July 21, 1933: Dizzy Walks In On a Robbery

     On July 21, 1933, with his wife by his side Dizzy Dean walked into a robbery in progress at the drugstore inside the Forest Park Hotel in the Central West End. It was reported that Dean thought it was a joke at first until one of the assailants shoved a gun into his ribs, and told him to keep quiet while they did their business. The theft netted the the thieves $200 which would be more than $3,600 by today's standards. When the story hit the newspapers one of the robbers realized that Dean was the late arrival to his robbery, he called him on the phone, and apologized to the hurler saying that it wasn't personal and he would send him a bunch of nice new neckties to prove it. Sure enough a half dozen neckties were delivered to the hurler and he shared them with his teammates. When the incident was reported in the Sporting News they took a jab at Dizzy by saying "Dizzy Dean was held up the other night. Reports say this is the only time Dean kept his mouth shut and his pockets open."

     This story was a hard one to substantiate through my normal newspaper outlets. In fact I was only able to find two little articles like the one featured in the picture, other than that tidbit out of the Sporting News. Other details of the story were provided by Mark Tomasik from Retrosimba.com as well as an author by the name of John Heindry who wrote a book called "The Gashouse Gang." I extend my thanks to both of them. You can find Mark on twitter at @RetroSimba on twitter. He is one of my favorites on the tweet machine. You can also find me on there at @CardinalHistory. I repost the facts of the day on there every afternoon.

July 20, 1932: Orsatti and The Boys Put One On Brooklyn

     On July 20, 1932, the Cardinals offense exploded for 22 hits during a 16-5 romp of the Brooklyn Dodgers at Sportsman's Park. Third baseman Jake Flowers led the attack with five hit in six trips, which included a big fly, while center fielder Ernie Orsatti rapped out four hits in five trips which included two doubles in an eight run seventh inning. Jim Lindsey, who had taken over pitching duties for Tex Carleton after the starter worked just one inning locked down the win, as he gave the team eight strong innings as they opened a can on the Brooklynites.

     Orsatti is an interesting figure from the baseball's past, as he performed as a stunt double in the offseason for silent film star Buster Keaton. His brother broke into the moving picture industry as an assistant director, and Ernie soon followed. He did a little bit of everything in the industry: prop man, cameraman, assistant director, as well as stuntman.

     While in Hollywood he began playing ball on a studio baseball team. Mike Donlin who had spent 12 years on a big league diamond before turning to acting saw him play and said he had what it took to play at the big league level. The word got out, and the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League scouted, then signed him, and sent them to a lower affiliate out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Just 5' 7" and a 150 pounds the odds might have been stacked against him, but he tore it up in his first season with a .340 average. The production caught Branch Rickey's attention, and the man who was said to have had the ability to spot talent from a moving train inked him to a deal to play within the Cardinals organization.

      Orsatti continued to impress, and by the end of 1927 he had a 27 game cup of coffee with the club. Orsatti returned in 1928 and helped the team win the National League pennant. The 1928 pennant was the first of four for Orsatti, who also helped claim the flag in 1930, and the championship years of '31 and '34. His playing days with the Birds came to an end after the 1935 season. In the overall picture Orsatti would be what you call a fourth outfielder. With that said he was a very productive fourth outfielder who spent nine seasons with the Cardinals batting .306, with 327 RBIs, and 10 home runs. He spent a little bit of time on the PCL diamond following his major league career, before devoting his full attention to Hollywood, as he joined his brother Vic in starting the Orsatti Talent Agency. The siblings represented many well known names which included the comedy team of Laurel and Hardy.

