April 16, 1957: The Cardinals Blowout The Reds On Opening Day

     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

April 15, 1947: Jackie Opens The Door

     On April 15, 1947, with 25,623 Dodgers fan in attendance at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, Jackie Robinson became the first African American to join the ranks of Major League Baseball. In his first regular season contest Robinson went 0 for 3, but did work the count for a walk which led to a run in the 5-3 Opening Day victory over the Braves. The numbers on the scorecard did not matter as much as the long lasting impact that Robinson would have on sports and society as a whole. Robinson endured and overcame racism on his way to becoming a legend. He averaged .311 over his ten years in the big leagues, won the batting title and the National League MVP in 1949, and became World Series Champion in 1955.

     Robinson helped open a door that had been closed for more than 60 years, and countless great players have been able to walk through that door. One of those players was Bob Gibson. Gibson made his debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on April 15, 1959; 12 years to the day that Robinson made his major league debut. The 23-year-old Gibson was facing Robinson's former club that had relocated to Los Angeles. Gibson came in relief at the Coliseum in L.A. and gave up a home run to 3rd baseman Jim Baxes. That would give him the distinction of being the first future Hall of Famer to serve up a long ball to the first batter he faced. The Cardinals fell to the Dodgers 5-0 in that contest, however, a storied career  had just begun. Like Robinson, Gibson would become a legend.

April 14, 1914: Chief Wilson Leads The Birds To Victory

     On April 14, 1914, in front of 7,500 fans at Robison Field in St. Louis, the Cardinals opened up the season with a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The game winning run came in the bottom of the ninth when Chief Wilson hit a walkoff single that scored Art Butler from third base. Wilson was making his debut with the club that day. He had spent the first six years in Pittsburgh before a trade landed him in St. Louis. Wilson is best known for setting the still standing record for triples in a season with 36, which is something he accomplished in 1912. When he joined the Cardinals in 1914, his numbers were in decline. Despite that fact he still rocked out 12 triples that season, which was good for 2nd best in the National League. Wilson spent three seasons with the Cardinals before his days in the majors came to an end after the 1916 season.

     The game was a well fought battle on both ends. Babe Adams toed the rubber for the Buccos, while Dan Griner got the call for the Birds. Adams was tagged for six hits, and Griner gave up just five. According to the Pittsburgh Press the following day Griner got hit hard, but the Cardinals defense came up big behind him. The Cards grabbed a run in the first inning, before Pittsburgh grabbed their only run of the contest, that came on an error when Cardinals outfielder Cozy Dolan overthrew his target in the second inning. What should have been a single off the bat of Ed Konetchy (who was part of the Wilson deal) ended with the former Cardinal at third base. The Bucs second baseman Jim Viox then knocked Konetchy in with a double to right. Since the error put Konetchy in position to score the run was not charged to Griner who would go on to earn a complete game shutout.

     With the score knotted at 1 the Birds went to work in the bottom of the ninth. Miller Huggins picked up a base hit to lead things off, before Lee Magee flied out.  The Cardinals shortstop Art Butler come to the plate hoping to win it, but ended up hitting into a fielders choice that retired Huggins. However, Butler did some damage on the basepaths and stole second base to set the table for Wilson who laced one right up the middle that brought Butler into score. The Birds got the season started the right way.

     The 1914 season in Cardinal Nation was one in which the club surprised the National League. The team had been cellar dwellers in 1913 as they had posted a National League worst 51-99 record. In 1914 they went 81-72 and were in the thick of the pennant race until late August.  The team was still a number of years off when it came to bringing postseason glory to the fans in St. Louis, however, they were simply writing the early chapters for what has become one of the greatest history books that baseball has ever seen.

Read about the life and career of Chief Wilson here: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ed5711f8

You can view Wilson's career numbers here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wilsoch01.shtml

April 13, 1954: Tom Alston Breaks The Cardinals Color Barrier

     On April 13, 1954, the Cardinals opened up the season with a disappointing 13-4 loss to the Cubs in St. Louis. While the numbers in the runs scored column leaned toward the wrong team, the game was notable for many reasons which included Wally Moon hitting a home run in his first major league at bat, Stan "The Man" Musial hitting a solo shot, and perhaps the most notable thing to happen that day was Tom Alston was penciled in at first base. The moment Alston took to the field he became the first African American player to suit up for the Cardinals in a regular season contest.

