RetroSimba

Larry Wilson and his amazing pick of a Bill Nelsen pass

April 28, 2019 by retrosimba

Larry Wilson caused NFL quarterbacks to lay awake at night with worry and Bill Nelsen was no exception.

Nelsen had a prominent role in the play that defined the Pro Football Hall of Fame career of Wilson, the St. Louis Cardinals safety who was as tough as any player in the NFL.

On Nov. 7, 1965, in a game between the Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Wilson intercepted a pass from Nelsen while wearing casts on both fractured hands.

Wilson’s performance remains an enduring testament to his willpower and illustrates why he was so widely respected.

Mind game

Wilson, who played his entire professional career (1960-72) with the Cardinals, fractured his hands in a game against the New York Giants on Oct. 31, 1965, at New York.

Cardinals head coach Wally Lemm said Wilson would play the following Sunday versus the Steelers at St. Louis. Wilson “may be handicapped in making interceptions,” Lemm said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “but he’ll play if at all possible. He’s too valuable a man in all ways to do without.”

Nelsen, in his third NFL season and his first as the Steelers’ starting quarterback, said he had a premonition Wilson would pick off one of his passes.

“I just knew Larry Wilson was going to get an interception,” Nelsen told the Post-Dispatch. “Lying awake the night before the game, I was thinking there was no way he could catch one with his hands wrapped up to protect his fractures, but I knew he was going to get one.”

Finding a way

Wilson’s interception set up a Cardinals touchdown in the final 75 seconds of the first half.

The Steelers led, 3-0, and had possession at their 20-yard line when Nelsen threw toward the middle of the field. Wilson caught the ball against his chest at the Steelers’ 37 and returned it to the 3.

“It nestled into my arms nicely,” Wilson said to the Associated Press. Video

Noting Wilson made the only interception of the game, Post-Dispatch sports editor Bob Broeg wrote, “Wilson did what teammates with healthy and unencumbered fingers couldn’t do.”

Asked by Sports Illustrated in a 1995 interview whether it was painful to have Nelsen’s pass hit his damaged hands, Wilson replied, “The only painful thing about it was I should have scored.”

Steelers offensive line coach Ernie Hefferle called the wiry Wilson “one of the gutsiest players in football.”

“I believe he wants to make every tackle,” Hefferle told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Getting open

On the first play after Wilson’s interception, halfback Bill Triplett ran three yards for a touchdown and the Cardinals led 7-3 at halftime.

The Cardinals held a 14-3 lead entering the fourth quarter, but the Steelers rallied and went ahead, 17-14, with 1:12 to play.

Taking possession at their 20, the Cardinals noticed the Steelers moved into a prevent defense. Completing a couple of short passes across the middle, quarterback Charley Johnson advanced the Cardinals to their 41 with 46 seconds to go. “In their prevent defense, the Steelers had put three backs on one side to cover the receivers coming out of our double-wing formation,” Johnson told the Post-Dispatch.

Johnson asked Billy Gambrell, a slight speedster, if he could beat the safety. Gambrell said he could and Johnson called the play.

With split end Sonny Randle running a route down the left side, Gambrell cut across the middle. Gambrell caught Johnson’s pass at the Steelers’ 20 and sped into the end zone for a 59-yard touchdown reception.

Said Steelers head coach Mike Nixon, “We had two men covering Gambrell … One of the two should have been with him, but the little guy got away from both.”

The Cardinals won, 21-17. Boxscore

Making the plays

Wilson played again the next week against the Chicago Bears, but re-injured his right hand and sat out four games.

He returned for the season finale on Dec. 19 against the Cleveland Browns at St. Louis and intercepted three Frank Ryan passes, returning the first one more than 90 yards for a touchdown. Video

Wilson made a total of 52 career interceptions for the Cardinals.

In May 1968, three years after Wilson picked off his pass in St. Louis, Nelsen was traded by the Steelers to the Browns, and his career took off. Nelsen played five seasons (1968-72) with the Browns and started in five playoff games for them.

Nelsen had his best season in 1969 when he threw for 2,743 yards and 23 touchdowns in leading the Browns to a 10-3-1 record. He tied Fran Tarkenton of the Giants for second in the NFL in touchdown passes in 1969, trailing only the Los Angeles Rams’ Roman Gabriel, who had 24.

