April 18, 1925: The Cardinals Obliterate The Cubs In Chi Town; A Near Riot In The Lou

     On April 18, 1925, in a game that saw a total of 36 hits and seven home runs, the Cardinals took down the Cubs by the score of 20-5 in Chicago.  Five of the seven big flies came off the bats of Cardinals sluggers, while the Baby Bears knocked the other two over the wall. The home run barrage was led by third baseman Les Bell who hit two big blasts. Bell went 5 for 6, doubling twice, scoring four times and knocking in six on the day. His happy go lucky teammate, Sunny Jim Bottomley also recorded six ribbies and parked one in the seats as well. The other Redbird  homers came off the bats of Ray Blades and Taylor Douthit.

     Every single Cardinals batter besides Heinie Mueller got in on the hit parade including starting pitcher Pea Ridge Day. It is likely that Mueller would have joined in on the action, but he got himself ejected in the third during his only at bat of the game. Douthit took over for him and got the job done in his place. One other guy that should be mentioned was Rogers Hornsby who scored five times with a 3 for 5 day that included two doubles. It was one of those days at the ballpark where everything went right for the team that called St. Louis home.

     Meanwhile, in St. Louis, the other team that called the city home, the Browns took on the White Sox and lost 14-5. The story of that day for the Browns was a near riot at Sportsman's Park, as the fans were agitated by owner Phil Ball's refusal to settle a contract dispute with fan favorite and star player Baby Doll Jacobson,. The club had suffered its fourth straight loss and tension was on the rise. The President of the American League Ban Johnson was in attendance and accompanied Ball until things began to escalate. While Johnson found safety, Ball faced the angry crowd that threw handfuls of dirt at him while chanting "We want Jake!" Ball stood his ground as a crowd that was estimated to be at least a couple thousand gathered. However, the police did intervene as it became apparent that pot was going to boil over. The officers quickly dispersed the crowd while Ball was escorted away by several of St. Louis' finest. Less than a week later, on April 22nd, Ban Johnson helped end the holdout by getting a deal done, which led to Jacobson reporting for duty.

     The Browns outplayed their National League brethren Cardinals during that 1925 season by going 82-71, which was good for third in the American League. The Cardinals finished one game over .500 with a 77-76 record. With that said, the National Leaguers were one year away from turning the page and becoming World Champions.

Source: The Chicago Tribune  for details about the incident involving Ball and the near riot at Sportsman's Park.

If you would like to look over a play-by-play of the Cardinals contest check this out: http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1925/B04180CHN1925.htm

Here is a link for the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN192504180.shtml

Last, but not least, here is a link to a bio for Baby Doll Jacobson. He spent a lot of time in St. Louis entertaining fans, so many of you may find it to be interesting: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/a2668210