicki to the Tigers and reacquired him after the 1983 season. Krenchicki played two more years with the Reds before he was dealt to the Expos in March 1986 for pitcher Norm Charlton, who became one of the Nasty Boy relievers who helped give the Reds their swagger in their World Series championship season in 1990.

Krenchicki, a Trenton, N.J., native, was a standout shortstop at the University of Miami and played for the Hurricanes when they made their first appearance in the College World Series in 1974. Krenchicki, a first-round draft choice of the Orioles in January 1976, was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.

Krenchicki’s last season as a professional player was 1988 when he played for three minor-league teams, including the Cardinals’ Class AAA affiliate, the Louisville Redbirds. Playing for manager Mike Jorgensen, Krenchicki hit .195 in 18 games for Louisville before he was released on June 17, 1988.

After his playing career, Krenchicki spent 20 years (1991-2010) as a minor-league manager, primarily with independent teams not affiliated with major-league organizations. He managed the Newark Bears to the Atlantic League championship in 2007.

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Jim Taylor power runs thwart Cardinals defensive schemes

Posted in Football, Games, Opponents on October 23, 2018| 9 Comments »

(Updated May 1, 2022)

The punishing rushes of Green Bay Packers fullback Jim Taylor shredded a daring defense of the St. Louis football Cardinals.

Taylor was a bruising rusher for the championship Packers teams of the 1960s. Paired in a backfield with “Golden Boy” halfback Paul Hornung, Taylor was a powerful force who twice led the NFL in rushing touchdowns and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In 1962, Taylor topped the NFL in rushing yards with 1,474 in 14 games. He faced the St. Louis Cardinals for the first time that season and his rushing and pass-catching skills were key to enabling the Packers to overcome a challenging defensive scheme.

Game plan

The Cardinals and Packers each had 1-0 records entering their game on Sept. 23, 1962, at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Packers were the reigning NFL champions and the Cardinals were looking to establish themselves as contenders.

Cardinals head coach Wally Lemm and his staff devised a plan to apply pressure on Packers quarterback Bart Starr by having St. Louis defensive players use stunting maneuvers and blitzing schemes.

The stunting meant two or more Cardinals defenders would alter their usual paths to the quarterback in an effort to confuse the Packers’ offensive linemen.

The blitzing freed a defensive back or linebacker to leave his usual post and become an extra pass rusher. New York Giants linebacker Donald “Red Dog” Ettinger is credited with being the first to use the technique from 1948-50 and blitzes came to be known as “red dogging.” In 1960, Cardinals assistant coach Chuck Drulis designed a blitz using safety Larry Wilson and named it “wildcat.”

Pressuring Pack

The blitzing and stunting of Cardinals defenders confused the Packers in the first half of their 1962 game. Starr “was under considerable pressure from the Cardinals’ determined rush, including red-dogging defensive halfbacks,” the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported.

Packers offensive tackle Forrest Gregg said the Cardinals “were doing a lot of jumping around in there and we weren’t picking them up.”

Said Packers coach Vince Lombardi: “Their defense upset us in the beginning. We had a hell of a time trying to find them. They did a lot of stunting in there … It was new to us. We hadn’t seen it before this year.”

Lombardi and his staff tried to make adjustments during the first half, but were unsuccessful in communicating effectively during the helter-skelter pace of the game. The best the Packers could do was hold on until they could regroup in the locker room at halftime. “We had to put it on the (chalk) board,” Lombardi said.

The Packers’ defense, led by linemen Willie Davis and Henry Jordan, stopped the Cardinals, and Green Bay led, 3-0, at halftime on Hornung’s field goal.

Fast learners

Using the chalkboard to illustrate what needed to be done to counter the Cardinals’ aggressive blitzing and stunting, Lombardi and his staff instructed their offensive linemen to block in assigned areas rather than man against man, and they told Starr to turn Taylor loose to rumble and mix in short passes to Taylor and tight end Ron Kramer.

The adjustments worked. Taylor, 6 feet and 215 pounds, pounded the Cardinals with runs up the middle and put the Packers in position to score a pair of touchdowns.

“In three years, nobody has run through our middle as the Packers did,” defensive tackle Frank Fuller, who played for the Cardinals from 1960-62, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Taylor “turned the tide with his powerful smashes in the second half,” the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported. Taylor “punished the Cardinals’ defense with his hard hitting … His thrusts up the middle helped the (Packers) loosen up the Cardinals’ defense and thus make their passing work.”

