October 12, 1967: Gibson and The Birds Take The Title

On October 12, 1967, at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the Cardinals clinched their 8th World Series title with a 7-2 win over the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the Fall Classic. The Birds won the game behind a masterful performance by Bob Gibson who allowed just three hits and hit a home run in the contest. Gibson was a true warrior throughout the series, he was the winning pitcher in Game 1, Game 3, and the title clinching Game 7 battle. After splitting the first two games the Cardinals won games 3 and 4 to give them a 3 games to 1 edge in the series only to have the resilient Red Sox club take games 5 and 6 to force the Game 7 in Boston. The skipper of the Red Sox, Dick Williams decided to send Jim Lonborg to the mound on just two days rest, while Gibby was had an extra day of rest. Lonborg got tagged for all 7 of the Redbird runs through 6 innings of work, although one of those runs was unearned. The Cardinals began their scoring in the third after shortstop Dal Maxvill led the inning off with a triple. Lonborg picked up two outs before Curt Flood smacked a single into center that put the club up 1-0. Roger Maris moved  Flood over to third with a single then with Orlando Cepeda at the dish Lonborg threw a wild pitch that brought the Cardinals center fielder into score the second run of the inning. With the score still 2-0 Birds in the fifth, Gibby took Lonborg deep to push the lead to 3-0. Lou Brock followed Gibson with a single then stole second and third base before Roger Maris knocked him in with a sacrifice fly to right. The Birds were in control of this one, however, the Red Sox weren't going to go down without some semblance of a fight. In the bottom of the fifth, Gibson gave up one of those three hits to George Scott. The Red Sox first baseman hit a lead off triple in the inning then scored when Julian Javier threw the ball away in an attempt to gun him down. With the score 4-1 heading into the sixth, Javier made up for his throwing error with a 3 run shot over the Green Monster to open up a 7-1 lead. The dream of a World Series title was fading quickly with the dominant Gibson on the hill, he did allow the second Boston run of the ballgame in the eighth but he maintained his composure and got out of the inning with minimal damage. Brock stole his record setting third base of the game in the top of the ninth, it was not only a single game record it was his seventh of the series which was also a record. In the bottom of the ninth, Carl Yastrzemski led the inning off with a single, this led to a visit by the Redbird skipper Red Schoendienst who simply said a few words to his stud pitcher before letting him finish the job. Ken Harrleson erased Yaz with a double play and Gibson needed one more out to clinch the series. He finished the ballgame off with a strikeout of George Scott. While there were many heroes throughout this series none shined brighter than Bob Gibson. His dominance earned him MVP honors and he was presented with a brand new car for the second time in four seasons, he won the car after the '64 championship as well. With the series in Boston the bars in and around St. Louis were packed with Cardinals fans, when Gibson struck out Scott to finish off the ballgame, the downtown area erupted in man made snow as an avalanche of paper came out of the office building in the city. One woman said "I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life" as she watched the paper fall from the skies above. It was a thrilling finish for the Cardinals that once again were World Champions.

Check out the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS196710120.shtml

A couple little sidenotes; The '67 Cardinals club won 101 games and took the National League pennant by 10 1/2 games over the San Francisco Giants. They were a club full of stars like, Brock, Cepeda, Maris, McCarver, and Gibson. The road to a 101 wins was not a road that was easily traveled, they had to overcome a devastating injury to Gibson that had him sidelined for a good part of the year, which simply led to other men on the club stepping up in his absence. When Gibson returned he was the same dominant pitcher he was before the injury and you never know without the injury things could have went a whole different way for the Series MVP.

On the flip side, the Red Sox had a season that was dubbed "The Impossible Dream" they were led by Yastrzemski and Lonborg and they posted their first winning season since 1946. Going into the last week of the regular season the Red Sox, Tigers, Twins, and White Sox were all within a game of each other in the standings. The White Sox lost their last 5 games of the season to fall out of contention, while the Red Sox and the Twins  met in the final two games of the season. With Minnesota up by a game before the two teams met, the Red Sox swept them but still had to wait on the results of a doubleheader between the Tigers and the Angels in Detroit, after the Tigers split that bill Boston was crowned the Champions of the American League. Much like in 1946, they would meet and get beat by the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

