On April 16, 1957, the Cardinals opened the season up by beating the Reds 13-4 in Cincinnati. It was the Reds worst Opening Day loss since 1911 when the Pirates blew them out with a 14-0 rout. The Birds had a variety of heroes in the contest but one stood above the rest and he wore the number 6 on his back. Musial went 4 for 4 with two singles and two doubles, and two ribbies. Al Dark rocked out three hits, Wally Moon hit a "moon shot", rookie Bobby Smith homered, Del Ennis knocked in three runs, and Herm Wehmeier went the distance to earn the complete game victory. This was the 775th consecutive game played for Musial who reached 895 before sitting out a game in August of that same year. That streak stands as the eighth best on the all time list.
Another Cardinals batter that had success that day was catcher Hal Smith who went 2 for 5 with an RBI. Smith passed away last Saturday, so I dedicate this fact to him in memoriam. Smith spent six years with the Redbirds. He represented the club in the All Star game in '57 then again in '59. A health condition forced him to retire early. However, he was able to live a long life and will be remembered by many. You can read about his life here:
http://halsmithcards.com/ There are several videos of Smith on the site as well. I think this one is a true treasure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WmSLCGovII
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