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Departure of football Cardinals helped baseball Cardinals

March 13, 2013 by retrosimba

(Updated March 15, 2023)

In March 1988, the NFL approved the move of the St. Louis football Cardinals to Arizona, leaving the St. Louis baseball Cardinals as the sole tenant of Busch Memorial Stadium for the first time since it opened in 1966.

curtis_greerThe departure of the football Cardinals ended 28 years of NFL existence in St. Louis, but it was a boon to the baseball Cardinals, who benefitted from improvements to Busch Memorial Stadium.

In April 1988, when the defending National League champion Cardinals opened their baseball season a month after the football Cardinals left St. Louis, 1,000 seats and 10 luxury suites were added to Busch Memorial Stadium, increasing seating capacity for baseball to 54,224.

A year later, among the upgrades made to the stadium for the 1989 Cardinals baseball season were a 65,000-watt sound system, seven new concession areas and remodeling of 11 others.

In 1992, the baseball Cardinals installed a spongier and darker artificial playing surface. Four years later, they went to a natural grass surface at Busch Memorial Stadium for the first time since 1969.

Bill Bidwill, owner of the football Cardinals, asked the NFL on Jan. 15, 1988, for permission to move to Phoenix because he believed Busch Memorial Stadium limited his revenue opportunities and he didn’t have hope a football stadium would be built in St. Louis. The NFL wanted Bidwill to relocate the team to Baltimore because it intended to place an expansion franchise in Phoenix.

Bidwill preferred Arizona. Sun Devil Stadium in Phoenix offered 73,000 seats (20,000 more than Busch Memorial Stadium did for football). Bidwill stood to gain $2.5 million from luxury suite seats. He also was optimistic of having a domed stadium built in downtown Phoenix.

On March 15, 1988, NFL owners voted 26-0, with two abstentions, to approve the move. Abstaining were Raiders owner Al Davis and Dolphins owner Joe Robbie.

(Davis, in a legal battle with the league, told the New York Times, “It’s all a sham. They vote any way they want and allow anyone they want to move.” Robbie told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he abstained out of loyalty to his friend Joe Foss, who headed a group seeking an expansion franchise in Phoenix. “A man who forgets his friends doesn’t deserve friends,” Robbie said.)

Cardinals defensive lineman Curtis Greer said Bidwill had given St. Louis the chance to build a stadium and keep the team.

”I would think that you’ve got to appreciate Mr. Bidwill’s patience in trying to give the city of St. Louis time to get a new stadium,” Greer said to the Post-Dispatch. ”I think it was about 3 1/2 years since he first talked of moving. He took the route of being courteous and following the guidelines of the league. I think you’ve got to admire a guy like that.”

St. Louis mayor Vincent Schoemehl ripped the NFL for permitting the move. Schoemehl told the Post-Dispatch that “communities have a right to be treated better” by the NFL.

“This is a reflection on them (the NFL) and not us,” Schoemehl said. “I think our code of conduct in this city is frankly superior to theirs.”

Regarding the NFL commissioner, Schoemehl added, “I find it hard to hold Pete Rozelle in high regard.”

Seven years later, St. Louis regained a NFL franchise when the Rams moved there from Los Angeles. The Rams played their first four home games of the 1995 season at Busch Memorial Stadium before relocating to a domed stadium built for the franchise in downtown St. Louis.

After the 2015 season, the Rams returned to Los Angeles.

Previously: Football Cardinals finally got it right with Don Coryell

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Why Jose Oquendo, not Ozzie Smith, opened at shortstop

March 11, 2013 by retrosimba

The shortstop position was a model of stability when Ozzie Smith was on the Cardinals roster.

ozzie_smith5Smith played for the Cardinals for 15 seasons (1982-96). He was their starting shortstop on Opening Day in 13 of those years.

The exceptions: 1996, when first-year manager Tony La Russa went with newcomer Royce Clayton, and 1989, when Smith opened the season on the disabled list because of a pulled muscle in his left side.

If not for that injury, Smith would have made 14 consecutive Opening Day starts at shortstop for St. Louis.

The only player other than Smith to start at shortstop for the Cardinals from 1982 to 1995 was Jose Oquendo, who shifted from second base as the substitute for Smith in 1989.