October 11, 1964: Ken Boyer Slams The Yankees

On October 11, 1964, Ken Boyer's sixth inning grand slam off of Yankees starter Al Downing led the Cardinals to a 4-3 victory in Game 4 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium in New York. With a much needed victory the manager of the Cardinals, Johnny Keane sent Ray Sadecki to the mound to counter Downing. The Cardinals starter got knocked around early, the first four men he faced reached base before he was yanked by the skipper with the Yankees up 2-0. Roger Craig took over for Sadecki and gave up an RBI single before putting the fire out. All three runs were charged to Sadecki and Craig came in and did an admirable job as he kept the Yankees from adding to their lead before he was lifted for a pinch hitter in that big sixth inning for the Redbirds. The pinch hitter, Carl Warwick led the inning off with a single, he was moved over to second with a single off the bat of Curt Flood, after Downing got Lou Brock to fly out, the Cardinals shortstop Dick Groat hit a ball up the middle that looked like a sure inning ending double play only to have the Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson mishandle the ball which led to all of the Cardinals runners being safe. Boyer had committed an error in the first which led to a run, the costly error was quickly forgotten with one swing of the bat when he parked the Al Downing pitch into the stands in left. The grand slam only proved to be the game winner after Ron Taylor pitched 4 innings of no-hit ball, the Cardinals hurler was nearly perfect, he allowed just one man to reach base on a walk. This was a crucial victory for the Birds, after splitting the first two games in St. Louis, the Yankees won the third and held a two to one edge in the series. Boyer's grand slam and the relief performances of Craig and Taylor evened the series at two all instead of putting the Cards down three games to one. While the victory was a huge one, every man on that team knew they had work to do, as the club was in search of its first title since 1946.

Check out the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA196410110.shtml

October 10, 1926: The Cardinals Win Their First Title

On October 10, 1926, the Cardinals won their first title in the modern era with a 3-2 victory in Game 7 at Yankee Stadium in New York. Jesse Haines took the mound for the Birds while the Yankees sent Waite Hoyt to the hill.  Babe Ruth parked a solo shot in the right field bleachers in the third to put the Cardinals down 1-0, only to have shoddy defense lead to a 3 run fourth inning for the Cardinals. The Cardinals rally started with a one out single off the bat of Jim Bottomley, then Les Bell hit a hot shot to short that was booted by the Yankees shortstop Mark Koenig and moved Bottomley over to second while Bell was standing on first with an error charged to Koenig. The next man up Chick Hafey fell behind 0 and 2 before he looped a single into left to load'em up, then came the Cardinals catcher Bob O'Farrell. The backstop lofted a long fly ball into left that looked like it would simply be a sacrifice, then the left fielder Bob Meusal dropped the ball as Bottomley came into score while O'Farrell was standing at first with an error charged to Meusal.The Cardinals shortstop Tommy Thevenow followed O'Farrell with a single into right that brought both Hafey and O'Farrell into score the second and third runs of the inning. It proved to be all the runs the Birds would need. Although the victory was far from easy, Haines ran into trouble in the sixth, he gave up a two out single to third baseman Joe Dugan, then Hank Severeid knocked Dugan in with a double. Haines got out of the inning after pinch hitter Ben Paschal grounded out. In the seventh, Herb Pencock relieved Hoyt. Pencock had been the winning pitcher in games 1 and 5  and he proved he was up tot he task as he allowed just three hits tot he Cardinals the rest of the way. Haines got in a bit of trouble in the seventh, he gave up a lead off single to Earle Combs, then a one out intentional walk to Ruth , before issuing a two out walk to Lou Gehrig, After walking Gehrig, Haines was pulled from the game after developing a blister on his hand. The Cardinals skipper Rogers Horsby called on 39 year old Grover Alexander  to take over on the hill. Legend has it that Alexander was severely hungover, he had pitched a complete game the day before and celebrated the victory well into the night. It was reported the Alexander was sleeping in the bullpen when he his name was called. When he woke up he came in and got out of the bases loaded jam with a strike out of second baseman Tony Lazzeri. With the count 1-1 Lazzeri came within inches of a grand slam, he gave the third pitch of the at bat a ride deep down the left field line, fortunately for Alexander and the Cardinals the ball sailed foul then Alexander punched him out on the next pitch. It was a golden opportunity for the Yankees that Alexander quickly squashed. After a 1-2-3 eighth, Alexander came into shut down the Yankees in the ninth, he got two quick outs, then walked Babe Ruth. With Bob Meusal coming into face Alexander all of the fans knew all it would take was one swing of the bat to possibly bring Ruth into tie it up. Meusal had hit .315 during the regular season, had knocked in 81 runs, and picked up a double and a triple off of Alexander in Game 6. While it looked like the table was set for the Yankees, Ruth made a decision that might have just cost his Yankees a title. The slugger took off for second base on the first pitch to Meusal and O'Farrell gunned the ball to Hornsby at second who applied the tag on Ruth. To date, it's the only time a World Series has ended on a stolen base attempt. It was a thrilling finish for the Cardinals who could return home World Champions. The team hadn't won it all since 1886 when they were a part of the American Association and were known as the Browns. The city erupted in celebration following the victory, many of the residents sat around loudspeakers in the city and listened to the broadcast while every other Cardinals fan sat next to a radio in hopes of a Championship winner. As soon as the last out was recorded the streets of downtown St. Louis filled with thousands of people as they celebrated the Series win. On most Sundays in St. Louis the city was virtually deserted, not on this day, confetti poured from the roof of the Railway Exchange, whistles, cowbells, and car horns rang out while people beat on dish pans and everything else they could find to add to the uproar. People of every age literally danced in the streets as they celebrated the victory, cars were decorated with banners that said things like "The Cardinal is our National Bird" and "Alexander for President." It was quite the scene in St. Louis and one day later the team would return to a heroes welcome. They were more than heroes, they were World Champions!!!
  