Posted in Opponents, Uncategorized | 11 Comments »

Win vs. Cardinals was turning point for Scott Sanderson

April 22, 2019 by retrosimba

Scott Sanderson enhanced his status as a starter by pitching a 10-inning gem against the Cardinals before the largest crowd to attend a baseball game in Montreal.

Sanderson was 23 and in his second major-league season with the Expos when he earned the complete-game win versus the Cardinals in the second game of a doubleheader on Sept. 16, 1979, before 59,282 spectators at Olympic Stadium.

After yielding seven hits in 4.1 innings, Sanderson retired the next 17 Cardinals batters in a row. Sanderson earned the win, but his effort was overshadowed by second baseman Dave Cash, whose improbable grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the 10th lifted the Expos to a 5-1 victory.

Big chance

Banished to the bullpen in late July by Expos manager Dick Williams after a stretch of ineffective starts, Sanderson’s stint against the Cardinals was a turning point in his big-league career.

The Cardinals and Expos played consecutive doubleheaders Sept 15-16. In the opener of the Sept. 16 doubleheader, Expos starter Ross Grimsley was lifted after two innings and the club used three relievers in a 4-3 loss to the Cardinals.

Looking to salvage a split of the doubleheader before the big crowd, the Expos needed a strong performance from Sanderson, who was making his second start since July 27 and seeking his first win since Aug. 1.

“I was hoping somewhere along the way I could be used as a starter and help this team out when it needed it,” Sanderson said to the Montreal Gazette.

The Expos scored a run in the first against Cardinals starter John Denny on Cash’s RBI-double and the Cardinals tied the score in the second on Ken Oberkfell’s sacrifice fly, scoring Jerry Mumphrey from third.

Denny went seven innings, but Sanderson kept going. “I wanted to go as long as I could,” Sanderson said.

Unbelievable error

After the first two Expos batters made outs in the bottom of the 10th, “the game looked as though it would go on forever,” the Gazette reported.

Gary Carter sparked the rally when he looped a liner to left and hustled to second for a double, beating the throw from Lou Brock. Jerry White was walked intentionally, bringing left-handed batter Warren Cromartie to the plate to face left-hander Darold Knowles.

Cromartie hit a routine grounder “ever so softly” to Oberkfell at second base, the Gazette reported, for what appeared to be an inning-ending out.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Oberkfell fielded the ball cleanly enough, then inexplicably, as he prepared to throw to first, dropped it. Desperately, he reached for the ball on the ground but fumbled it again.”

Cromartie was safe at first and the bases were loaded.

“Obie wouldn’t boot that play away again if he tried for 100 years,” said Cardinals manager Ken Boyer.

Cromartie theorized Oberkfell made the error “because he was watching me bust my ass down to first.”

Said Oberkfell: “It was the easiest ball hit to me all day. I don’t know how I did it.”

Cashing in

Boyer brought in right-hander George Frazier to face Cash, who’d spent most of the season as a utility player before replacing Rodney Scott at second base in late August.

Cash hit Frazier’s third pitch over the left-field wall for his first home run of the season and the only grand slam of his 12-year career in the major leagues.

“I knew if I could hang in there long enough I’d get a chance,” Cash said to the Post-Dispatch.

In a baseball version of the red carpet treatment, Williams and Expos outfielder Ellis Valentine stretched out towels from the entrance of the clubhouse to Cash’s locker cubicle as the hitting hero arrived from the field.

“Almost overlooked in the euphoria,” the Gazette reported, was the effort of Sanderson, who showed the Expos he had the right stuff to stay a starter. Boxscore

Consistent winner

Sanderson finished the 1979 season with a 9-8 record and 3.43 ERA for the second-place Expos.

In 19 seasons (1978-96) in the major leagues, Sanderson, a right-hander, was 163-143 with a 3.84 ERA. His career record versus the Cardinals was 10-11 with a 3.63 ERA.

Sanderson pitched for the Expos (1978-83), Cubs (1984-89), Athletics (1990), Yankees (1991-92), Angels (1993), Giants (1993, White Sox (1994) and Angels again (1995-96).

