RetroSimba

In 1954, Cardinals center fielder Wally Moon batted .304 with 18 stolen bases, had an on-base percentage of .371 and won the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

A left-handed batter, Moon had most of his at-bats from the leadoff or No. 2 spots in the order.

He was part of a 1954 Cardinals team that led the National League in steals (with 63) after having just 18 as a team in 1953.

At 24, Moon took over for Enos Slaughter, who was traded to the Yankees just before the start of the 1954 season. Moon played center field and was flanked by Stan Musial in right and Rip Repulski in left.

Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky, looking for speed and a more aggressive style of play, promised to buy a suit for every St. Louis player who would steal 10 or more bases in 1954.

(According to The Sporting News, National League president Warren Giles later ordered Stanky to stop offering incentives to players for individual performances. Replied Stanky: “I respect authority and I’ll respect Mr. Giles’ wishes, though … I do feel I must live up to the promise to give the prizes for 10 or more stolen bases.”)

Moon was the only Cardinal to reach the goal. With nine steals, third baseman Ray Jablonski fell one short.

On May 25, 1954, Moon swiped four bases in the Cardinals’ 9-4 victory over the Cubs at St. Louis. The National League single-game record at the time was five by first baseman Dan McGann of the 1904 Giants.

With ex-Cardinal Walker Cooper, 39, catching for the Cubs, Moon stole second in the first inning, second in the fourth, and second and third in the fifth. Jim Willis’ pitch on Moon’s steal of third was wild and Moon continued home. Willis was so steamed that he plunked the next batter, Alex Grammas, with a pitch.

In the seventh, Moon flied out. If he had reached base, Stanky said, Moon would have gotten the signal to attempt to steal because Stanky was aware of the record. Boxscore

“I would have given Moon every chance to get that fifth steal,” Stanky told The Sporting News. “He’s a nervy youngster and when he says he’ll have another go at it, I’m sure that he will.”

Moon told reporters he expected to “take another crack one of these days” at the record, but the most steals he ever got in a game after that was two.

Two weeks after his four-steal performance, Moon was reckless rather than savvy on the bases in a game against the Phillies at St. Louis on June 6, 1954.

With the score tied 6-6 in the bottom of the sixth, the Cardinals loaded the bases with two outs and Jablonski at the plate. Moon tried to steal home, but pitcher Bob Miller’s delivery to catcher Smoky Burgess was on time to retire Moon and end the inning.

Stanky, coaching at third, was booed. The fired-up Phillies scored five in the seventh and went on to win, 11-8. Boxscore

Afterward, Stanky told St. Louis writer Bob Broeg, “When things go wrong on the field, it’s my fault. I gave the sign,” but Moon told Broeg he had run on his own.

Moon’s 18 steals in 1954 were the single-season high of his 12-year major-league career. He finished with 89 career steals in the big leagues.

With 17 of 24 votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America, Moon won the Rookie of the Year Award against top-flight competition. The Cubs’ Ernie Banks placed second in the voting (four votes) and the Braves’ Hank Aaron finished fourth (one vote).

Moon had 193 hits in 151 games for the 1954 Cardinals, with 12 home runs, 29 doubles, 71 walks, 76 RBI and 106 runs scored.

Read Full Post »

(Updated May 24, 2025)

In an era when hitting 30 home runs in a season was an extraordinary feat for a Cardinal, Dick Allen captivated St. Louis fans with his power.

Allen, in his lone season with St. Louis in 1970, was the first player to hit at least 30 homers in his first year with the Cardinals.

Allen was acquired for his power in the October 1969 trade that sent center fielder Curt Flood and catcher Tim McCarver from the Cardinals to the Phillies. Flood refused to report and launched a court challenge against baseball.

Dubbed by syndicated columnist Jim Murray as “the bad boy of baseball,” Allen was suspended by the Phillies during the 1969 season after he failed to show for a doubleheader. He also reported late for games. Murray wrote, “When someone pointed out to his former manager, Gene Mauch, that Richie was a loner, Mauch retorted bitterly, ‘Yeah. He’s fallen in with the wrong crowd.’ ”

Sports Illustrated noted, “He is known as a man who hits a baseball even harder than he hits the bottle.”