Taylor finished with 122 yards rushing on 23 carries and also had four catches for 40 yards. Hornung had a three-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, Starr connected with Max McGee on a 19-yard scoring strike in the fourth quarter and the Packers won, 17-0. Boxscore

“We adjusted between halves,” Lombardi said. “In the second half, we zone blocked and area blocked. The boys picked them up real well.”

Said Taylor: “We just got to zone blocking in the second half and they changed their defense. They weren’t red-dogging so much and the red dogs were not real hard to pick up.”

One of a kind

Lemm praised the Packers as “the best-balanced team in football. Father Time is the only thing that’s going to beat the Packers.”

Regarding Taylor, Lemm said to the Post-Dispatch, “He has a great ability to slide out and get moving. He takes a pitchout quick with that sliding ability.”

Lemm added, “The blocks Hornung throws for Taylor are really something.”

The Cardinals totaled 16 yards rushing and their top receiver, Sonny Randle, had one catch for five yards. Halfback John David Crow had nine yards on nine carries.

“We don’t have a Taylor,” Lemm lamented.

The 1962 Packers repeated as NFL champions and Taylor also played for league champions in 1965 and 1966. The Cardinals finished 4-9-1 in 1962.

Taylor played two more regular-season games against the Cardinals in his career. On Oct. 20, 1963, he rushed for 67 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-7 Packers victory. On Dec. 12, 1967, in his final NFL season with the Saints, the former Louisiana State standout had 34 yards rushing in a game the Cardinals won, 31-20.

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Why Cardinals considered Phil Clark potential relief ace

Posted in Games, Pitchers on October 20, 2018| 4 Comments »

The Cardinals projected rookie Phil Clark to be their top reliever in 1958, but the role eventually went to the opposing pitcher who earned a win in Clark’s major-league debut.

Clark was a well-regarded prospect for the Cardinals in the 1950s. After graduating from Albany (Ga.) High School, Clark signed with St. Louis before the 1951 season and was assigned to his hometown Albany Cardinals, a Class D farm club.

Clark, 18, pitched 219 innings for Albany and was 18-7 with a 2.96 ERA. He spent the next two years in the Navy before returning to the Cardinals system in 1954.

A sensational 1957 season with the Class AA Houston Buffaloes elevated Clark’s status. The right-hander was 16-6 with a 1.83 ERA in 63 relief appearances that year.

High hopes

At spring training in 1958, Clark impressed with a string of eight scoreless innings in three exhibition games. “He’s temperamentally and physically equipped to be our No. 1 man in the bullpen.” Cardinals general manager Bing Devine told The Sporting News.

A sinkerball specialist with excellent control, Clark threw an assortment of pitches, but relied on a slider. Clark knew more about pitching technique than any other Cardinals prospect, scout Joe Mathes said.

The Sporting News reported Clark was “the best bet among the newcomers to stick and help the club” in 1958 and Sports Illustrated declared Clark as the rookie the Cardinals were “counting on most.”

On April 15, 1958, the Cardinals opened the season at home against the Cubs. Clark made his big-league debut in the seventh and pitched two scoreless innings, but the Cubs won, 4-0. Cubs starter Jim Brosnan pitched six innings, didn’t allow a run and got the win. Boxscore

After losing their first four games, the Cardinals won on April 20, 1958, against the Cubs at Chicago. Clark earned the save, holding the Cubs scoreless over the final three innings of a 9-4 Cardinals triumph. Brosnan, the Cubs’ starter, gave up four runs in three innings and was the losing pitcher. Boxscore

In his first three Cardinals appearances, all against the Cubs, Clark pitched a total of six scoreless innings. His next two outings, however, caused the Cardinals to lose confidence in him.

Changing course

On April 23, 1958, at San Francisco, Clark relieved in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, Giants runners on first and second and the Cardinals ahead, 7-4. The first batter Clark faced, Orlando Cepeda, hit a two-run triple and the next, Daryl Spencer, followed with a two-run home run, giving the Giants an 8-7 victory. Boxscore

In Clark’s next appearance, May 2, 1958, at St. Louis, he entered in the ninth with the Reds ahead, 4-3. He faced four batters and all reached base. Vada Pinson singled, Frank Robinson walked, George Crowe hit a three-run home run and Don Hoak doubled. Boxscore

Two weeks later, on May 20, 1958, the Cardinals sent Clark, 0-1 with one save and a 3.52 ERA in seven relief appearances, to their Class AAA Omaha farm club and acquired Brosnan from the Cubs for shortstop Alvin Dark.