Playing for manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan, Sanderson was 17-11 with a 3.88 ERA in 34 starts for the 1990 Athletics, who won the American League pennant. The 17 wins were his single-season career high.

In six seasons with the Expos, Sanderson was 56-47 with a 3.33 ERA. In six seasons with the Cubs, he was 42-42 with a 3.81 ERA.

Posted in Games, Opponents, Pitchers | 2 Comments »

A grand performance by Fernando Tatis for Cardinals

April 19, 2019 by retrosimba

(Updated April 23, 2024)

Two swings in one inning assured third baseman Fernando Tatis a place in Cardinals lore.

On April 23, 1999, Tatis became the only major-league player to hit two grand slams in one inning. The Cardinals’ cleanup hitter achieved the feat against Chan Ho Park in the third inning of a Friday night game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

With his clouts, Tatis, 24, also established a major-league mark for most RBI in an inning, with eight.

Tatis is the only Cardinals player to hit two home runs in an inning.

If not for a late batting order change, Tatis might not have gotten the chance.

Power vs. power

Tatis was supposed to bat fifth in manager Tony La Russa’s lineup, but when Eric Davis was a late scratch because of a bruised left hand, La Russa moved Tatis into the cleanup spot.

The Dodgers scored a run in the first and another in the second against starter Jose Jimenez and led 2-0.

In the third for the Cardinals, Darren Bragg singled, Edgar Renteria was hit by a pitch and Mark McGwire singled, loading the bases for Tatis.

With the count 2-and-0, Mike Shannon, broadcasting the game on television, predicted to viewers Tatis would be looking for a fastball.

“You’re going to see power against power here,” Shannon said.

Park threw a fastball and Tatis hit it deep over the left-field wall and into the Dodgers’ bullpen for his first grand slam in the big leagues.

“There wasn’t any doubt about that one,” Shannon said.

Said broadcast partner Joe Buck: “That was McGwire distance right there.”

Beating the odds

The Cardinals scored three more runs in the inning before reloading the bases with one out for McGwire. Park retired McGwire on a fly to right and the runners held, bringing up Tatis again with the bases packed.

With the count 3-and-1, Park threw a hanging slider and Tatis hit it over the wall in left-center.

“Swing and a long one. There it is folks! Baseball history,” Shannon told his audience. “Wow! Get those record books out, folks.” Video

“I didn’t think the second ball would go out,” Tatis said to the Los Angeles Times. “I still can’t believe I did it.”

McGwire told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “You’ve got a better chance of winning the lottery.”

Park, 25, became the first pitcher to give up two grand slams in one inning since rookie Bill Phillips of the 1890 Pirates against the Cubs.

“This can happen to the best of us,” Park said. “It was just a bad day.”

Said Dodgers manager Davey Johnson: “Chan Ho pitched … defensive. He wasn’t really going after guys.”

After the second grand slam, Park was relieved by Carlos Perez and the Cardinals went on to a 12-5 victory. Boxscore

Exclusive club

Tatis became the second National League player to hit two grand slams in a game. The first was Braves pitcher Tony Cloninger against the Giants in 1966. Since then, one other National League player, Josh Willingham of the Nationals versus the Brewers in 2009, hit two grand slams in a game.

In the American League, 10 players have hit two grand slams in a game. They are: Tony Lazzeri (1936 Yankees), Jim Tabor (1939 Red Sox), Rudy York (1946 Red Sox), Jim Gentile (1961 Orioles), Jim Northrup (1968 Tigers), Frank Robinson (1970 Orioles), Robin Ventura (1995 White Sox), Chris Hoiles (1998 Orioles), Nomar Garciaparra (1999 Red Sox) and Bill Mueller (2003 Red Sox).

Tatis batted .438 against Park in his career, with seven hits in 16 at-bats. The grand slams were Tatis’ only home runs against him.

Park, who had 124 wins in 17 years in the majors, gave up seven career grand slams. In addition to the two by Tatis, the others were hit by Travis Lee of the Diamondbacks, Matt Walbeck of the Angels, Jim Edmonds of the 2001 Cardinals, Jacque Jones of the Twins and A.J. Pierzynski of the White Sox.

