Retro Simba

Stan Musial played in 3,026 regular-season games for the Cardinals. Only once did he strike out three times in a game. The pitcher who did it: Dick Ellsworth. A left-hander who pitched in 13 seasons with the Cubs, Phillies, Red Sox, Indians and Brewers, Ellsworth had a career record of 115-137. He twice lost 20 in a season with the Cubs (9-20 in 1962 and 8-22 in … [Read more...] about Why Dick Ellsworth is one of a kind in Cardinals lore

Rogers Hornsby slammed the door on the Cardinals but it didn’t shut. Ninety years ago, on Oct. 25, 1932, the Cardinals signed Hornsby for a second stint with them. The reunion seemed unimaginable six years earlier when Hornsby and Cardinals owner Sam Breadon quarreled during contract talks. Reaching a boiling point, Hornsby stormed out of Breadon’s office, slamming the … [Read more...] about Why Rogers Hornsby was welcomed back to Cardinals

Looking to cap a comeback from an injury that nearly shattered his season, pitcher Tommy Boggs was expecting to start Game 2 of the National League Championship Series for the Braves against the Cardinals. Instead, his hopes for a storybook ending got washed away on a stormy St. Louis night. After suffering a partial tear of the rotator cuff in his right shoulder early … [Read more...] about Tommy Boggs lost chance for playoff start vs. Cardinals

The Cardinals acquired the player who might have helped them win a division title in 1973, but gave him away before he played a game for them. Fifty years ago, on Oct. 26, 1972, the Cardinals got outfielder Larry Hisle from the Dodgers for pitchers Rudy Arroyo and Greg Milliken. Hisle might have been a fit to join a Cardinals outfield with Lou Brock and either … [Read more...] about Why Larry Hisle never got a chance with Cardinals

Even in a rivalry as intense as Cubs vs. Cardinals, sometimes a little common courtesy prevails. Seventy-five years ago, on Sept. 28, 1947, at Chicago, the Cardinals and Cubs created their own rule during the last game of the season. When a Cubs baserunner, slugger Bill Nicholson, needed to leave the field for treatment of a minor foot problem, the Cardinals … [Read more...] about Believe it or not, Cardinals once did Cubs a favor