Check out the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA192610100.shtml

October 9, 1934: The Gashouse Gang Wins The Title

On  October 9, 1934, the Cardinals won their third championship title in franchise history with an 11-0 victory over the Tigers in Game 7 of the World Series at Navin Field in Detroit. The deciding game of the series came with some controversy as Ducky Medwick was forced from the Cardinals lineup by the commissioner of baseball Kennesaw Mountain Landis after he spiked Tigers third baseman Marv Owen in the sixth. Dizzy Dean handled pitching duties for the Cards, he had literally been knocked out in Game 4. Dean came into that contest to pinch run and he got smoked in the head while he was trying to breakup a double play. Dean had to be rushed to the hospital where he was given a clear bill of health. In fact, the Cardinals 30 game-winner pitched the next day in Game 5, a 3-1 loss. After the Game 5 defeat in St. Louis, the Tigers were up 3 games to 2 with the series headed back to Detroit. With their backs against the wall the Birds pulled off a 4-3 victory in Game 6. Dizzy's brother Paul not only went the distance in that game he also knocked in what proved to be the game winning run with a seventh inning RBI single. More than 44,000 packed Navin Field for Game 7, they all were anticipating victory while the Cardinals had other plans. The Tigers sent Elden Auker to the hill in the decider, he was no match for the Cardinals bats. The Tigers starter got through the first two innings cleanly, then things started going the way of the Cardinals in the third. Dizzy hit a one out double into left, Pepper Martin followed him with a single that put Dean at third. After Martin swiped second base,  Auker walked Jack Rothrock to load'em up which simply set the table for the player/manager of the team Frankie Frisch. The Cardinals second baseman delivered with a double that brought all three runners into score. The bases clearing double spelled the end of the day for Auker and Schoolboy Rowe was called in to relieve, despite the fact he had pitched all nine innings of the Detroit loss the day before. Rowe was able to get the second out of the inning with a groundout by Medwick, however, it was a productive out as it moved Frisch over to third. The next man up Ripper Collins knocked Frisch in with a double to left, then the Cardinals catcher  Bill Delancey smacked a double to right that brought Collins into score the fifth run of the inning.  Delancey was the last batter Rowe faced, Chief Hogsett  took over for him and the wheels continued to fall off the Tigers bus. Hogsett walked the Cardinals center fielder Ernie Orsatti which brought shortstop Leo Durocher to the dish, Durocher was the first batter of the inning as the Cardinals had batted around. The first time Durocher was up he flied out to center, this time he delivered with a single that loaded the bases for the second time in the inning. Dean promptly picked up his second hit in the frame that brought Delancey into score. Hogsett then walked Martin forcing in the seventh run of the frame. The Tigers finally got out of the inning after Tommy Bridges replaced Hogsett and got Rothrock to groundout. As you could imagine the fans in Detroit were a bit stunned and probably a more than pissed after they watched things unravel in such a big way. The fans hit a boiling point in the sixth, Martin led the inning off with a single, then with two outs Medwick knocked him in with a triple to right. As Medwick came into third he spiked the third baseman Marv Owen, which brought players pouring out from both dugouts as Owen and Medwick looked like they might just throw some punches. After order was restored Ripper Collins picked up his fourth hit of the day which brought Medwick into score the ninth Cardinals run. Bridges ended the sixth with an out of Frisch, then Medwick went to take his position in left. He was welcomed by a thousands of angry fans that showered him with bottles, fruit, vegetables, and anything else they could find to throw at him. It led to the decision by the commissioner to remove the embattled left fielder. It's the only time in the history of the game that a commissioner chose to remove a player from a game. While Medwick insisted it wasn't intentional, it was probably the right choice as it calmed things down. Medwick had to be led to the locker room by six police officers for his own safety. The Cards added a couple more runs in the seventh with RBIs by Martin and Rothrock,they were the last two runs in the 11-0 beatdown. At the end of the day the Cardinals had recorded 17 hits while Dean allowed just 6 hits. It was quite the end to a series that was a true battle between both clubs. While it might have ended with some drama for the fans in Detroit, the fans in St. Louis rejoiced as their Cardinals would be returning home World Champions.

