RetroSimba

1991 opener: Cardinals were fundamentally better than Cubs

April 3, 2015 by retrosimba

On a gray, chilly Tuesday afternoon at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, the Cardinals opened their 1991 season with a textbook example of how playing fundamental baseball _ the George Kissell way _ can bring a positive result.

Relying on effective pitching, good base running, plate discipline and timely contact, the Cardinals beat the Cubs, 4-1, on April 9, 1991. Cardinals manager Joe Torre sent the game ball and lineup card to Kissell, the club’s long-time instructor. “Kissell gets this for teaching the Cardinals organization how to play baseball,” Torre told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Smith vs. Jackson

Bryn Smith, 35, a nine-game winner for the 1990 Cardinals, was the starting pitcher for St. Louis in the 1991 opener. Torre selected a batting order of center fielder Rex Hudler, shortstop Ozzie Smith, left fielder Bernard Gilkey, first baseman Pedro Guerrero, right fielder Felix Jose, third baseman Todd Zeile, catcher Tom Pagnozzi, second baseman Jose Oquendo and Bryn Smith.

Cubs manager Don Zimmer chose Danny Jackson as his starting pitcher. Chicago’s lineup featured a pair of future Hall of Famers, second baseman Ryne Sandberg and right fielder Andre Dawson, and standouts such as first baseman Mark Grace, shortstop Shawon Dunston and left fielder George Bell.

Game time temperature was 42 degrees. Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch described it as a “numbing, cold, drizzling day.” His colleague, Dan O’Neill, wrote, “The grass was green, but soaking wet and bent by a wintry breeze.”

The Cardinals scored first in the fifth. With the bases loaded and two outs, Gilkey fell behind in the count 0-and-2 before drawing a walk, scoring Pagnozzi from third. The full-count pitch from Jackson to Gilkey “missed inside by a few inches,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Dunston led off the bottom half of the inning with a home run, tying the score at 1-1.

Small ball

In the eighth, the Cardinals struck for three runs, using a walk and three ground balls that never left the infield as their weapons.

Here’s how it happened:

With the bases loaded and one out, Paul Assenmacher relieved Jackson. Oquendo hit a dribbler toward the left side of the infield. “I broke my bat in three pieces,” Oquendo said.

The ball eluded Assenmacher. Dunston raced in from his shortstop position, grabbed the ball and flipped it to second. Pagnozzi beat the toss. Jose streaked home from third on the fielder’s choice play, putting the Cardinals ahead, 2-1, and the bases remained loaded.

“I was panicking,” the slow-footed Pagnozzi said of his sprint from first to second. “I didn’t think I was going to get there.”

Said Oquendo: “He surprised me.”

Bunch of runts

Torre sent Craig Wilson to hit for Bryn Smith. Wilson slapped a grounder toward the mound. Assenmacher reached for it and the ball deflected off his glove toward Dunston, who had no play. Zeile scored from third, putting the Cardinals ahead, 3-1. Wilson was credited with a RBI-single. The bases still were loaded.

“We’ve got the guy (Zeile) at home if I don’t touch it, but the reflex is to go for it,” Assenmacher said.

Said Wilson: “I think he thought it was hit harder than it was.”

Zimmer yanked Assenmacher and replaced him with Les Lancaster. Hudler grounded to Dunston, whose spikes “stuck in the moist dirt,” the Sun-Times reported.

Instead of an inning-ending double play, Dunston settled for a force of Wilson at second, with Pagnozzi scoring from third.

The Cardinals’ bullpen protected the 4-1 lead. Mike Perez pitched a scoreless eighth and Lee Smith earned the save with a scoreless ninth. “I’m glad I’m playing with this bunch of runts,” Lee Smith said of the Cardinals.

Said Bryn Smith: “This was our type of baseball. We’re a patient club and we have to play our game … We feel if we play our caliber of ball you’re going to have to beat us because we won’t beat ourselves.” Boxscore

Previously: Ernie Banks and his greatest hits against Cardinals

Previously: Bob Gibson vs. Billy Williams: a classic duel

Previously: Reds-Cardinals: Easter night to remember

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents, Pitchers | Leave a Comment »

Why Cardinals were no dream team with Scott Cooper

April 1, 2015 by retrosimba

In theory, the trade for Scott Cooper appeared to be ideal for the Cardinals. Cooper was a St. Louis native, a Cardinals fan and a two-time all-star third baseman who looked to be entering his prime. In reality, the deal was a bust.

