Retro Simba

A month into his rookie year with the 1963 Reds, Pete Rose was struggling to hold on to his job. Then he played the Cardinals for the first time and got his career back on track. Making a leap from the Class A level of the minors to the big leagues, Rose won the starting second base spot with the Reds at 1963 spring training. Once the season began, the player who would become … [Read more...] about Cardinals were cure to what ailed rookie Pete Rose

Studying a football playbook or the intricacies of a defense don’t seem so daunting compared with preparing a dissertation on chemical engineering or doing research for the space program. Charley Johnson was a good quarterback for 15 years in the NFL, including from 1961-69 with the St. Louis Cardinals. He led the NFL in completions (223) and passing yards (3,045) in 1964. His … [Read more...] about How Charley Johnson engineered an amazing career

In a bid to contend with the Cardinals and others for the 1964 National League pennant, the Giants added the majors’ first Japanese import to their bullpen. Sixty years ago, on Sept. 1, 1964, Masanori Murakami, 20, became the first Japanese native to play in the big leagues when he pitched in relief for the Giants against the Mets. Possessing impressive command of … [Read more...] about Orient Express: Masanori Murakami blazed pioneer path

Depending on how often his fastball found the strike zone, Bobo Newsom could be entertainingly good or entertainingly bad _ sometimes both in the same day. The few fans who came to St. Louis’ Sportsman’s Park 90 years ago, in September 1934, witnessed classic Bobo. A big right-hander (6-foot-3, 220 to 240 pounds, according to the Associated Press), Bobo … [Read more...] about Bobo Newsom and Browns: An unpredictable pairing

Call it boldly creative or plain folly, 72-year-old Mets manager Casey Stengel defied convention when he chose an 18-year-old rookie first baseman to be his Opening Day right fielder against the 1963 Cardinals. Ed Kranepool was the teen Stengel started that day, putting him in the No. 3 spot in the order ahead of cleanup hitter and future Hall of Famer Duke Snider. Twelve … [Read more...] about Cardinals were early influence in career of Ed Kranepool