Check out the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET193410090.shtml

The Tigers posted a 101-53 record during that '34 season, that .656 winning percentage is the best in the long history of that franchise and  they finished 7 games ahead of the Yankees in the American League Standings. On the flip side the Cardinals posted a 95-58 regular season record and won a heated race with the New York Giants by two games.

October 8, 1944: The Birds Move Within a Game Of The Title

On October 8, 1944, the Cardinals moved within one game of capturing their fifth World Series title with a 2-0 win in Game 5 of the all St. Louis Fall Classic against the Browns. With Mort Cooper on the hill for the Birds and Denny Galehouse throwing for the Browns it was a game dominated by pitching. Cooper struck out 12 men and scattered 7 hits for the Cards while Galehouse turned in 10 Ks on the day, he gave up just 6 hits, but two of them were solo shots that were enough for the Cardinals to achieve victory.  Galehouse surrendered a long ball to Ray Sanders in the sixth then another to Danny Litwhiler in the eighth. it would be all the Birds needed as Cooper was dominating the Browns batters. Cooper came into the bottom of the ninth with just four strikeouts under his belt, he promptly struck out all three pinch hitters that Browns manager Luke Sewell sent to the dish. The pitching performance was the only time in World Series history that two pitchers struck out at least 10 batters. The Cardinals would take the title the next day with a 3-1 victory, it was the fifth title in franchise history.

Here's the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLA/SLA194410080.shtml

Couple cool facts about the '44 series; During the regular season the manager of the Cardinals Billy Southworth and the Browns skipper Luke Sewell shared an apartment due to wartime housing shortage. The setup worked great during the season because the two teams were never in town at the same time. During the week of the World Series Southworth found an apartment to stay in while Sewell stayed at the one they shared. Another interesting one is the fans in St. Louis seemed like they didn't know who to root for, the newspapers of the day remarked that the fans in the stands were rather quiet. There wasn't a divide between the fans in St. Louis like there was in cities like Chicago and New York. I have always thought it would be awesome to have two teams in St. Louis just because it would mean there would be a game being played almost every day in the city during the regular season. This winter I will have a comprehensive look at each and every game that was played during each of the Cardinals World Series Championships.

October 7, 1982: Bob Forsch and Company Take game One of The NLCS

On October 7, 1982, the Cardinals won the first game of the NLCS by the score of 7-0 over the Braves at Busch. Bob Forsch started and finished the game for the Birds.He didn't allow a walk, and the Braves were able to scratch out only 3 hits against the Cardinals hurler. The Braves sent Pascual Perez to the mound and their starter gave up 7 of the 13 hits the Cardinals picked up on the day. The Birds scored their first run in the third. Willie McGee led the inning off with a scorcher down the first base line that the speedy McGee turned into a triple. One newspaper described it like this; It was an ordinary double for ordinary mortals, a triple for the supersonic McGee. But then the baseball hit the fence in foul territory and rebounded smartly past the startled rightfielder Claudell Washington. The outfielder gave chase, but the ball rolled almost to dead right center. McGee might have been able to score an inside-the-park home run if he realized what was going on with the fielder behind him. The Cardinals third base coach, Chuck Hiller was waving his arms frantically and tried screaming over the 53,008 fans in an effort to let McGee know he could turn the corner and head home. It would have been an uncontested inside-the-parker. While McGee missed out on his chance to score with the inside-the-park blast, he came into scored one batter later when Ozzie Smith sacrificed him in with a flyball to center. The score was 1-0 after one inning, it would stay the same until a Cardinal singles parade in the sixth. Lonnie Smith began the inning with a check swing single, the Braves first baseman had to come off the bag to retrieve the ball, then Perez had to run to the bag to get the force. In his haste, Perez dropped the ball, it was a gift single for Smith. Keith Hernandez and George Hendrick followed Smith with back-to-back singles that brought Smith into score. Hendrick was the last batter that Perez would face, the Braves manager Joe Torre called on Steve Bedrosian to take over on the hill and the Cardinals bats were ready and waiting. Bedrosian walked the bases full with a  free pass to Darrell Porter, then McGee drove in Hernandez with a broken bat flare to center. Ozzie Smith kept the line moving with a single that brought Hendrick into score. Then Forsch added another run to the total with a sacrifice that scored Porter. The Cardinals capped off the 5 run frame with what should have been an easy out of Ken Obkerfell at first, Bedrosian was slow to react to what was a routine grounder to the Braves first baseman, so Chambliss had to try and get the out himself at the bag, he slipped and fell and Obkerfell made it to the bag safely while McGee came across the dish. Bedrosian was replaced by Donnie Miller following the debacle at first, he was the third Braves pitcher in the inning. Miller was able to put the fire out but the Birds had a decisive 6-0 lead after the blowup inning. They added their seventh run of the ballgame in the eighth on a sac fly by Lonnie Smith that scored Forsch. The Cardinals starter absolutely dominated the game, while the offense came up big all he needed was that first inning run. Forsch struck out 6, he never found himself in a jam, his three hits, all singles, came in the third, fifth, and sixth innings. When asked about Forsch after the game Joe Torre said "He's a gutty pitcher. He doesn't have the fastball he once had but he moves the ball around real well and keeps hitters off balance." It's safe to say those Braves batters were off balance on that day in '82.

