September 14, 1982: The Cards Enter First Place By Beating the Phillies at The Vet

     On September 14, 1982, a third inning two run home run off the bat of Darrell Porter proved to be all the Cardinals needed to beat the Phillies at Veteran's Stadium in Philadelphia. The Cardinals backstop not only provided the biggest hit of the day, but also caught a gem from rookie hurler John Stuper. Stuper allowed just four hits through seven and a third innings pitched. Then John encountered a bit of a jam with one down in the eighth by issuing a free pass to Bob Molinaro and a single to Pete Rose. Whitey acted quickly by calling on baseball's best closer Bruce Sutter. Things did not start off the way Bruce had in mind, as he loaded the bases by giving up a single to Gary Mathews. However, moments later he was able to get the always dangerous Mike Schmidt to hit into an inning ending double play. Sutter worked his way past a one out walk in the ninth, and locked down his league leading 32nd save of the year. The win was a big one as it propelled the Birds into first place in the National League East, and there was no looking back for the team that was destined to celebrate as World Champions by mid October.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI198209140.shtml

September 13, 1953: Haddix Wins His 18th, Bilko Leads The Way, Stan Steals Home; The Cards Roll Over The Phillies 17-3

     On September 13, 1953, Harvey Haddix locked down his 18th win of the season with a 17-3 win over the Phillies at  Busch Stadium. Obviously ole Harvey had a bit of help in this one, as the Birds rapped out 19 hits in the contest. Steve Bilko led the offensive onslaught with 4 hits in 6 trips to the plate that included two doubles, a homer, and three ribbies. Enos Slaughter knocked in four with three hits, while Stan Musial knocked in two with a 3 for 3 day, which included a stolen base. It wasn't your average stolen base, as it was part of a double steal in the first that had Musial stealing home for the second run of the ballgame. From there the runs kept coming, and Haddix kept dealin. At the end of the day Haddix had allowed just five hits, with the biggest blow coming off of Del Ennis' bat in the ninth. It was a two out, two run homer, that Haddix had to shake off before finishing off the Fightin Phils who hardly put up a fight at all.

     Haddix enjoyed the best season of his big league career in '53, as he finished with a record of 20-9. The hurler might best be known for a carrying a perfect game into the 13th inning, before having it busted up, as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1959. Haddix won 53 games with the Birds over five seasons. While the hard luck of '59 would not be forgotten. The next year he celebrated as a World Champion with the Pirates. He started and won Game 5 of the Fall Classic, then was called on in relief in Game 7. He had inherited runners after Bob Friend had put two men on with no outs in the ninth. The Pirates were clinging to a 9-7 lead at that point, and Haddix could not work his way around the jam. He gave up a single to RBI single to Mickey Mantle, and one batter later Yogi Berra tied it up 9-9 with a groundout. If he had not blown the save Bill Mazeroski would have never hit the only Game 7 walk off home run in baseball history, and Haddix got the decision.

     Steve Bilko was an absolute great player in the minor leagues, however his minor league success did not carry over to the big leagues. With that said, he spent parts of 10 years on the big league diamond, and that is 10 more years than me.  He played in more games during the '53 season than any other, as he took to the field in all 154 contests, and hit .251 with 21 homers. After that he shuttled between majors and the minors in the years that followed. In 1956 and '57 he had back-to-back season of 50+ plus home run seasons with the PCL's Los Angeles Angels. It was in Los Angeles that Bilko would have career resurgence with 20 home runs in '61 with the newly christened Major League Baseball version of the Angels. The next season was his last in the bigs. One more interesting note about Bilko is it was said that his name inspired the character Sergeant Bilko.

     Funny thing about this fact is I told you quite a bit about Haddix and Bilko when my favorite part is Stan stole home. It was the fourth time in his career that he had stolen the base that mattered the most, and the second time that season. It was also the last time he snatched it. Mark over at http://retrosimba.com put together a great piece about all four of those steals. Check it out here: http://retrosimba.com/2012/11/21/the-story-of-how-stan-musial-stole-home-_-4-times/

Have a great day Cardinal Nation. Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN195309130.shtml

September 12, 1942: The Birds Enter a Tie With a Win Over The Bums In Brooklyn

     On September 12, 1942, a second inning two run shot off the bat of Whitey Kurowski, and a five hit, five strikeout performance by Max Lanier led the Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over the Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. This was a very important game for the '42 club. On August 5th of that season they were down by 10 games, and  it looked like those Bums from Brooklyn would lay claim to their second consecutive National League crown. However, the National League team that called St. Louis home came storming down the stretch, and made up ground at a breakneck pace.

     The Cardinals took the lead in the National League the next day with a doubleheader split, and there was no looking back, as the Dodgers had gotten stuck in the midst of a five game losing streak. That was Brooklyn's longest losing streak of the season, and the Cardinals made the most of it. The Dodgers did right the ship, as they went 10-2 in their last 12, with eight of those games coming in a row to finish off the season. However, the Cardinals went 11-1 during that same stretch of ball, and clinched the pennant with a doubleheader sweep of the of the Cubs on the 27th of September. Eight days after that pennant clinching sweep the Cardinals were World Champions.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BRO/BRO194209120.shtml

September 11, 2001: A Tribute To Those Who Were Lost, and Remembering Jack Buck's Words That Followed

     On September 11, 2001, life changed forever. The world stopped in shock as terrorists claimed nearly 3,000 innocent lives by hijacking four planes, then crashing them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. The days that followed were surreal, as it seemed like we were stuck in the continuous loop of footage documenting the horrible events. Everything stopped. However, we as Americans began to pick up the pieces, and began to move forward. It is what has to be done after a tragic event, and Jack Buck's heartfelt poem  that was delivered six days later let us all know that.