     The story of Orsatti struck me as such an interesting one, as Hollywood found its way into being intertwined with the career of a former Cardinal. He passed away in 1968 at the age of 65. He lived quite the life, and I bet he had a lot of stories to tell from the silver screen and the baseball diamond as well. One of those stories from the diamond would be about the day the team rapped out 22 hits en route to beating those Bums from Brooklyn. Probably one of a million stories from the life of Ernie Orsatti.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN193207200.shtml

You can check out the career numbers of Orsatti here:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/orsater01.shtml 

   

July 19, 1924: Hi Bell Earns Iron Man Distinction From The Bump

     On July 19, 1924, Cardinals hurler Hi Bell pitched complete games victories in both ends of a doubleheader against the Boston Braves at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

     The six foot tall righty flirted with a no-no in the first game, as  he held the visitors hitless until giving up an eighth inning hit to Don Padgett. Bell settled for a two hitter as the Birds sailed to a 6-1 victory behind a 12 hit performance that was highlighted by a Jim Bottomley three run homer that came in the bottom of the first and set the tone.

     According to the Sporting News  the Cardinals skipper Branch Rickey was so impressed with the performance that he stopped Bell while he was headed to the shower and asked if he wanted to go again. The 26-year-old said sure, and got ready to go again. He was in fine form, and he needed to be as the Braves hurler Johnny Cooney matched him pitch for pitch as they both allowed just four hits during a 2-1 Cardinals win.

     Bell's six hit "Iron Man" performance accounted for two of his three wins during that 1924 season which were accompanied by eight losses. He put together a 32-34 record that was scattered over eight seasons. He was a part of a pennant winner three times which included the 1926 Championship club. Bell's double duty complete game performance had only been matched one time by a player who wore the Birds on the Bat, and that came one season earlier when Johnny Stuart pitched and won both ends of a doubleheader. Bell was the last Cardinals to do it, and it was only accomplished two more times, with the first coming from the arm of Urban Shocker  who represented the Browns later that same year, and Dutch Levsen who accomplished it for the Indians in 1926.

If you would like to read more about the Iron Man pitching club check this out. Well worth the read: http://research.sabr.org/journals/iron-man-pitching

July 18, 1984: Porter Connects With a Walk Off Slam

     On July 18, 1984, catcher Darrell Porter belted a two out walk off grand slam that gave the Cardinals a 8-4 victory over the visiting San Francisco Giants. Porter hit 188 home runs in his career, with the first coming in 1971 as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. He spent six years in Milwaukee, and four years with the interstate rival Kansas City Royals, before signing with the Cardinals in December of 1980. In his five years in a Cardinals uniform he put 54 over the fence, which included his only two walk off blasts. The one that came on this day in '84 was the second walk off. The first came on May 20th of that same season, which came in the form of a two run bomb in the ninth inning that led the club to a dramatic 3-2 victory. The MVP of the 1982 World Series parted ways with the club following the '85 season, and signed with the Texas Rangers where he spent the last two years of his career.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN198407180.shtml

I actually use d Porter's first walk off blast on the page earlier this year. You can read about it here: http://tinyurl.com/PorterWalkoffMay84

     

July 17, 1982: Herr Leads The Way To Victory

     On July 17, 1982, the mercury was rising in St. Louis, and the bats were getting hot as well, as Tommy Herr broke out of a 4 for 31 slump with three singles in four trips to the plate. Herr's performance included an RBI, and a run scored. The slumpbuster of a day helped lead the Birds to a 4-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Busch.

     Herr had tough luck at the beginning of that '82 season, missing 26 games due to a leg injury. After coming back from the injury, he was swinging the bat well, then had to fight through pneumonia that took a toll, but he still battled through. The same can be said about the '82 squad as a whole. They had taken some lumps through the first half of that season, and even with the win on that scorcher of a day in July they lost 21 of their last 37 games.

     The club needed a spark, and the sparks came in many forms, as the club came together, and heated up like St. Louis weather as they made a run to the National League Pennant, and a World Series title. As stated in the article, Herr was struggling at the plate with a .235 average that day. He finished the season with a .266 average, 36 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases. The numbers might not make you look twice, but he was quick to flash the leather at second base, and Whitey Herzog considered him the guts of the team.