On April 8, 1995, the Cardinals acquired Cooper and reliever Cory Bailey from the Red Sox for outfielder Mark Whiten and pitcher Rheal Cormier.

Cooper, 27, was thrilled to join his hometown team and the Cardinals were thrilled to get a player with a reputation for producing steady hitting and solid defense.

After a fairy tale debut _ he hit a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Cardinals to a 7-6 victory over the Phillies in the season opener at St. Louis _ Cooper failed to meet expectations. He hit .230 with three home runs for the 1995 Cardinals and made 18 errors.

When the season ended, he became a free agent and went to Japan.

Replacing a legend

Cooper was 15 when the Cardinals won the 1982 World Series title. The exhilarating experience of seeing his favorite team become big-league champions “left a dent in my soul,” he told the Associated Press.

A standout player at Pattonville High School in the St. Louis suburb of Maryland Heights, Mo., Cooper was chosen by the Red Sox in the third round of the 1986 amateur draft. He signed with them and made his big-league debut with Boston in 1990.

When free-agent Wade Boggs left the Red Sox for the Yankees after the 1992 season, Cooper replaced the five-time American League batting champion as Boston’s third baseman.

Cooper responded splendidly to the challenge. He was named an AL all-star in 1993 and 1994. His batting average in five years with Boston was .284.

Cardinals calling

In April 1995, general managers Walt Jocketty of the Cardinals and Dan Duquette of the Red Sox discussed a deal. The Red Sox wanted Whiten and Cormier. Jocketty wanted Cooper.

Jocketty agreed to trade Whiten but offered pitcher Tom Urbani instead of Cormier.

“We needed Cormier in the deal to make it go,” Duquette said.

Talks stalled. Jocketty gave the Red Sox a deadline of April 8.

When it became clear the Red Sox wouldn’t make the deal without Cormier being included _ “They were pretty adamant about it,” Cardinals manager Joe Torre told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch _ Jocketty relented.

No joke

On the afternoon of April 8, Cooper and teammates Roger Clemens and Eric Wedge were golfing in Fort Myers, Fla. “I was getting ready to hit this ball and this guy in a cart comes barreling around the corner,” Cooper said.

“Are you Scott Cooper?” asked the man in the cart. “Mr. Dan Duquette wants you to call him immediately.”

Said Cooper: “My heart sank. I looked at Clem and said, ‘Are you messing with me?’ … Roger looked at me and he was real serious. He said, ‘I would never play that kind of trick on you.’ ”

Duquette told Cooper of the trade to the Cardinals.

Contacted soon after by Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch, Cooper said, “I can’t begin to describe the emotion I’m feeling right now. I’m numb all over. The Red Sox let me fulfill my dream. They gave me the opportunity to be a major leaguer. But my lifetime dream as a kid was to play for the St. Louis Cardinals.”

Asked about the pressure of playing at home, Cooper told The Sporting News, “If I can come in and take the place of Wade Boggs and play in front of that crowd in Boston and make two all-star teams, I can play in my hometown in front of my family and friends.”

Lineup shifts

The Cardinals moved Todd Zeile, a converted catcher, from third base to first base, replacing Gregg Jefferies, who had become a free agent and signed with the Phillies. Brian Jordan, a highly-regarded prospect, replaced Whiten in right field. Urbani took over for Cormier in the starting rotation.

“Cooper is known for his defense and that was one of the major reasons we wanted to get him,” Jocketty said. “Plus, he’s a good left-handed bat.

“We feel Zeile will be a better first baseman than Jefferies was and we feel Cooper will make us better defensively at third. He has good hands, a good arm. He’s a real third baseman.”

(Bailey, the other player acquired from Boston by the Cardinals, became a productive reliever. He spent most of the 1995 season as the closer at Class AAA Louisville, earning 25 saves, and was 5-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 51 games for the 1996 Cardinals.)

Plans unravel

By mid June, the 1995 Cardinals were scuffling. Torre got fired. Zeile was traded to the Cubs.

Cooper, hitting .310 as late as May 20, had a miserable summer. He batted .164 in July and .183 in August.

For the season, Cooper hit .210 (21-for-100) with runners in scoring position. He had almost as many strikeouts (85) as hits (86).