Tatis, who played 11 years in the majors, hit 113 career home runs and eight were grand slams. In addition to the two he hit versus Park, the others came against Billy Brewer of the Phillies, Russ Springer of the Diamondbacks, Daniel Garibay of the Cubs, Damian Moss of the Braves, Buddy Carlyle of the Braves and Franklin Morales of the Rockies.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents | 3 Comments »

How Browns achieved record-setting start in 1944

April 16, 2019 by retrosimba

Though the Cardinals were two-time defending National League champions, the American League Browns became the darlings of the St. Louis sports scene early in the 1944 season.

In April 1944, the Browns set an American League record by winning their first nine games.

Picked by national baseball scribes to finish fifth in the eight-team league, the Browns’ season-opening hot streak caught most people by surprise. The year before, the 1943 Browns finished 72-80 and 25 games out of first place.

On the eve of the 1944 season opener, Browns manager Luke Sewell told the Associated Press, “I can’t tell you what the Browns will do this year, but I know darned well we won’t be last. A lot depends on our pitching.”

The Browns held foes to two runs or less in six of the nine wins in the streak.

Jack Kramer, a Navy veteran who spent most of the 1943 season with the minor-league Toledo Mud Hens, was 3-0 with an 0.68 ERA during the streak. Nelson Potter and Steve Sundra each got two wins. George Caster and Sig Jakucki got one win apiece.

Vern Stephens, the Browns’ 23-year-old shortstop and cleanup hitter, batted .344 during the streak and first baseman George McQuinn hit .333.

The Browns’ stock price rose from $2.25 a share on Opening Day to $3.75 a share at the height of the streak.

The nine consecutive wins by the Browns shattered the American League record of seven consecutive wins to start a season set by the 1933 Yankees. The Browns tied the major-league mark held by two National League clubs, the 1918 Giants and 1940 Dodgers. Since then, the 1982 Braves and the 1987 Brewers each achieved the major-league record of 13 consecutive wins to start a season.

Here is a look at each of the Browns’ nine wins in the streak:

Win No. 1

The Browns opened the season on April 18 with a 2-1 victory at Detroit against the Tigers. The Browns scored in the first inning against Dizzy Trout and added another in the ninth on a home run by Stephens.

In the bottom of the ninth, Kramer struck out the first two batters before yielding a home run to Pinky Higgins. After Jimmy Outlaw singled, Caster, the Browns’ bullpen ace, relieved. Caster walked Don Ross before getting Bob Swift to ground out, ending the game. Boxscore

Win No. 2

Sundra, who five years earlier posted an 11-1 record for the 1939 Yankees, pitched a three-hitter for the Browns in their 3-1 triumph against the Tigers. Boxscore

Win No. 3

The Browns completed a three-game sweep of the Tigers with an 8-5 victory. Stephens had a RBI-single and a two-run double against Tigers ace Hal Newhouser. Boxscore

Win No. 4

The Browns beat the White Sox, 5-3, in the April 21 home opener before 2,021 at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis. Mike Kreevich, a 5-foot-7 right fielder who had no home runs in 60 games for the 1943 Browns, hit a two-run home run in the first inning against Thornton Lee and a solo homer off Lee in the sixth. Boxscore

Win No. 5

In the first game of a Sunday doubleheader against the White Sox before 7,709 at St. Louis, the Browns won, 5-2. Kramer pitched a complete game and hit a two-run home run off Bill Dietrich in the second inning. Boxscore

Win No. 6

The Browns completed the doubleheader sweep with a 4-3 win. With the White Sox ahead, 3-1, the Browns rallied for a run in the seventh and two in the eighth. Al Zarilla drove in the winning run with a single. Boxscore

The Post-Dispatch reported, “Those are strange expressions you see on the faces of followers of the Browns today as they stagger around in a daze thinking of the club’s six-game winning streak.”

In The Sporting News, Frederick G. Lieb wrote, “St. Louis is holding its breath to see how long it lasts.”

Win No. 7

In the first of a two-game series versus the Indians, the Browns won, 5-2, before 960 spectators at St. Louis. “Leaden skies and weather too chilly for grandstand comfort held down the attendance,” according to the Post-Dispatch.