     Some of the most powerful words he delivered for me were "Should we be here? Yes." And we should be. While it is very important to continue to live our lives, it is also very important to never forget that day. I thought about posting a fact about a great win from yesteryear, but decided to pay tribute to those who were lost on 9/11 instead. This goes well beyond On This Day In Cardinal Nation, because this nation as a whole is all of ours.

     I like many of you can tell you right where I was when I heard the horrible news. In my case I was at a little gas station in Wildwood, Missouri. When I walked in to grab my breakfast the lady behind the counter asked if I had heard. I hadn't heard, and when I was told that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center I did not realize how bad it was. I worked outside mowing grass at the time, so I did not have a tv in front of me, and I went about my day. As the news kept coming in on the radio I began to realize how bad it was. What I remember the most about that day was being in Chesterfield next to the airport with no planes in the air. It was an eery feeling. I did not see the footage until later that evening, and I was as shocked as everyone. It was surreal.

     Jack reminded us that we are a nation of resolve, and we would pick ourselves up and continue to live. He also reminded us that if a war is waged against us we will not lay down. We will stand together and fight. This was coming from a man that had served his country proudly, and had seen his fair share of conflict throughout his life. He believed it in his heart, and I believe it in mine today.

      My heart breaks for those who were lost, and for those that loved them. I hope and pray they have been able to move forward with their lives while keeping the memory of their loved one alive as well. I do believe that on a day like today we should make sure our armed forces, as well as our first responders know that what they do is very much appreciated. If you are a firefighter, police officer, or a soldier, I thank you. Those two words are not said to all of these men and women often enough.

God Bless America, and thank you for the words that were so eloquently spoken Jack. We will never forget.

The full 6 minute video with an introduction of law enforcement and firefighters can be viewed here; http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/16401516/v13081149/jack-buck-reads-a-moving-speech-and-poem-in-st-louis

September 10, 1914: The Reds Allow Just One Hit During a 3-2 Cardinals Win in Cincy

     On September 10, 1914, in the midst of a no-hitter at Redland Field in Cincinnati, Reds left hander Rube Benton walked the first three Cardinals batters he faced, before being lifted for a reliever by the name of Phil Douglas. The no-no was still intact, and the Reds had a slim two run lead when Douglas took the ball, but the wheels would fall off the Reds bus at a rapid rate, as the reliever walked in two runs, then surrendered a hit to Ivey Wingo to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead. The hit proved to be the only Cardinals hit of the ballgame, as they found a way to the win column in a rather unorthodox fashion.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN191409100.shtml

September 9, 1924: Chick Hafey Makes His Presence Known

     On September 9, 1924, the Cardinals were playing the part of spoiler, as they took two games from the Pirates at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. The first game gave Cardinals fans a glimpse of things to come with a kid by the name of Chick Hafey who had been called up at the end of August. Hafey led the club to a 7-4 victory in the first game, as he drove in six runs with a triple, a home run, and a sacrifice hit. The triple came with the bases loaded in the first, and moments later Hafey scored the fourth run of the inning, as he and his peers were off and running. The future Hall of Famer belted a two run homer in the third. Then picked up his sixth ribbie of the day with a sac fly in the seventh. With the help of some Pirates errors the Cardinals won the second game by the score of 6-4. Hafey capped off the day's production by picking up an RBI in that contest, that had dealt a severe blow to the Pirates hope of a National League pennant.

     The Pittsburgh Press said that Hafey had not been in the major league for a fortnight when he stepped to the dish that September day and dealt the hefty blow to their hopes of October baseball. However, they were not giving up on the season just yet, as they were on the heals of league leading New York Giants. Ultimately they would not catch the Giants. They ended up 3 games back at season's end.  Meanwhile, the 1924 season for the Cardinals was not a great one for the club, as they finished sixth in the standings. However, there were great moments, and personal accomplishments to be celebrated as Rogers Hornsby hit a career high .424 during the campaign. The National League club from St. Louis was laying groundwork for a Championship foundation. Hafey himself would become an integral part of that groundwork, as he had showed very early on that he had what it took to play with the big boys.

Check out the box scores here
Game1: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN192409091.shtml
Game 2: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN192409092.shtml

Check this great video about Hafey out: http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/26196506/v20032941/chick-hafey-played-with-cardinals-from-1924-to-1931

September 8, 1989: Pedro Guerrero Puts an Exclamation Point On a Rally In Wrigleyville

     On September 8, 1989, the Cardinals faced an uphill battle in Chicago, as the division leading Cubs built a 7-1 lead after four innings, before the Birds came storming back with a run in the fifth, four more in the seventh, then five more in the eighth, which led to a huge 11-8 victory. The capper on the comeback was a three run bomb off the bat of Pedro Guerrero that broke up an 8-8 deadlock in the eighth, and proved to be the decider in this one. Guerrero's three run shot was an exclamation point on a 4 for 4 day that ended with five RBIs for the Redbirds first baseman. It was also a spoiler for Chicago's Ryne Sandberg who had went 4 for 5 with two home runs, but could only sit there and watch as his club failed to hold onto what was once a very comfortable lead.

     That win  positioned the Cardinals on the heels of the Cubs, as they trailed them by just a half game after it was put in the books. However, that was as close as they would get as they stumbled through the final month of the season. With that said, Guerrero was a bright spot from that '89 campaign, as he hit .311, with 17 home runs, and 117 RBIs. He also led the league with 42 doubles, and with everything else combined he came in third in the MVP voting. Quite the year for the man who wore the number 28 on his back.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN198909080.shtml