Allen was on good behavior from the start with the 1970 Cardinals.

In St. Louis’ Opening Day game, a 7-2 victory over the Expos on April 8, 1970, at Montreal, Allen hit a home run and two doubles, driving in three. Boxscore

He hit 10 home runs in May and nine in July. His jaw-dropping blast at the Reds’ new Riverfront Stadium on July 27 caromed off the facing of the upper deck in left field. Boxscore

Allen ended July with 30 home runs. He became the eighth Cardinal to hit 30 and the first since Ken Boyer in 1960.

“He’s better than any power hitter we’ve had on this club,” Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson said to the Philadelphia Daily News.

Allen used bats weighing 40 ounces. Jerry Risch, a Cardinals bat boy in 1970, recalled to Cardinals Yearbook in 2004, “He could swing it like a straw, too. No effort … At that time, players used a more moderate bat, ounce-wise, like 34. So 40 ounces was a lot.”

Allen started all but one game of the Cardinals’ first 118, playing mostly at first base. (He also played at third base and in left field.) With 33 home runs, he was on pace to hit 45, according to The Sporting News. The Cardinals’ record was 43 by Johnny Mize in 1940.

However, on Aug. 14, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Giants, Allen pulled a hamstring in his right leg while swiping second base. Boxscore 

He appeared in only five games (three as a pinch-hitter) after the injury.

After at-bats as a pinch-hitter on Aug. 23 and Aug. 25, Allen made his first start in more than three weeks on Sept. 8, the Cardinals’ final appearance of the season at Philadelphia. Batting fourth and playing first base, Allen was 2-for-3 with a walk. In his final at-bat of the game, he hit a home run, his last as a Cardinal, off Rick Wise. Boxscore

With 34 home runs in 122 games, Allen hit the most by a Cardinal since Stan Musial had 35 in 1954. Allen’s total also was the most by a Cardinals right-handed batter since Rogers Hornsby hit 39 in 1925.

The Cardinals wanted Allen to continue receiving treatment on his leg in St. Louis. Allen wanted the work done in Philadelphia. After appearing in a game for the Cardinals at Pittsburgh Sept. 10, he never played in another for St. Louis.

Four days after the Cardinals completed the 1970 season with a 76-86 record, Allen was traded to the Dodgers for second baseman Ted Sizemore and catcher Bob Stinson.

St. Louis general manager Bing Devine told The Sporting News the trade had more to do with the Cardinals’ need for a second baseman to replace aging Julian Javier than it did with unhappiness regarding Allen.

“Allen did everything we could hope for and more,” Devine said. “… If there was any major problem of morale, I was not aware of it and I’m sure I’d have been aware of it if there was. Allen’s a controversial guy and, naturally, if you’re looking to find something wrong about him, you can find it. But I can’t fault him. He was acquired to do a job at bat and on the field, and he did it.”

Said Allen: “I wanted one season that I could play in peace and I sure got to do that. The fans and the ballclub were wonderful. I just wish I could have done a little more to repay them all.”

In his book “Red: A Baseball Life,” Red Schoendienst, the Cardinals’ manager in 1970, said of Allen: “It was hard for right-handed hitters at that time to hit the ball to right-center with any authority, and he could do it. He had a reputation of being a difficult player, but he played hard for me. The only problem I had with him, and it was true throughout his career, is that he never seemed to play the last month of the season. He was always hurt or something was wrong.”

Read Full Post »

(Updated Sept. 13, 2025)

Entering the 1960 season, Cardinals third baseman Ken Boyer, in the prime of his career at 28, set a goal of hitting 30 home runs that year.

Sparked by a sizzling start, Boyer hit a career-high 32 homers for the 1960 Cardinals. It was one of three times Boyer hit 25 or more home runs in a season for St. Louis. He hit 26 in 1956 and 28 in 1959.

Clete Boyer, Ken’s younger brother, also a third baseman, hit a career-high 26 homers for the 1967 Braves. Ken and Clete Boyer became the first brothers to each hit 25 homers or more in a season in the major leagues, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The others to do it are: Aaron Boone and Bret Boone, Justin Upton and Melvin Upton, and Kyle Seager and Corey Seager.