The Browns broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the sixth against Allie Reynolds. The big hit was a two-run double by Stephens. Boxscore

Win No. 8

The Browns established an American League record for most wins to start a season with a 5-1 triumph over the Indians before 1,106 witnesses at St. Louis. Stephens had a two-run single in the first and Hal Epps, a light-hitting outfielder, had his first RBI of the season with a two-run single in the second. Boxscore

Asked about setting the record, Sewell replied to The Sporting News, “I still get hungry at meal time and still get sleepy at bed time. Maybe I’m pleased, but otherwise I don’t feel any different from the days before the season started.”

Win No. 9

In the opener of a series against the White Sox at Chicago, Kramer pitched a four-hitter and the Browns won, 3-1. Boxscore

The rest of the story

The streak ended on April 29 with a 4-3 loss to the White Sox at Chicago. The Browns had a 3-0 lead, but the White Sox scored two in the seventh, one in the eighth and the winning run in the ninth. Boxscore

The Browns and Tigers went into the last game of the regular season tied atop the American League standings. When the Browns beat the Yankees, 5-2, at St. Louis and the Tigers were defeated, 4-1, by the Senators at Detroit, the Browns finished 89-65, one win better than the Tigers at 88-66. The Browns were 13-9 versus the Tigers in 1944.

In the World Series, the Cardinals, National League pennant winners for the third consecutive year, won four of six against the Browns for the championship.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Pitchers | 4 Comments »

How Jim Baxes welcomed Bob Gibson to big leagues

April 13, 2019 by retrosimba

Bob Gibson and Jim Baxes, two rookies whose careers went in opposite directions, are connected by one swing of the bat.

On April 15, 1959, Gibson made his major-league debut for the Cardinals against the Dodgers at Los Angeles and the first batter he faced, Baxes, hit a home run.

Gibson went on to have a Hall of Fame career. Baxes played one year in the major leagues.

Who are you?

After posting a 2.84 ERA in 190 innings pitched for Cardinals farm teams in 1958, Gibson was a candidate to earn a spot on the big-league club’s 1959 Opening Day roster.

Early in spring training at the Cardinals’ camp in St. Petersburg, Fla., first-year manager Solly Hemus approached a player and asked, “Are you Olivares?”

The player replied, “No, I’m Bob Gibson.”

According to The Sporting News, Gibson turned to a teammate and said, “I must have made a hell of an impression on the manager. After a week, he doesn’t even know who I am.”

Gibson’s fastball got him the attention he desired and the 23-year-old rookie won a spot on the 1959 Cardinals’ pitching staff as a reliever.

Though the St. Louis Post-Dispatch expressed concern Gibson “needs either a better curve or a changeup to go with his blazer and his slider,” Cardinals pitching coach Howie Pollet said, “He’s fast enough to throw one quick one by them a lot of times, even when they’re looking for it. Within a few weeks, we might have him getting his breaking ball over better.”

In a column for the Post-Dispatch on the eve of the 1959 season opener, Bob Broeg, rating the Cardinals’ pitchers, said, “If there’s one who does stir the imagination a bit, though he’s green, it’s Bob Gibson.”

Waiting his turn

Meanwhile, at Dodgers spring training camp in Vero Beach, Fla., Baxes, a 30-year-old rookie, was manager Walter Alston’s surprise choice to open the regular season as the third baseman.

Baxes’ father immigrated to the United States from Greece in 1900, went to work in a San Francisco rope factory, married and started a family. His son, Dimitrios Speros Baxes, became known in the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco as Jim.

Jim Baxes and his younger brother, Mike, developed into professional ballplayers. Mike made it to the majors with the Athletics in 1956, but Jim, who started his career in the Dodgers’ farm system in 1947, waited 12 years until getting his shot in the big leagues in 1959.

Baxes was a right-handed power hitter who slugged 30 home runs for Fort Worth in 1953 and 28 home runs for Spokane in 1958, but, according to the Los Angeles Times, he was a “ferocious flailer” who swung and missed too often.

“I’m confident I can cut it,” Baxes said to The Sporting News. “I’ve improved the last couple of seasons and I don’t think my age will prove any handicap.”