On March 30, less than a week before the Cardinals’ 1989 regular-season opener, Smith was injured stealing third base in an exhibition game against the Blue Jays at Dunedin, Fla. The initial prognosis was he would be sidelined until May 1. Smith was placed on the disabled for the first time since 1984.

Manager Whitey Herzog decided to move Oquendo from second base to shortstop and place utilityman Tim Jones at second base. Asked why he opted for Oquendo rather than Jones at shortstop, Herzog told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Jones can play it. I just think that Oquendo probably is as good a shortstop as there is in the National League.”

The Cardinals opened the 1989 season on April 3 at New York against the Mets. Oquendo, batting sixth, went 0-for-4, striking out twice against starter Dwight Gooden and once against Don Aase. The Mets won, 8-4. Boxscore

Oquendo, who had hit .384 (28-for-73) in spring training, appeared to be pressing. He went hitless in his first 13 at-bats.

The Cardinals stayed with the starting middle infield duo of Oquendo and Jones for the first seven games. Oquendo batted .167 and made one error. Jones hit .200 and fielded flawlessly.

Smith returned to the lineup on April 15, in the Cardinals’ second home game, against the Mets. Batting second, behind Vince Coleman, Smith was 2-for-5. His 10th-inning single moved Coleman from second to third _ “I can’t run into an out,” Coleman explained in why he agreed with third-base coach Rich Hacker’s stop sign _ and positioned Coleman to score the game-winning run on Pedro Guerrero’s one-out single.

Appearing comfortable with Smith in the lineup, Coleman swiped three bases in the Cardinals’ 3-2 victory. “I know he (Smith) is going to sacrifice himself so I can steal,” Coleman told the Post-Dispatch. Boxscore

With Smith at shortstop, Oquendo went back to second base and Jones to the bench.

Smith started in 152 games in 1989, leading National League shortstops in assists (483) and winning his 10th consecutive Gold Glove Award.

Previously: Buddy Bell almost joined Ozzie Smith in Cardinals’ infield

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How Bee Bee Richard became Cards’ starting shortstop

March 8, 2013 by retrosimba

Imagine the Cardinals opening a season with a starting shortstop who had a career batting average of .217, more than twice as many strikeouts (68) as walks (29) and a reputation as an erratic fielder.

lee_richardThat’s precisely what the Cardinals did when they selected Lee “Bee Bee” Richard as their Opening Day shortstop in 1976.

Richard, a speedster, was acquired on Dec. 12, 1975, by the Cardinals from the White Sox for outfielder Buddy Bradford and pitcher Greg Terlecky. The Cardinals projected him as a backup to shortstop Don Kessinger, who joined St. Louis two months earlier in a trade with the Cubs.

Nicknamed “Bee Bee” as a hard-throwing high school pitcher in Louisiana, Richard attended Southern University and converted to shortstop.

Scouts were enamored with his speed and strong throwing arm. Richard was a first-round choice of the White Sox in the June 1970 amateur draft. He was the first shortstop selected. “We were fearful he might be picked by the time our turn came,” White Sox general manager Ed Short said to The Sporting News.

After watching Richard in a workout, White Sox coach Luke Appling, a Hall of Fame shortstop, said, “He’s got good hands. He’ll be a good one.”

Richard, 22, made his big-league debut on April 7, 1971, as the starting shortstop and leadoff batter for the White Sox in their season opener against the Athletics at Oakland. He singled twice against Catfish Hunter, drove in a run and was caught stealing by catcher Dave Duncan. Boxscore

Richard, however, wasn’t ready to be a big-league regular. He committed 26 errors in 68 games at shortstop in 1971. “I know some people told me I’d have been better off if I’d go down to the minors,” Richard said.

Undeterred, White Sox manager Chuck Tanner said, “He’s going to be a great shortstop … Give him a couple of years.”

Richard, who spent four seasons with the White Sox, was dubbed “The Juggler” by broadcaster Harry Caray because of poor fielding. The White Sox also tried him at center field, third base, second base, right field and designated hitter.

During a game in which Richard committed a pair of errors, the Washington Post reported, Caray told listeners, “Richard just picked up a hot dog wrapper. It’s the first thing he’s picked up all night.”