After spending the 1996 season in Japan (where he hit .243 in 81 games), Cooper returned to the big leagues with the 1997 Royals and batted .201.

That would be his final major-league season. At age 30, three years after being named an all-star, his big-league playing career was finished.

Previously: How Scott Cooper made memorable Cardinals debut

Previously: How a tragic accident brought Mark Whiten to Cardinals

Posted in Hitters, Trades | 2 Comments »

Bob Gibson and his final Opening Day with Cardinals

March 29, 2015 by retrosimba

(Updated April 7, 2020)

At 39, his knees aching and his arm suspected of lacking its familiar zip, Bob Gibson made what he knew was his last Opening Day start for the Cardinals and delivered a performance in which he overpowered and fooled batters barely more than half his age.

On April 7, 1975, Gibson made the last of 11 consecutive Opening Day starts for the Cardinals. He struck out 12 Expos in eight innings, but took the loss in Montreal’s 8-4 victory at St. Louis.

Before the season began, Gibson had said 1975 would be his last year as a player.

In spring training at St. Petersburg, Fla., he told the Newspaper Enterprise Association, “I’d be a fool if I said I’m as good as I’ve ever been. But I wasn’t all that bad last season. I’ve been playing ball for something like 30 years _ 30 years! _ and I’m tired … Last season, I had my knee drained 22 times before almost every start and that’s tiring.”

Gibson had been the Cardinals’ Opening Day starting pitcher every year since 1965. (In the 1966 opener, Gibson started against the Phillies and pitched a perfect inning before the game was called off because of rain.)

In the zone

The 1975 opener matched Gibson against an Expos club that started seven players ages 24 or younger: shortstop Tim Foli (24), catcher Barry Foote (23), left fielder Tony Scott (23), second baseman Pete Mackanin (23), center fielder Pepe Mangual (22), third baseman Larry Parrish (21) and Gary Carter, a catching prospect who got the start in right field the night before his 21st birthday.

After seven innings, the Cardinals led, 4-3. Gibson struck out at least one batter in each of those innings. He struck out the side in the second.

In the eighth, Carter grounded out and Mackanin struck out, giving Gibson a dozen strikeouts in a game for the first time since he compiled 14 versus the Giants on Aug. 30, 1972.

With two outs and none on, Parrish singled to center. Larry Biittner, pinch-hitting for pitcher Dave McNally, singled to left.

Scott, a switch-hitter who would play for the Cardinals from 1977-81, was up next. He was 0-for-3 in his first game against Gibson.

Batting left-handed, Scott fell behind in the count 0-and-2. Gibson was a strike away from escaping the jam and preserving the lead.

His next pitch was high and Scott slashed at it, driving the ball down the line and into the left-field corner for a two-run double, putting the Expos ahead, 5-4.

“That was the first time I’d faced Gibson,” Scott told The Sporting News. “The only time I’d seen him was on TV. I like to hit off him because he’s always around the plate. He works so fast it seems like he doesn’t even take the sign.”

Gallant effort

Gibson was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the eighth. In the ninth, Carter hit a three-run home run off Elias Sosa, making his Cardinals debut after being acquired from the Giants.

Gibson’s line: 8 innings, 9 hits, 5 runs, 5 walks, 12 strikeouts.

It was the 72nd and final time Gibson achieved double-digit strikeouts in a game.

“That’s as great as I’ve seen him pitch since ’73,” Expos manager Gene Mauch said to the Associated Press. “He mixed his pitches beautifully and threw the ball hard when he had to.”

Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “It compares to nothing I’ve seen from him for a while.”

Said Carter, who was 5 years old when Gibson made his big-league debut in 1959: “Bob Gibson had good stuff out there. He’s a fantastic pitcher.”

Gibson threw 151 pitches.

“I guess my stuff was all right,” Gibson said to Steve Porter of the Alton (Ill.) Telegraph, “but I don’t care what I’ve done unless we win the game.” Boxscore

Posted in Games, Pitchers | 2 Comments »

The unproductive reunion of Ken Hill, Cardinals

March 26, 2015 by retrosimba

When the Cardinals reacquired Ken Hill, they thought they’d found an ace. Instead, he was a dud.

On April 5, 1995, in one of the first big trades made by general manager Walt Jocketty, the Cardinals got Hill from the Expos for pitchers Bryan Eversgerd and Kirk Bullinger and outfielder DaRond Stovall.