Temper tantrum

After losing three of their first four games of the 1959 season, the Cardinals faced Dodgers right-hander Don Drysdale at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

In the sixth inning, Stan Musial of the Cardinals tried to score from second on Joe Cunningham’s line single to center, but was called out by umpire Dusty Boggess.

“I almost fell off the bench when Musial was called out,” Hemus told the Post-Dispatch.

Convinced he slid into the plate before catcher John Roseboro applied a high tag after fielding a throw from Don Demeter, Musial argued with Boggess, “but he was Casper Milquetoast compared to his boss,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Hemus ran onto the field, charged at Boggess, “threw his cap to the ground and repeatedly kicked the dirt” before he was ejected, according to the Post-Dispatch.

“He took the ballgame away from us,” Hemus said. “That was the worst so-called exhibition of baseball umpiring I ever saw.”

Rude greeting

In the seventh inning, with the Dodgers ahead, 3-0, Gibson, wearing uniform No. 58, relieved starter Larry Jackson. Baxes led off and hit Gibson’s third big-league pitch into the seats in left-center for his first big-league home run.

Gibson “received a rough welcome into major-league warfare,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

Baxes gave Gibson “quite an initiation,” the Los Angeles Times wrote.

Gibson retired the next three batters in order, getting Drysdale to line out to second, Ron Fairly to fly out and Wally Moon to ground out.

In the eighth, Roseboro singled, moved to second on Demeter’s sacrifice bunt, stole third and scored on Charlie Neal’s sacrifice bunt. Gil Hodges, the last batter Gibson faced in the game, popped out to the catcher. Boxscore

Gibson made two more relief appearances for the Cardinals before he was sent back to the minor leagues on April 28, 1959.

In his book, “Stranger to the Game,” Gibson said, “Hemus had me convinced that I wasn’t any damn good and consequently I wasn’t.”

Different paths

On May 9, three weeks after his home run against Gibson, Baxes was assigned to the minors because the Dodgers wanted Jim Gilliam at third base. The demotion was devastating to Baxes, who batted .303 for the Dodgers. “I think that entitled me to a better chance than I received,” Baxes said to the Associated Press.

Baxes refused to report to the minors, went home to Long Beach, Calif., and got a job at a sheet metal company. The Indians, seeking a backup infielder, contacted the Dodgers and on May 22, 1959, Baxes was dealt to Cleveland.

In his first at-bat for the Indians, on May 23, 1959, Baxes slugged a pinch-hit home run against Jim Bunning of the Tigers. Boxscore

Baxes played in 77 games for the 1959 Indians and hit 15 home runs, but he wasn’t brought back. He played two more seasons in the minors, finishing in 1961 with a Cardinals farm club, the Portland Beavers.

Gibson, meanwhile, was called up to the Cardinals on July 29, 1959, and put in the starting rotation.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers | 3 Comments »

Why Cardinals rated Montreal a diamond in the rough

April 10, 2019 by retrosimba

Stepping foot on foreign soil for the first time in the regular season, the Cardinals felt the ground shift beneath them.

On April 14, 1969, the Cardinals opposed the Expos at Montreal in the first regular-season major-league game played outside the U.S.

Led by the slugging of Mack Jones, the Expos, a National League expansion team, overcame a seven-run inning by the Cardinals and won, 8-7, before 29,184 at sold-out Jarry Park.

It was a joyous day for the baseball fans of Montreal, who naturally were proud to have a team and were thrilled to win a home opener against the two-time defending National League champion Cardinals, but there were glitches.

Though the weather was sunny, the playing field was a mess, despite the efforts of the grounds crew.

“When the frost began to thaw underground, the mound and area behind the plate sank a few inches,” according to The Sporting News, and the field became soft and lumpy.

“It was like running on a hunk of Gouda cheese,” the Montreal Gazette noted.

Oh, Canada

The National League awarded Montreal a franchise, even though it didn’t have a suitable ballpark. The Expos had a few months to renovate 3,000-seat Jarry Park and get it up to major-league standards before the start of the 1969 season.

The Expos opened their inaugural season with six road games, three at New York against the Mets and three at Chicago against the Cubs, and won two.

Four days before the home opener, Expos management “feared the game might never happen” because Jarry Park wasn’t ready, The Sporting News reported, but workers “toiled around the clock.”