On April 9, 1976, the Cardinals opened their season at home against the Cubs and manager Red Schoendienst posted this batting order:

1. Lou Brock, left field.

2. Lee Richard, shortstop.

3. Bake McBride, center field.

4. Ted Simmons, catcher.

5. Reggie Smith, right field.

6. Keith Hernandez, first base.

7. Hector Cruz, third base.

8. Mike Tyson, second base.

9. Lynn McGlothen, pitcher.

After McGlothen retired the first two batters, Bill Madlock grounded to Richard, who booted the ball for an error on his first chance as a Cardinal. The next two batters reached before McGlothen worked out of the bases loaded jam.

Richard produced a single in four at-bats and St. Louis won, 5-0. Boxscore

Kessinger got the start at shortstop in the next game and remained the starter until the Cardinals called up rookie Garry Templeton in August.

In 13 games, six as a starter, at shortstop for the Cardinals, Richard committed four errors. By July 15, Richard’s batting average dropped to .059. Used primarily as a reserve infielder, Richard appeared in 66 games for the 1976 Cardinals, batted .176 and stole one base.

The Cardinals released him after the season and he never appeared in the major leagues again.

Posted in Games, Hitters | 9 Comments »

Cardinals gambled, lost with Ray Busse at shortstop

March 5, 2013 by retrosimba

(Updated Nov. 27, 2018)

In 1973, the Cardinals lost a gamble when they selected Ray Busse as their starting shortstop.

ray_busseBusse was a top prospect in the Astros system when he hit .271 with 13 home runs in 92 games for Class AAA Oklahoma City in 1971. Bob Kennedy, the Cardinals’ director of player development, rated Busse the best shortstop in the minor leagues that year, The Sporting News reported.

Misfortune struck in 1972. Busse’s father committed suicide. Busse suffered a shoulder injury. Limited to 70 games, Busse hit .207 and committed 27 errors for Oklahoma City in 1972.

Cardinals general manager Bing Devine went to baseball’s winter meetings in November 1972 determined to find  “a shortstop with some sting in his bat,” The Sporting News reported. The Cardinals were seeking a replacement for Dal Maxvill, who they traded to the Athletics in August 1972.

Harry Walker, who joined the Cardinals as a hitting instructor after managing the Astros, recommended Busse. So did Kennedy.

On Nov. 28, 1972, the Cardinals dealt catcher Skip Jutze and infielder Milt Ramirez to the Astros for Busse and infielder Bobby Fenwick.

“Walker considers Busse a good gamble because of his age (24) and his batting potential,” Devine told The Sporting News.

Said Kennedy: “He (Busse) has a fine arm, good range and could become a good hitter.”

Busse went to spring training in competition with Mick Kelleher, Mike Tyson, Dwain Anderson and Ed Crosby for the starting shortstop position and “quickly took charge of the shortstop sweepstakes,” The Sporting News reported.

In his first spring training at-bat for the Cardinals, Busse singled in a run. Soon after, he hit a three-run home run against the Mets’ Ray Sadecki. Busse completed spring training as the Cardinals’ leader in RBI (11) and hit .254.

Though he ended spring training in an 0-for-18 slump, the Cardinals named him their starting shortstop. “He’s done a real fine job,” Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst told Larry Harnly of The State Journal-Register of Springfield, Ill. “He’s done everything expected of him … If you make a mistake on Busse, he’ll hit that ball.”

The Cardinals opened the 1973 regular season on April 6 at Pittsburgh with an all-rookie left side of the infield (Ken Reitz was at third base).

It was a disaster for Busse from the beginning.

Busse made an error on the first ball hit to him _ a grounder by Pirates leadoff batter Rennie Stennett in the first inning. Busse went 1-for-4, made two errors and the Pirates won, 7-5. Boxscore

The Cardinals lost 20 of their first 25 games. Busse took much of the blame.