The deal was considered a steal. Hill had 16 wins for the 1994 Expos, sharing the National League lead with Greg Maddux of the Braves.

A right-hander, Hill joined left-handers Danny Jackson, Allen Watson, Donovan Osborne and Tom Urbani in the rotation.

An intimidator

“In acquiring Kenny Hill, we’ve got probably one of the top two or three pitchers in the game today,” Jocketty said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I think we’re on our way to putting together the championship club we thought we could.”

Said manager Joe Torre: “Kenny Hill is the type of pitcher we really haven’t had. He’s the type of pitcher who can go out and dominate a game. He’s an intimidator, a guy who can go out and pitch a no-hitter.”

Hill, 29, became available because the Expos were slashing expense and general manager Kevin Malone was under orders to unload top-salaried players.

The Blue Jays and Rockies also made strong bids for him. “The Jays thought they had offered a better deal for Ken Hill than the one the Expos accepted with the Cardinals,” The Sporting News reported, adding that the cash-strapped Expos were in no mood to help their Canadian counterparts.

Jocketty was thrilled he didn’t have to trade to the Expos one of the Cardinals’ top three pitching prospects: Alan Benes, Brian Barber or John Frascatore.

Said Torre: “This shows how serious we are. It’s very exciting to me that the Cardinals have gone out and established themselves as helping the club _ right now. That should put to rest any question about the desire of the Cardinals to win.”

First time around

Hill was a prospect in the Tigers’ minor-league system when the Cardinals acquired him and first baseman Mike Laga from Detroit for catcher Mike Heath on Aug. 10, 1986.

Hill made his big-league debut with St. Louis in 1988 and in the next four seasons with the Cardinals he was 23-32. According to catcher Tom Pagnozzi, Hill and pitching coach Joe Coleman “didn’t get along.”

After the 1991 season, Cardinals general manager Dal Maxvill sought to acquire Expos first baseman Andres Galarraga. The Expos wanted pitcher Rheal Cormier, a Canadian, in return, but Maxvill instead offered Hill and the Expos accepted.

Plagued by injuries, Galarraga was limited to 95 games and hit .243 with 10 home runs and 39 RBI for the 1992 Cardinals. A free agent, he departed for the Rockies after the season. Hill had 16 wins for the 1992 Expos and in three years with Montreal he was 41-21.

When Jocketty brought back Hill to St. Louis, it was as if a wrong had been righted.

Welcome back

“The Cardinals made belated amends for one of their worst trades in recent years,” Rick Hummel wrote in the Post-Dispatch.

Hummel’s colleague, Bernie Miklasz, opined, “Walt Jocketty needed one long distance phone call to erase one of Dal Maxvill’s worst mistakes.”

In The Sporting News, Bob Nightengale offered, “The Cardinals, always regretting they traded Hill … made up by stealing Hill back.”

Mark Riggins, who coached Hill in the minors, was the Cardinal’ pitching coach in 1995 and Bob Gibson had been added to the coaching staff as well.

Said Hill: “I love the deal … I couldn’t stand it when they (the Cardinals) traded me out. But I think that change of scenery helped.”

Pitching potential

Hill won his first four decisions for the 1995 Cardinals, but lost his next four in a row. He said he wasn’t happy with Pagnozzi as his catcher and asked to be traded to a contender.

With a 6-7 record and 5.06 ERA, Hill was traded again by the Cardinals on July 27, 1995, to the Indians for infielder David Bell, pitcher Rick Heiserman and catcher Pepe McNeal.

“I was not happy with his performance or with his attitude,” Jocketty said.

In two stints with St. Louis over five seasons, Hill was 29-39 with a 4.23 ERA. He pitched in the big leagues until 2001. In 14 years with the Cardinals, Expos, Indians, Rangers, Angels, White Sox and Rays, Hill was 117-109 with a 4.06 ERA.

Posted in Pitchers, Trades | Leave a Comment »

How Ozzie Smith motivated Cardinals to get Jose Oquendo

March 23, 2015 by retrosimba

(Updated March 12, 2023)

The Cardinals acquired Jose Oquendo with the idea he would become the eventual replacement for Ozzie Smith at shortstop. Instead, Oquendo became their second baseman and paired with Smith to form a top keystone combination.

On April 2, 1985, the Cardinals got Oquendo from the Mets in the first trade engineered by general manager Dal Maxvill.