In 12 starts for the 1958 Cardinals, Brosnan, an aspiring author, was 4-3 with a 4.50 ERA. Converted into a reliever by Cardinals manager Fred Hutchinson, Brosnan was 4-1 with seven saves and a 1.67 ERA in 21 relief appearances, successfully filling the role given to Clark at the start of the season.

Bullpen buddies

As the Cardinals began spring training in 1959, Brosnan was the closer and Clark, 10-6 with a 2.75 ERA in 44 relief appearances for Omaha in 1958, was a candidate for a bullpen role.

The two pitchers, whose career paths intersected so often in 1958, met for the first time during training camp and became friends. In his book, “The Long Season,” Brosnan wrote, “My first impressions of Phil Clark were reasonably soul-satisfying. Phil is a Georgia boy with a pleased-to-give-you-the-shirt-off-my back personality.”

Clark earned a spot on the Cardinals’ 1959 Opening Day roster and Brosnan wanted him as a road roommate, but the club assigned another pitcher, Alex Kellner, to room with Brosnan instead.

The erudite Brosnan, nicknamed “Professor,” and Kellner, a big-game hunter who roped mountain lions, were an odd couple. Kellner liked to watch TV westerns while Brosnan preferred to read. “I had to read my book with a pillow over my left ear, a pillow beneath my right ear and just enough light to see the larger type,” Brosnan wrote.

Tough game

Neither Clark nor Brosnan pitched well for the 1959 Cardinals.

On April 26, 1959, Clark entered a game against the Dodgers at St. Louis with the score tied at 9-9. He pitched a scoreless seventh, but in the eighth he gave up three runs, one earned. The Dodgers won, 17-11, and Clark was the losing pitcher. Boxscore

“Clark, being a good pitcher and knowing how to pitch, had made so many good pitches only to see them turned into handle-hits, bad hops over the infielders’ shoulders, bloops to the outfield and squibs through the infield, that a sympathetic observer, like a wife, could almost cry in desperation,” Brosnan wrote.

On May 9, 1959, Brosnan and Clark rode together to Busch Stadium for the game that day against the Cubs. Brosnan was in the training room when Clark walked in and asked Doc Bauman if he could use the phone. Clark called his wife and asked her to come get him. The Cardinals had informed him he was going back to the minors.

“He dropped the phone back onto its cradle, looked down at the floor for a moment and walked quickly from the room back to his locker,” Brosnan wrote. “I started to follow him, thought better of it, picked up the morning paper and went into the latrine to read.

“There was nothing I could say to Philip that would help. At cutdown date in organized baseball it’s every man for himself. My first reaction was relief that it wasn’t I who had just lost his job.”

Clark was 0-1 with a 12.86 ERA in seven relief appearances when the Cardinals demoted him. A month later, on June 8, 1959, Brosnan, 1-3 with two saves and a 4.91 ERA, was traded to the Reds for pitcher Hal Jeffcoat.

Brosnan regained his effectiveness with the Reds and was a relief ace in 1961 when they won the National League pennant.

Clark was with Omaha until July when he was traded to the St. Paul Saints, Class AAA farm club of the Dodgers, for pitcher Bob Darnell.

Clark pitched in the Dodgers’ minor-league system from 1959-61. He was a teacher, coach and assistant principal for public schools in Albany, Ga., from 1960-88.

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Coco Laboy: Cardinals outcast brought joy to Expos

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents on October 14, 2018| 4 Comments »

The National League expansion draft enabled third baseman Coco Laboy to get out from under control of the Cardinals and earn a chance to play in the big leagues.

On Oct. 14, 1968, Laboy was selected by the Expos in the sixth and final round of the draft.

Laboy, 28, had been in the Cardinals’ system for six seasons, including the last four at the Class AAA level. Though he hit for average and with power and fielded well, he never got the call to play for the Cardinals.