     The next day Moon was the headliner in the newspapers. The young centerfielder was filling the shoes of Enos Slaughter who had been traded to the New York Yankees. Moon would later say that he was much more nervous in the field than he was at the plate. His comfortability at the plate showed after being issued two balls before connecting on the third Paul Minner pitch that sailed 350 feet and over the wall. Moon proclaimed "It was quite a thrill." He was just the second Cardinals player to accomplish the feat in his first at bat. To date, eight Cardinals have hit a home run in their first at bat, with the latest coming in 2008 off the bat of Mark Worrell.

     The debut of Tom Alston with the Cardinals came seven years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Brooklyn. Alston was regarded as a can't miss prospect when he was purchased from the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast league for an estimated $100,000. However, he played in career high 66 games during that '54 season, and would only hit .244 over four years in the big leagues. Regardless of what he did on the field, or at the plate, Alston is a very important figure in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals. While the Cardinals ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard on that day in April, Alston helped opened the door for men like Bob Gibson, Bill White, Curt Flood and countless other African American as well as Latino players who have worn the birds on the bat. A new era had begun in St. Louis.

You can view the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN195404130.shtml


   

April 12, 1953: Things Get Heated at The Ole Ballpark

     On April 12, 1953, tempers flared at the newly christened Busch Stadium as the Browns and Cardinals came to near blows during the second inning of a contest that had the Browns come out on top 8-5. (The article appeared in the Milwaukee Sentinel the following day.)

April 11, 1952: The Pride of St. Louis Premieres

     On April 11, 1952, the life story of Dizzy Dean titled "The Pride of St. Louis" premiered at the Missouri Theatre in St. Louis. The Mayor of St. Louis Joseph Darst declared the entire week "Dizzy Dean" week in the city to celebrate the film that had Dan Dailey playing Dizzy, Joanne Dru playing his wife Patricia, and Richard Crenna playing his brother Paul. After the premiere Dizzy Dean joined Mayor Darst, Bill Veeck, Rogers Hornsby, along with the entire cast of the film on stage to take a bow. What followed the premiere was an over the top celebration, that included a six-mile long parade that began on Washington Avenue through downtown to Grand Avenue where they headed to the gates of Sportsman's Park.

You can watch the movie here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY4UWpUjNaI

April 10, 1968: Gibby Starts Strong and Ricketts Comes Up Big

     On April 10, 1968, with 34,740 fans in the stands at Busch the Cardinals kicked off the season with a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves. The game was highlighted by dominant performance by Bob Gibson who pitched seven strong innings, and Dave Ricketts who won the game with a pinch hit walk off single in the bottom of the ninth. This game marked the beginning of what was a legendary season for Bob Gibson and the Cardinals.

     The only run the Braves put on the board came on an error by Lou Brock in the second inning of  the game where the Cardinals struggled to find an offensive spark. In fact, they didn't pick up their first hit off of the Braves starter Pat Jarvis until Gibson laced a single into right in the sixth. When Gibby was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh he had allowed just 3 hits, walked a man, and despite being dominant he did not record a strikeout.

   

     On the Braves side of the diamond Jarvis remained strong. He kept the Birds off the board until Orlando Cepeda doubled in the bottom of the eighth that scored Curt Flood from first base. It was a whole new ballgame, and Ray Washburn who took over pitching duties for Gibson gave the team two perfect innings as they battled their way to victory. With Jarvis still on the mound in the ninth Dal Maxvill slapped a one out double into left that set the table for Ricketts who was called on to pinch hit for Washburn. When Red Schoendienst made the switch he also called on Dick Simpson to pinch run for Maxvill. The Braves skipper Lum Harris countered with a pitching change, bringing in Ken Johnson to face Ricketts. The Cardinals batter who recorded all of five RBIs during that '68 season came up big with RBI number one that sent the fans in the stands home happy.

     The Opening Day start was a bit unusual for Gibby since he didn't finish the ballgame. He went onto complete 28 of his 34 starts on his way to posting a 22-9 record, and that included 13 shutouts. The eye popping number that came out of the '68 season is the 1.12 earned run average that Gibson put on the back of the baseball card. It was the third lowest e.r.a. since 1900, and it still stands as the lowest e.r.a. posted in the modern era. The win by the club marked win #1 out of 97. They would lockdown the National League Pennant and fought a hard seven-game battle with the Detroit Tigers in the Fall Classic, which included Gibson's famous 17 strikeout performance in Game 1 of the Series. While the Tigers took the crown, the season was one to remember, and it began on this day with Bob Gibson on the bump.

Check out the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196804100.shtml