Maxvill knew what it took to play shortstop, having been the Cardinals’ starter at that position on pennant-winning clubs in 1967 and 1968. Like Maxvill, Smith was a Gold Glove Award winner. Like Maxvill in 1967, Smith helped the 1982 Cardinals to a pennant and World Series title.

The Cardinals wanted Smith to remain their shortstop, but he was eligible to become a free agent after the 1985 season. If Smith and the Cardinals were unable to negotiate a contract extension, Maxvill was prepared to trade him.

Shoring up shortstop

A headline in an April 1985 edition of The Sporting News declared, “Cardinals Admit Ozzie May Be Dealt.”

“If we can’t sign him, there’s got to be some thought about trading him,” said Fred Kuhlmann, Cardinals chief operating officer.

Said Smith: “A trade is a possibility.”

Also, Smith had a serious shoulder injury (a torn rotator cuff) in 1985. Smith wanted to let the injury heal naturally rather than undergo surgery, so the Cardinals were concerned whether he could make it through the season.

The Cardinals, though, had no suitable replacement for Smith.

That’s when Maxvill went to work.

The Cardinals dealt shortstop Angel Salazar, whom they had acquired from the Expos three months earlier, and minor-league pitcher John Young to the Mets for Oquendo and minor-league pitcher Mark Davis. Four days later, April 6, 1985, the Cardinals got veteran shortstop Ivan DeJesus and reliever Bill Campbell from the Phillies for reliever Dave Rucker.

Maxvill saw DeJesus, 32, as the stopgap and Oquendo, 21, as the long-term answer at shortstop if Smith was traded or couldn’t overcome the bum shoulder.

“You have to prepare yourself for any eventuality,” Maxvill said. “I looked in our system and there was nothing there at shortstop. You have to backstop yourself whether (Smith) is here or not.”

Mets prospect

Oquendo was 15 when he signed with the Mets as an amateur free agent in 1979 and made his professional debut that year with their Class A affiliate, the Grays Harbor Loggers of Aberdeen, Wash., in the Northwest League. He made 40 errors in 63 games at shortstop that season.

Four years later, Oquendo, 19, became the starting shortstop for the 1983 Mets under manager George Bamberger.

In 1984, the Mets were managed by Davey Johnson. He saw Rafael Santana, a former Cardinal, and Ron Gardenhire as shortstop options.

“Johnson felt Oquendo had to be a better hitter,” The Sporting News wrote. “He also was less enamored of Oquendo’s fielding than that of other shortstops in the organization.”

Smith stays

Maxvill was more impressed with Oquendo than Johnson was. (After the deal was made, Johnson learned Gardenhire had back problems. “If I had known about this,” said Johnson, “Jose Oquendo might still be here.”)

The Cardinals assigned Oquendo to Class AAA Louisville.

“You can look for the Wizard to pack his bags any day now,” Bill Conlin, a columnist for The Sporting News, wrote of Smith after the Cardinals got Oquendo and DeJesus.

Instead, on April 15, hours before the Cardinals played their 1985 home opener that night against the Expos, Smith agreed to a four-year contract extension to remain with St. Louis.

The deal was worth $8.7 million. Smith received a $700,000 signing bonus and salaries of $1.8 million a year in 1986 and 1987 and $2.2 million a year in 1988 and 1989, The Sporting News reported. Also, the Cardinals provided Smith a $500,000 loan at 10 percent interest and Anheuser-Busch promised him consideration for a wholesale beer distributorship.

Smith played the entire 1985 season despite the bad shoulder. He would play for the Cardinals through the 1996 season before retiring.

Shift to second

Oquendo spent the 1985 season with Louisville. His manager was Jim Fregosi, who had been an all-star shortstop with the Angels. Oquendo hit .211 in 133 games for Louisville and made 23 errors at shortstop.

In 1986, Oquendo stuck with the Cardinals as a backup to Smith at shortstop and to Tommy Herr at second base. He hit .297 in 76 games, establishing himself as a valuable utility player.

After Herr was traded to the Twins in 1988, Oquendo became the Cardinals’ starter in 1989. He led National League second basemen in fielding percentage in 1989 (.994) and 1990 (.996).

In 10 seasons with the Cardinals (1986-1995), Oquendo hit .264 with an on-base percentage of .359. In 1989, he was eighth in the NL in batting at .291.