Given an opportunity by the Expos, Laboy delivered, becoming a popular and productive player in the franchise’s inaugural year.

Stay or go?

After the 1968 season, the National League expanded from 10 teams to 12 with the addition of the Expos in Montreal and the Padres in San Diego.

To help stock their rosters, the newcomers were permitted to draft a total of 60 players, 30 for each expansion club, from the existing National League franchises. The draft consisted of six rounds, and the Expos and Padres were allowed to each select five players per round from the major-league and minor-league rosters of the other clubs.

Each National League team could protect 15 players. A team could protect three more players each time one was taken from its list of unprotected.

The 15 players protected by the two-time defending National League champion Cardinals were pitchers Nelson Briles, Steve Carlton, Bob Gibson, Jerry Reuss and Ray Washburn; catchers Tim McCarver and Ted Simmons; infielders Orlando Cepeda, Joe Hague, Julian Javier, Dal Maxvill and Mike Shannon; and outfielders Lou Brock, Curt Flood and Vada Pinson, according to Bob Broeg of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Cardinals wavered until the last minute before protecting Washburn instead of newly acquired pitcher Dave Giusti, the Post-Dispatch reported.

When the Padres chose Giusti in the first round, the Cardinals added pitchers Joe Hoerner and Mike Torrez and infielder Steve Huntz to the protected list.

Joining Giusti and Laboy among the players drafted from the Cardinals were pitcher Clay Kirby (second round) and infielder Jerry DaVanon (third round) by the Padres and pitchers Jerry Robertson (fourth round) and Larry Jaster (fifth round) by the Expos.

Laboy batted .292 with 44 doubles and 100 RBI for the Tulsa Oilers in 1968. “He’s been a fine Triple-A hitter,” said Cardinals general manager Bing Devine, “but he’s been in our minor-league system a long time without having been brought up. Frankly, we were glad to see him get a chance in the big leagues.”

Going nowhere

Jose Laboy was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, the same hometown of Orlando Cepeda. Laboy told the Montreal Gazette people called him Coco for as long as he could remember, but he didn’t know why.

At 18, he signed with the Giants and played for four seasons (1959-62) in their farm system. He batted .305 with 83 RBI for the Class C Fresno Giants in 1960, but in 1962 Laboy suffered a serious back injury on a slide into second base, was limited to 13 games and got released after the season. “The doctors told me I’d never play again,” Laboy said to The Sporting News.

Laboy played winter ball in Puerto Rico, proved he was healthy and signed with the Cardinals in February 1963. The Cardinals assigned him to the Class A Winnipeg Goldeyes and he batted .292 with 21 home runs that season.

In 1964, Laboy was sent to the Class A Raleigh Cardinals, who were managed by George Kissell. Laboy thrived, batting .340 with 24 home runs, but an incident late in the season tarnished him.

On Aug. 20, 1964, in a game at Rocky Mount, N.C., Laboy became convinced pitcher Carl Middledorf was throwing at him and others. In the fifth inning, Laboy bunted along the first-base line. As Middledorf fielded the ball, Laboy charged at him with a bat. Laboy hit Middledorf twice with the bat, striking him in the back and chest, and a brawl ensued, the Rocky Mount Telegram reported.

Middledorf was not badly hurt and continued pitching until the eighth inning, according to the Rocky Mount newspaper.

Police arrested Laboy, took him to headquarters and charged him with assault with a deadly weapon. Laboy was released on $150 bail, appeared in court the next morning and entered a guilty plea. Judge Tom Matthews sentenced Laboy to 30 days on a road crew, suspended the sentence and fined him $20.25. The Carolina League suspended Laboy for three days and fined him $25.

Oh, Canada

While playing winter ball in Puerto Rico, Laboy’s teammate for three years was Phillies second baseman Tony Taylor.

“I knew when I first saw him that he could make the major leagues,” Taylor said to Sports Illustrated.

Taylor shared his insights with Phillies manager Gene Mauch. When Mauch became Expos manager, he remembered Taylor’s recommendation of Laboy.

“Several times when I was managing the Phillies I talked to Tony Taylor about Laboy,” Mauch said. “Before we went to the draft meetings, I talked to Tony again.”

Taylor said Laboy “is a good ballplayer and a smart one. He is the kind of player Mauch likes.”