The Seagers are the only big-league brother combination to achieve 25 or more homers apiece in the same season. In 2016, Kyle Seager hit 30 for the Mariners and Corey Seager hit 26 for the Dodgers.

Power plus

Ken Boyer started fast in 1960, hitting six home runs (five against the Dodgers) and driving in 15 runs in his first 15 games. The consensus was he had reached elite status in the National League.

In an interview for the May 4, 1960, edition of The Sporting News, Cardinals manager Solly Hemus said of Boyer, “He can do everything _ run with speed, hit for both power and average, and field with the best. In fact, he’s the best defensive third baseman I’ve ever seen.”

Cardinals general manager Bing Devine called Boyer “one of the top five players in the National League on all-around ability.”

Said Fred Hutchinson, who managed the Cardinals from 1956-58: “(Boyer) has terrific speed, a great arm, brute strength. There’s nothing he can’t do. He’s the kind of player you dream about.”

Boyer hit four homers in a span of three consecutive games April 23-25 in 1960. He hit one each against Dodgers pitchers Danny McDevitt and Larry Sherry on April 23. Boxscore He followed that with a homer against the Dodgers’ Stan Williams on April 24 Boxscore and another against the Giants’ Johnny Antonelli on April 25. Boxscore

A month later, May 25, 1960, Boyer hit a pair of homers against the Braves’ Warren Spahn. Boxscore Boyer hit more homers (11) against Spahn, a Hall of Fame left-hander, than he did against any other pitcher in his career.

The 32 home runs by Boyer in 1960 were the most by a Cardinal since Stan Musial slugged 33 in 1955.

(Boyer told Sport magazine that Musial helped him become a better hitter. “I believe Stan gave me one of the secrets of his great hitting when he corrected my batting grip,” Boyer said. “I used to clench the bat deep in the palms of both hands. Musial’s advice was to grip the bat at the base of the fingers of the top hand. The top or right hand, for a right-handed hitter like me, doesn’t lock when I hold the bat in the fingers rather than in the palm. As a result, the hand rolls over at the point of impact, providing freer wrist action, a better follow-through and more power.”)

Boyer was amazingly consistent. He hit 16 homers at home and 16 on the road in 1960. Sixteen were hit against right-handers and 16 were hit against left-handers.

“It doesn’t really make any difference where’s he’s playing,” Hemus said. “None of his homers are flukes anyway.”

Boyer also hit a home run (a two-run shot in the ninth inning off the Indians’ Gary Bell) in the 1960 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. It was one of four National League homers hit in the game. Hall of Famers Eddie Mathews, Willie Mays and Stan Musial hit the others. Boxscore

Boyer finished the 1960 regular season with a .304 batting average, 32 homers, 97 RBI, a .370 on-base percentage and 168 hits in 151 games. He placed fourth in the NL in home runs, behind the Cubs’ Ernie Banks (41), the Braves’ Hank Aaron (40) and the Braves’ Eddie Mathews (39).

All in the family

Ken Boyer and Clete Boyer never played together in the majors. Clete received a $35,000 signing bonus from the Athletics in 1955. He came up to the major leagues with Kansas City that year and played shortstop as well as third base.

“My idol always was Ken,” Clete Boyer told Dave Anderson of the New York Times in 1982. “As a kid, I had always fantasized about us being on the Cardinals together, him at third base and me at shortstop. That would’ve been something, the two of us on the same team, but it never worked out.”

(The Boyer brothers played against one another in the 1964 World Series. Ken hit a game-winning grand slam in Game 4. Ken and Clete each homered in Game 7.)

The 26 homers he hit for Atlanta in 1967 represented the only time Clete Boyer hit 20 or more in a 16-season big-league career.

In a May 11, 1960, article, The Sporting News reported how Clete Boyer signed with the Athletics rather than the Cardinals: “The Redbirds had another bonus shortstop on their hands, Dick Schofield, and preferred to devote their bonus dollars to a pitcher, who turned out to be Lindy McDaniel. Otherwise, Cletis, now just 22, might be joining Ken in a rarity, a left-field side of the infield made up of two brothers.”

Read Full Post »