On May 14, 1973, fans booed Busse and Reitz throughout a 10-5 Phillies victory at St. Louis. The loss dropped the Cardinals’ record to 8-23. Busse was batting .143 with 21 strikeouts in 24 games and he had committed 11 errors. Boxscore

After the game, Reitz shrugged off the boos when approached by reporters. Busse responded to the booing by saying, “Often I wonder what we come to the ballpark for. When you’re down, it’s pretty easy for somebody to get down on you, but that’s when you need them (the fans) the most.”

Busse never appeared in another game for the Cardinals. Schoendienst named Tyson the starting shortstop. Busse remained on the bench until the Cardinals traded him back to the Astros for infielder Stan Papi on June 8, 1973.

Asked by The Sporting News whether he had been given a fair shot by the Cardinals, Busse replied, “No, but that’s nobody’s fault but my own.”

Astros manager Leo Durocher said, “We’re tickled to get him back.”

Busse never recovered. He hit .059 in 15 games for the Astros in 1973 and .206 in 19 games for them in 1974, his last season in the major leagues.

 

Posted in Games, Hitters, Trades | 4 Comments »

Why the Cardinals chose Cairo, Ill., for spring training

March 2, 2013 by retrosimba

In 1943, the defending World Series champion Cardinals shifted their spring training site from Florida to Illinois. Compared with where other big-league clubs had to go, the Cardinals considered themselves fortunate.

billy_southworth2With the United States pouring resources into its fight against Germany and Japan in World War II, big-league baseball offered to help conserve by placing travel restrictions on where clubs could train in the spring.

Clubs were ordered to choose sites north of the Potomac and Ohio rivers and east of the Mississippi River.

The Browns of the American League selected Cape Girardeau, Mo., located 135 miles south of St. Louis. (Because Cape Girardeau is on the west bank of the Mississippi, the Browns technically were in violation of the rules, but baseball officials allowed it.)

The Cardinals picked Cairo, Ill., the southernmost spring training site of all 16 major league clubs. Cairo, then a town of 14,000, is located where the Ohio River flows into the Mississippi. It is 40 miles south of Cape Girardeau.

“We’re going farther south than any other big-league training outfit,” Cardinals owner Sam Breadon said to The Sporting News. “We’ll be only a short distance from Tennessee and the weather down there is always from 12 to 15 degrees warmer than it is in St. Louis.”

Here is where the big-league teams trained in 1943:

NATIONAL LEAGUE

CLUB……………1943 TRAINING SITE……………1942 TRAINING SITE

Braves…………..Wallingford, Conn……………………..Sanford, Fla.

Cardinals……….Cairo, Ill……………………………………St. Petersburg, Fla.

Cubs………………French Lick, Ind……………………….Catalina Island, Calif.

Dodgers…………Bear Mountain, N.Y…………………..Havana, Cuba

Giants……………Lakewood, N.J………………………….Miami, Fla.

Phillies…………..Swarthmore, Pa……………………….Miami Beach, Fla.

Pirates……………Muncie, Ind…………………………….San Bernardino, Calif.

Reds………………Bloomington, Ind…………………….Tampa, Fla.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

CLUB……………1943 TRAINING SITE……………1942 TRAINING SITE

Athletics…………Wilmington, Del………………………..Anaheim, Calif.

Browns…………..Cape Girardeau, Mo…………………..DeLand, Fla.

Indians…………..West Lafayette, Ind……………………Clearwater, Fla.

Red Sox………….Medford, Mass………………………….Sarasota, Fla.

Senators…………College Park, Md………………………Orlando, Fla.

Tigers……………..Evansville, Ind…………………………Lakeland, Fla.

White Sox………..French Lick, Ind………………………Pasadena, Calif.

Yankees……………Asbury Park, N.J…………………….St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Cardinals didn’t report to Cairo, Ill., until mid-March, at least two weeks later than they usually went to St. Petersburg. They trained outdoors on a large field and indoors in a high school gym.

According to The Sporting News, the field drained well, “usable the day after a heavy rainfall,” and the gym was like “a steam room” because the Cardinals kept the temperature above 80.

Cardinals manager Billy Southworth projected a positive attitude, telling The Sporting News after the first week of workouts, “Let us have three days outdoors out of every five and we’ll be in thoroughly satisfactory condition for the pennant race. And let us have warm weather through most of the last two weeks and we’ll be in as good condition as we could attain anywhere in the country.”