Here's the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN198210070.shtml

Sidenote: Just one day earlier the game was postponed after 4 1/2 innings because of rain, Atlanta was leading that contest 1-0 before it was called. The Cardinals won this series with a three game sweep. It's hard to say, but the postponed game might have been a blessing in disguise as the Cardinals were on the way to their first title since 1967.

October 6, 1968: The Cardinals Go Up 3 Games To 1 In The '68 Fall Classic

On October 6, 1968, the Cardinals moved within one game of winning their second consecutive title with a 10-1 win over the Tigers in Detroit. In a rematch of Game 1, Bob Gibson took on Denny Mclain, Gibby went the distance once again, just days after setting the World Series record by fanning 17 men. The game was delayed by 35 minutes by rain, it had everyone worrying about how the pitchers would do with the conditions and the extended wait to start the ballgame. One guy that wasn't worried was Gibby, he said "I sat in the clubhouse and ate some ice cream." Even after the game was underway the rain continued, it was something that Gibson was able to deal with, while it looked like it had really hurt McLain. The Detroit starter lasted just two and a third before he was sent to the showers. Lou Brock got things going as he led the game off with a home run. Mike Shannon extended the first inning lead to 2-0 with an RBI double that brought Roger Maris into score. In the third the Birds added two more in RBIs by Tim McCarver and Mike Shannon, they were in full control of the game as Gibson was working his way through the Detroit lineup with ease. The Cardinals hurler helped pad the lead with a solo shot to lead off the fourth, then Brock followed Gibson with his second hit of the day, it was a triple that would lead to a run after Maris knocked him in with a single. Gibson had his only hiccup of the game in the bottom of the fourth, he served up a long ball to Jim Northrup that cut the Cardinals lead to 6-1. The score stayed the same until the eighth, reliever John Hiller loaded the bases, then he walked Gibby who picked up an RBI on the free pass. The next man up was Mr. Lou Brock and once again he delivered with his third hit of the day, it was a double that brought all three runners into score. After the Tigers yanked Hiller, Pat Dobson came into put the fire out, he was able to get the job done but not before Brock swiped third base. Only one more Tigers batter reached base, it was in the ninth and he was quickly erased on a double play. To date, Brock is the only man to hit a homer, a triple, a double, and steal a base in a World Series game. The win marked the seventh consecutive complete game World Series victory for Gibson, which is a World Series record.  The records don't stop there for Gibson, his home run on that day in '68 was the second blast he had hit in the World Series. He blasted one in Game 7 of the '67 Fall Classic that led to a championship parade in downtown St. Louis. He struck out ten men in that game in '67 which not only makes him the only pitcher to strikeout 10 men and hit a homer in one World Series game, he's also the only man to do it twice.

Here's the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET196810060.shtml

Unfortunately for the Cardinals and the fans in St. Louis, the Tigers won the next day then forced the series back to St. Louis. After they smoked them in Game 6, it set up a classic battle between Gibson and Mickey Lolich. The two pitchers hung zeroes on the board until the seventh when Jim Northrup picked up a two run triple after Curt Flood misjudged a ball in center. One batter later Northrup came into score. The three run inning dashed the hopes of a repeat. Both teams scored a run in the ninth and the game ended with the Tigers winning 4-1. While the series didn't have a storybook ending for the Cardinals it had quite a few great pages in the book along the way. I think that diving into the history of the club makes me appreciate all seasons, no matter how they end. Granted, there is nothing that I love more than the championship years, but in the end I can appreciate them all.