     A great lesson that can be taken from this is to expect to take the lumps, but no matter what you do, do not give up the fight. That applies to life, not just a baseball diamond. That is what that '82 squad did as they went 7-3 in the finals days of July, then kept battling as they put together a 34-26 record the rest of the way and took over the National League East, before going on a run that brought the Gateway City a title for the first time since 1967.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN198207170.shtml

July 16, 1887: Comiskey Saves The Day

     On July 16, 1887, the Browns were up 1-0 on the visiting Philadelphia Athletics when mayhem ensued, as one of the horse drawn carriages that was tied up around the edge of Sportsman's Park broke free, and took off around the playing field, where player/manager Charlie Comiskey sprang into action, and ran the carriage down. The crowd cheered the first baseman as he had saved the carriage from being destroyed.

     The fans would continue to enjoy the afternoon as Comiskey's boys put one on the visitors by plating eight more runs on the way to a 9-2 victory. I loved the description of the game by the Baltimore American that came out the following day when they talked about pitcher Dave Foutz who pitched a fine game to Jack Boyle, while the catcher threw to the bases with marked success, as well as centerfielder Curt Welch who recorded the 1887 version of a web gem. It was quite the day at the ballpark, and after the fans shuffled out they had quite the story to tell. The Browns leader had saved the day, then made a fast dash to victory.

July 15, 1927: Sunny Jim Hits For The Cycle

     On July 15, 1927, "Sunny Jim" Bottomley hit for the cycle during a 9-7 Cardinals win against the Phillies at the Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. Bottomley's day was a perfect one, as he went 5 for 5 at the plate with two singles, as well as a double, a triple, and the homer.

     The club needed every bit of Bottomley's contributions, and then some, as the Birds starting pitcher Bob McGraw was tagged early and often. The hurler was charged with all seven of the Philadelphia runs in four and two thirds of an inning worth of work. Fortunately for the club from St. Louis the bullpen got the job done, with Hi Bell, Vic Keen, and Bill Sherdel holding the Philadelphia batsmen in check the rest of the way.

     Bottomley began his march toward the history books with singles in the first and the fourth, before doubling in the sixth, homering in the seventh, then putting the icing on the cake with  triple in the ninth. Surprisingly, the first baseman who always had a smile on his face only had one RBI in the game which came from his big fly. He did score three times in the tilt, while leftfielder Wattie Holms led the way in the RBI department with three. Holmes went 3 for 5 with two doubles, while every other position player on the Cardinals roster got in on the action in one form or another. The only position player who failed to get a hit was the backstop Taylor Douthit who came up with an RBI following Bottomley's triple in the ninth.

     Bottomley was just the second man to hit for the cycle as a member of the Cardinals during the modern era. Cliff Heathcote was the first, which came in June of 1918. Three players who were members of the team that would become known as the Cardinals had accomplished the feat before the turn of the century. Including those three men, and Bottomley as well, 18 players have hit for the cycle as a member of the St. Louis club that represents the National League, and each of them will not be forgotten in Cardinal Nation.

Check out the box score here:  http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI192707150.shtml

If you would like to learn more about the life and times of the man they called "Sunny Jim" check this out: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ea08fc60 and below is the list of Cardinals players who have hit for the cycle.

• Fred Dunlap, 5/24/1886
• Tip O'Neill, 4/30/1887
• Tip O'Neil,l 5/7/1887
• Tommy Dowd, 8/16/1895
• Cliff Heathcote, 6/13/1918
• Jim Bottomley, 7/15/1927 
• Chick Hafey, 8/21/1930
• Pepper Martin, 5/5/1933
• Ducky Medwick, 6/29/35
• Johnny Mize, 7/13/1940
• Stan Musial, 7/24/1949
• Bill White, 8/14/1960
• Ken Boyer, 9/14/1961
• Ken Boyer, 6/16/1964
• Joe Torre, 6/27/1973
• Lou Brock, 5/27/1975
• Willie McGee, 6/23/1984
• Ray Lankford, 9/15/1991
• John Mabry, 5/18/1996
• Mark Grudzielanek, 4/27/2005