The Cardinals’ Cairo spring didn’t hurt. They repeated as National League champions in 1943. They trained again in Cairo in 1944 and 1945 (winning a World Series title in 1944) before returning to St. Petersburg in 1946.

Previously: How Mort Cooper pitched 2 straight 1-hitters for Cardinals

Posted in Executives, Managers | Tagged , | 9 Comments »

Cards find Jupiter fine fit as St. Petersburg replacement

February 27, 2013 by retrosimba

Today, Jupiter, Fla., is as familiar as a spring training home to the Cardinals and their fans as the bird on bat is as a logo. In 1998, though, when the Cardinals left St. Petersburg for Jupiter, it was like landing on another planet.

mark_mcgwire2The Cardinals had trained in St. Petersburg, on Florida’s serene west coast, from 1938 through 1997 (with the exception of three years when travel was restricted during World War II).

Jupiter is on Florida’s east coast, in glitzy and congested Palm Beach County.

The move 200 miles southeast was prompted by several factors, including the chance to train in larger and more modern facilities and because the American League expansion team, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, arrived in 1998 and made St. Petersburg their base.

Sharing the Jupiter complex with the Cardinals in 1998 were the Montreal Expos. Today, the Miami Marlins are the Cardinals’ spring-training neighbors.

Bob Broeg, longtime St. Louis baseball reporter, wrote in the February 1998 St. Louis Post-Dispatch he was looking forward to seeing the Cardinals’ new spring training site, “although it’s sad to see them leaving St. Petersburg, the ballclub’s home since Pepper Martin slid down a hotel’s emergency rope fire escape.”

Broeg described the scene at St. Petersburg in 1946, when players returned in droves from military service in World War II, and a pair of glamour teams, the Cardinals and Yankees, trained there:

“This was the last year of rickety old Waterfront Park in St. Pete.

“The memories of many of that spring … included a favorite watering trough – the crowded Sundown Club of lightly publicized St. Petersburg Beach. The beach would have superstars Joe DiMaggio and Stan Musial having a drink, back to back.

“As Red Schoendienst recalls, if a young ballplayer or young reporter would have had $2,500 to spend then, he could have acquired enough sand dune-seaweed waterfront real estate to make a small fortune.”

Schoendienst’s first spring in St. Petersburg was in the 1940s.

“I’ll miss St. Pete,” Schoendienst said to Mike Eisenbath of the Post-Dispatch in February 1998. “When we left St. Louis every year to go there, it was like going from your home to another home.”

Said Cardinals instructor George Kissell, who resided year-round in St. Petersburg: “It’s like being evicted from home. I’ve lived in St. Pete for 42 years, and for 42 years everybody came to me. But it made sense to move. This (Jupiter) will be a great place. You can’t judge it today. Wait until a year from today.”

Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon, who enjoyed St. Petersburg, quickly became a Jupiter booster because of the quality of the baseball facilities.

“St. Pete is a great city and has fantastic memories for the Cardinals,” Shannon said to the Post-Dispatch. “But comparing the facilities in St. Petersburg to the ones here, it was like having a minor-league outfit for a major-league team there. This is the big leagues here.”

In a preview of spring training 1998, Dan O’Neill of the Post-Dispatch wrote:

“For a number of Cardinals fans, the spring migration to the soft breezes and lazy life of St. Petersburg, Fla., was a given – like barbecuing in the summer and tree-shopping in December.

“In Palm Beach County, life, as well as traffic, moves more briskly.”

Adding to the excitement of the Cardinals’ first spring at Jupiter was the arrival of slugging first baseman Mark McGwire. He had been acquired by St. Louis in July 1997. He arrived early for his initial spring training at Jupiter.

“I love it,” McGwire said to Rick Hummel of the Post-Dispatch.

Said manager Tony La Russa: “When key guys get there early, it sends the right message.”

McGwire went on to hit a record 70 home runs that season.

The Cardinals won two World Series titles (2006 and 2011) since they started training at Jupiter. Playing at 6,800-seat Roger Dean Stadium, they had spring training game attendance averages in the years after those championships of 6,600 in 2007 and 6,700 in 2012, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Posted in Games | 3 Comments »

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