At Expos spring training camp in West Palm Beach, Fla., in 1969, Mauch and his staff showed unwavering confidence in Laboy, even though he struggled while trying to impress.

The Expos went into their inaugural season with Laboy as their third baseman. In the season opener on April 8, 1969, against the Mets at New York, the Expos led, 8-6, in the eighth when Laboy hit a three-run home run against Ron Taylor, the former Cardinal. Laboy’s home run proved the difference in an 11-10 Expos triumph. Boxscore

A week later, on April 14, 1969, the Expos played their first home game, facing the Cardinals at Jarry Park. In the seventh, with the score tied at 7-7, Laboy hit a double against Gary Waslewski and scored on pitcher Dan McGinn’s single to left. “I never ran harder,” said Laboy, whose run provided the winning margin in an 8-7 Expos victory. Boxscore

Laboy acknowledged getting special pleasure from beating the Cardinals. “They never gave me a chance,” he said. “I wanted especially to beat them today.”

Fun while it lasted

Laboy’s magical beginning to his major-league career continued throughout the first month. He batted .377 with 14 RBI in 20 April games.

“Every day he does something that just tickles me,” Mauch said. “Sometimes I want to kiss him.”

Asked to explain why Laboy was performing so well, Mauch said, “Character. Coco’s got that. He just tries so damn hard to do what you want _ and he’s doing it.”

Laboy finished his rookie season with a .258 batting mark, 18 home runs and 83 RBI.

The next season was a different story. Laboy hit .199 in 1970, was replaced by Bob Bailey at third base in 1971, and spent three seasons as a reserve before the Expos released him in September 1973 at age 33.

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Asian adventure: Cards mixed business, pleasure in Japan

Posted in Games, Opponents on October 8, 2018| 4 Comments »

After losing their way while trying to navigate a path to the top of the 1958 National League standings, the Cardinals embarked on an odyssey of cultural awakening and confidence building.

In the fall of 1958, the Cardinals traveled to Japan for a goodwill tour and a series of 16 exhibition games against Japanese all-star teams. Along the way, the Cardinals also played exhibition games in Hawaii, Guam, Philippines, Okinawa Island and South Korea.

The Cardinals began the journey from St. Louis on Oct. 9, 1958, and completed the trip with their return on Nov. 18, 1958.

During their adventure, the Cardinals won nearly every game, providing a boost to their self-esteem after finishing the regular season at 72-82, 20 wins fewer than the National League champion Braves.

In addition, the Cardinals were exposed to a world they never knew.

Palaces and diamonds

The Cardinals took 20 players, along with manager Solly Hemus and coaches Johnny Keane and Harry Walker, on the excursion.

They had eight pitchers _ Bob Blaylock, Ernie Broglio, Jim Brosnan, Larry Jackson, Sam Jones, Vinegar Bend Mizell, Phil Paine and Bill Wight.

Brosnan agreed to write columns for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch during the trip.

The 12 Cardinals position players were Ruben Amaro, Don Blasingame, Ken Boyer, Joe Cunningham, Alex Grammas, Gene Green, Ray Katt, Wally Moon, Stan Musial, Bobby Gene Smith, Hal Smith and Lee Tate.

As the Cardinals boarded a plane at Lambert Field in St. Louis, “Musial was the last man up the ramp,” the Post-Dispatch reported. “Musial had the biggest camera kit of all the big camera kits. When the trip is finished, Hemus will know what every Cardinal can do with a 35-millimeter.”

The Cardinals arrived in Honolulu on Oct. 10 and were welcomed by “a hula dancing troupe and a high school band,” the Associated Press reported. The team was taken to Iolana Palace and met with Hawaii Governor William Quinn, a graduate of St. Louis University. Musial was presented a key to the city by Honolulu Mayor Neal Blaisdell.

The Cardinals won all three exhibition games in Hawaii against local teams whose rosters were supplemented by visiting big-league players Lew Burdette, Bob Turley and Eddie Mathews, who were paid to participate.

On the way to the Japanese mainland from Hawaii, the Cardinals stopped at Guam, Manila and Okinawa Island and won an exhibition game against locals or military clubs at each site.

Play to win

The Cardinals arrived in Tokyo on Oct. 20, 1958.

“Dressed in bright maroon coats, white shirts, light gray ties with black and white stripes, light gray trousers and black shoes, they were given a rousing welcome by more than 1,500 fans, most of them flag-waving children,” the Associated Press reported.