About 3,000 temporary folding chairs still were being installed in sections of the ballpark on game day, delaying the opening of the gates. Expos general manager Jim Fanning pitched in, putting up chairs in the section behind home plate, the Gazette reported.

“Stadium workers were still bolting in seats and shoveling snow as the first fans arrived,” the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported.

Sinking feeling

Players were disappointed to find the field “rough” and “rubbery,” according to The Sporting News.

Cardinals third baseman Mike Shannon teasingly told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that his burly teammate, Joe Torre, will “sink six inches into that infield.”

Torre good-naturedly replied, “This soft infield ought to bring everyone else down to my speed.”

The infield was “extremely spongy and seemed to have foam rubber under it,” the Post-Dispatch reported. Cardinals shortstop Dal Maxvill said, “You step here and ground sinks a yard away.”

Indeed, the ground literally was shifting. “As the earth settled, the mound dropped five inches below the official 10-inch height, which was already five inches lower than last year’s regulation elevation,” the Gazette observed. “Pitchers had the feeling they were throwing uphill.”

“To further complicate the situation,” the Gazette added, “home plate was off kilter and pointing slightly toward left field.”

The ground was so soft “plate umpire Mel Steiner was standing ankle deep in the turf behind home by the end of the game,” according to the Associated Press.

According to columnist Bob Addie in The Sporting News, catchers Tim McCarver of the Cardinals and John Bateman of the Expos “were sunk in the soft stuff up to their ankles. It was the first time a catcher ever had to throw from a foxhole.”

“I’ve played on some bad diamonds, but this is the worst,” said Cardinals center fielder Curt Flood. “I pray I don’t get killed out there.”

Flood continued, “It was unbelievable. The infield was soft and it was tough to go from first to third. A stolen base is going to be unheard of here until something is done about it. You just can’t get the proper footing …. The outfield is rough and it’s tough to figure out which way the ball is going to bounce.”

Flood’s remarks offended Expos manager Gene Mauch, who wanted him fined. “The commissioner should turn Flood upside down and shake a little money out of his pocket,” Mauch said to The Sporting News. “It’s not in the best interest of baseball to say what he did.”

Recalling his days as Phillies manager, Mauch said, “The infield at Jarry Park was better than the infield when we played at Busch Stadum for the first time” after the downtown ballpark opened in St. Louis in 1966.

Hits and errors

For the first game at Montreal, the batting orders were:

_ Cardinals: Lou Brock, left field; Curt Flood, center field; Vada Pinson, right field; Joe Torre, first base; Mike Shannon, third base; Tim McCarver, catcher; Julian Javier, second base; Dal Maxvill, shortstop; Nelson Briles, pitcher.

_ Expos: Don Bosch, center field; Maury Wills, shortstop; Rusty Staub, right field; Mack Jones, left field; Bob Bailey, first base; John Bateman, catcher; Coco Laboy, third base; Gary Sutherland, second base; Larry Jaster, pitcher.

Jaster was a former Cardinal and Laboy was developed in their farm system.

Jones, nicknamed “Mack the Knife,” looked sharp. In the first inning, he hit a three-run home run, and in the second he produced a two-run triple.

“I hit a pretty good breaking ball for the homer and the triple was a fastball,” Jones said.

The Expos added a run in the third on Jaster’s single and led, 6-0, but in the fourth they committed five errors and a balk, helping the Cardinals score seven times. Maxvill’s grand slam, his only one in the majors, and Torre’s two-run homer were the big hits.

Referring to the Expos’ miscues, Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst said, “They tried to give us the game, but we didn’t want it.”

The Expos tied the score, 7-7, in the bottom of the fourth and got the winning run in the seventh when pitcher Dan McGinn drove in Laboy from second with a single against Gary Waslewski. McGinn, a former punter for Notre Dame’s football team, got the win with 5.1 scoreless innings and avenged the loss he suffered seven months earlier in his major-league debut for the Reds against the Cardinals.

Said Cardinals general manager Bing Devine: “It was a badly played game on both sides, but we’re not supposed to be playing as badly as the Expos.” Boxscore and video

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents | 6 Comments »

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