Posted in Hitters, Prospects, Trades | 1 Comment »

Why the Cardinals considered relocating to Detroit

March 19, 2015 by retrosimba

Five months after the 1934 Cardinals won the World Series title in seven games against the Tigers, owner Sam Breadon expressed a desire to move the franchise from St. Louis to Detroit.

Disheartened by attendance figures for a franchise that won five National League pennants and three World Series championships from 1926-34, Breadon was willing to relocate the Cardinals after a bid to sell them collapsed.

The Cardinals’ regular-season home attendance in 1926, when they won the pennant and World Series title for the first time, was 681,575. It increased to 778,147 in 1928, when they again won the pennant.

After the Great Depression began soon after the stock market crash of October 1929, Cardinals attendance spiraled, even though the team was successful.

For sale

The Cardinals, who shared Sportsman’s Park with the American League Browns, drew 519,647 during the regular season in 1930, when they won their third pennant. Their attendance was 623,960 in 1931, when they won the pennant and World Series title.

After regular-season attendance totals of 290,370 in 1932 and 268,404 in 1933, the Cardinals drew 334,863 in 1934, when the colorful Gashouse Gang team of Dizzy Dean, Joe Medwick, Pepper Martin and Frankie Frisch won the pennant and World Series crown.

Fearing for the long-term financial prospects and figuring the value of his World Series championship club was at a premium, Breadon instructed general manager Branch Rickey to negotiate a sale with Lew Wentz, an Oklahoma oil baron who offered to buy the Cardinals.

Wentz, though, withdrew because of the asking price. Breadon wanted $1.1 million, according to the Murray Polner book “Branch Rickey: A Biography.”

With no prospects of a sale, Breadon explored relocation as an option.

Motor City madness

On March 28, 1935, during spring training in Bradenton, Fla., Breadon told reporters he would move the Cardinals to Detroit if Tigers owner Frank Navin approved.

The 1934 Tigers had a regular-season attendance of 919,161 _ nearly three times the Cardinals’ total _ and Breadon saw the job-generating Motor City as a town better suited than St. Louis to support two major-league franchises.

Sid Keener, sports editor of the St. Louis Star-Times, reported, “Breadon intimated that he would make overtures to the two major leagues during the coming season to rearrange the current setups of the National and American leagues. He said he believed baseball would profit by changing St. Louis to a one-club major league city, leaving the Browns as the sole representative in the Missouri city and by moving his own National League franchise to Detroit.”

Said Breadon to Keener: “We can put this over if Frank Navin … will take a sensible view of conditions. I can swing the deal from the National League angle. By that, I mean I have received the consent of the National League club owners to transfer the Cardinals to Detroit. However, we must convince Mr. Navin that it would be a good thing for everyone concerned in baseball before we can put it over.”

Profit over loyalty

According to the Associated Press, Breadon said, “Detroit has enough high-salaried fans to attend ballgames every day and it would help the Tigers. Think of the profit of a spring series alone.”

The Sporting News, the St. Louis-based weekly, quoted Breadon as saying, “I think Detroit would be an ideal spot for the Cardinals and I would go there in a minute if Navin opened the way to come in. But I doubt that he would want us.”

On March 29, 1935, the day after his stunning remarks, Breadon backpedaled. When asked by the Associated Press whether there was an immediate plan for a move, Breadon replied, “Not at all.”

In its April 4, 1935, edition, The Sporting News claimed Breadon “was merely doing a little off-the-record wishing” when he expressed interest in relocating the Cardinals to Detroit. Navin had no interest in sharing his market with the Cardinals, The Sporting News reported.

Still, the magazine left open the possibility of a Cardinals move.

“The meager draw (in 1934) caused Breadon to do a lot of thinking and the club would have shown a loss on the year’s operations had not the team smashed its way into the World Series,” The Sporting News opined. “While Detroit is out of the question as a stamping ground for the Redbirds, there are other possible future landing places for the Cardinals … The time may not be far distant when the Redbirds will be flying away to some other community.”

The Cardinals’ regular-season attendance improved to 517,805 in 1935, when the team finished in second place, but from 1935 through 1945, the Cardinals never drew more than 642,496 for a regular season.

In 1946, the first regular season after World War II, the Cardinals totaled an attendance of more than a million for the first time.

Posted in Executives | 3 Comments »

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