From the airport, the Cardinals were driven through Tokyo in 13 decorated open cars and presented with large floral bouquets by kimono-clad women. The team also was greeted by a group of American children, residents of Yokohama, dressed in Cardinals uniforms.

The Cardinals prepared to play 16 games throughout Japan, plus one in Seoul, South Korea.

“We’re going to win all 16 games during our Japan visit,” Hemus said. “My boys are going to hit at least 25 home runs in Japan. No one wants to lose even goodwill games. We came to Japan to win every game we can.”

On Oct. 23, 20,000 people streamed into Tokyo’s Komazawa Stadium to watch the Cardinals conduct their first workout. “I never saw so many people watch a mere workout,” Hemus said.

Altering slightly his prediction of a sweep, Hemus said, “If we lose more than two games to the Japanese all-stars, I’m going to be mighty disappointed.”

Clubhouse chronicler

Broadcaster Joe Garagiola accompanied the Cardinals on the trip and his broadcasts were carried by Cardinals flagship radio station KMOX.

Readers of the Post-Dispatch were treated to Brosnan’s insightful, clever prose. Some examples:

_ “At Chunichi Stadium in Nagoya, the Japanese proved they can hit a hanging curveball as far as anyone. I threw one in the ninth and this fellow, Yomauchi, parked it in the center field seats, 410 feet away.”

_ “An amazingly industrious people, the Japanese are handicapped by lack of land, but utilize every foot-acre, each tillable clod of black earth. In the bottomlands, the rice is planted, the garden plots are stuffed with huge cabbages and turnips, and the slopes sport timber and orchards. Even the mountains look hand-formed.”

_ “They say it goes to 35-below at Sapporo in December. At the Sapporo Grand Hotel, a grand hotel, under a sheet, two blankets and a quilt three inches thick, I burrowed in for the winter. Which lasted for nine hours; then we suited up for another game.”

_ “To get to the Hotel Fujiya from Tokyo, we had to take a narrow road, just wide enough for an English bicycle, down which Japanese buses go careening madly in order to keep on schedule. Arriving in a downpour, after a three-hour ride, everyone was struck by the beauty of the bar.”

_ “The hotel’s rooms are not numbered, as from 100 to 1,000, but given individual names, such as Chrysanthemum, Cape Jasmine and Nandina Japonica. Try to remember that at 3 in the morning after a bottle of sake.”

Lost in translation

To the delight of Hemus, the Cardinals won 14 of the 16 games against the Japanese all-stars, plus the exhibition in Seoul versus the South Korean all-stars.

On the way back, several Cardinals departed in San Francisco and headed from there to their homes. The rest of the party went on to St. Louis and emerged from the plane “looking like gypsies traveling first class,” with luggage laden with souvenirs, the Post-Dispatch reported.

The trip was a success, but it didn’t help the Cardinals compete any better in the National League. They lost 15 of their first 20 games in 1959 and finished the season next-to-last at 71-83.

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Tommy McDonald and his big game versus Cardinals

Posted in Football, Games, Opponents on October 3, 2018| 6 Comments »

In a game featuring an inordinate number of big plays, Philadelphia Eagles flanker Tommy McDonald produced one nearly every time he touched the football.

On Dec. 16, 1962, McDonald made four catches, three for touchdowns, in a game versus the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. In a NFL career filled with achievements, it was McDonald’s best performance against the Cardinals.

McDonald was one of the NFL’s most amazing players. At 5 feet 9, 175 pounds, he was a prolific pass catcher who regularly produced touchdowns.

Walking tall

McDonald was born in Roy, New Mexico, and his father was a farmer and electrician who set up a spotlight outside the barn “so his sons could play basketball after milking the cows each night,” according to The Daily Oklahoman.

A multi-sport athlete in high school, McDonald was recruited by the University of Oklahoma and was a running back for coach Bud Wilkinson on three consecutive unbeaten teams from 1954-56. McDonald scored 17 touchdowns, 16 rushing and one receiving, for the 1955 national champions. McDonald’s success at Oklahoma earned him election to the College Football Hall of Fame.

“There are worlds of people with potential physical abilities greater than McDonald’s,” Wilkinson said to Sports Illustrated. “About his only real advantages are quickness and extraordinary determination.”

The Eagles selected McDonald in the third round of the 1957 NFL draft and converted him to a receiver.

McDonald was undersized but tough. On Oct. 4, 1959, a week after he broke his jaw and had it wired shut, McDonald played against the New York Giants and scored four touchdowns _ three on receptions and the other on a punt return.

As a teen, McDonald lost the tip of his left thumb in a motorbike accident, the New York Times reported, but he was as sure-handed as any receiver in the NFL.

McDonald also benefitted from learning the proper way to go down after being tackled by much larger defensive players. “I fall like 175 pounds of spaghetti,” McDonald said.

“He has the balance of a gymnast,” Sports Illustrated observed, and as teammate Tom Brookshier said, “The little rat is strong as a bull.”

Good chemistry

Quarterback Norm Van Brocklin, traded by the Rams to the Eagles in 1958, mentored McDonald “in the art of running pass patterns,” the Times reported, and McDonald became Van Brocklin’s favorite receiver.

McDonald led the NFL in touchdown receptions (nine) in 1958.

In the 1960 NFL championship game against the Packers, McDonald caught three passes from Van Brocklin for 90 yards and a touchdown in a 17-13 Eagles victory.

“If I had to pick one guy to throw the ball to with the game on the line, I’d pick McDonald,” Van Brocklin told Ray Didinger, author of “The Eagles Encyclopedia.”

Van Brocklin retired after the 1960 season and his protege, Sonny Jurgensen, took over as Eagles quarterback. Jurgensen and McDonald were friends and clicked on the field. McDonald led the NFL in receiving yards (1,144) in 1961.

Jurgensen, McDonald and Van Brocklin all would be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “I wound up with two great quarterbacks _ Van Brocklin and Jurgensen,” McDonald told The Daily Oklahoman. “You couldn’t go in a chemistry lab and mix up two better arms.”

Thrill ride

The Eagles and Cardinals each entered the 1962 season finale with a 3-9-1 record. Played on a sunny St. Louis Sunday with a temperature of 40 degrees and before a crowd of 14,989, the game quickly became what the Philadelphia Daily News described as “a spectator’s dream but a coach’s nightmare.”

Among the highlights:

_ McDonald made four catches for 162 yards. Three of those grabs were for touchdowns of 56, 60 and 40 yards, the latter “a remarkable diving catch,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

_ Jurgensen threw for 419 yards and five touchdowns. He did most of that damage from a shotgun formation designed to buy time against the Cardinals’ blitzes, according to the Inquirer.

_ Timmy Brown, the Eagles’ halfback, rushed for 50 yards and caught five passes for 199 yards, including touchdown receptions of 60 and 82 yards.

_ John David Crow, the Cardinals’ running back, rushed for three touchdowns and snared a 16-yard touchdown toss from quarterback Charley Johnson.

_ Johnson threw for 386 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score.

_ Sonny Randle, a Cardinals split end, made three catches for 134 yards and a touchdown.

_ Taz Anderson, a Cardinals flanker, totaled 175 yards on eight receptions.

The Cardinals led, 31-28, at halftime and won, 45-35. Game summary and Video

“I’ve never seen a shoddier defensive show by two teams,” said Eagles head coach Nick Skorich.

Cardinals head coach Wally Lemm said, “It seemed both teams wanted to give the game away, didn’t it?”

The teams combined for 1,087 yards _ 589 for the Cardinals; 498 for the Eagles.

“The defensive indolence gave the illusion of offensive excellence,” the Philadelphia Daily News concluded.

Finding the end zone

McDonald six times made three touchdown catches in a game _ five times for the Eagles and the other for the Rams.

He played 12 years in the NFL for the Eagles (1957-63), Cowboys (1964), Rams (1965-66), Falcons (1967) and Browns (1968). His last regular-season game was for the Browns against the Cardinals on Dec. 14, 1968.

McDonald finished his NFL career with 495 catches for 8,410 yards and 84 touchdowns. When he retired, his 84 touchdown receptions were the second-most in NFL history, behind the 99 for the Packers’ Don Hutson. McDonald was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.

“I think catching passes is judgment, mostly,” McDonald said. “I’ve got good vision, good peripheral vision. I think sometimes I can see things the defensive back doesn’t see.”

 

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