September 16, 1924: Sunny Jim Knocks In 12

     On September 16, 1924, Cardinals first baseman "Sunny Jim" Bottomley set the major league record for the most RBIs in a game, with a 6 for 6 performance in Brooklyn that knocked in a total of 12 runs. The performance led the way to a 17-3 win over the Dodgers. Bottomley knocked in two with a single in the first, doubled home another run in the second, parked a grand slam in the seats in the fourth, hit a two run blast in the sixth, then singled in two more runs in the seventh, before breaking the record with an RBI in the ninth.

     The record  of 11 RBIs in one contest had stood since 1892, and the man who had set it was sitting there in ballpark managing the Dodgers. "Uncle Robbie" as they called him had been dealt a serious blow when it came to the hopes of the Dodgers playing in October. They were chasing the Giants, and were right on their heels, but they did not catch them. However, ole Uncle Robbie witnessed quite the performance, as Bottomley stormed past him in the history books. Coincidentally another Cardinal achieved the feat of 12 RBIs in one game, but it took awhile, as Mark Whiten matched him with 12 ribbies of his own with a four home run performance on September 7, 1993. It has not been accomplished since.

      Something I think about often is how great we have it with technology. A quick google search will bring up a highlight video of Whiten's 12 RBI day, but we are not so lucky when it comes to something that happened oh so long ago. With that said, the newspaper clippings can put you right back in the moment. That's the main reason I started using the articles with the photos featured on my pages. The clippings in the photo today are actually form two different papers. I found the cartoon in a paper that was issued three years later, while the article to the side of it was on the newsstands the next day. Ya know "Sunny Jim" had big smile on his face when he woke up that morning.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BRO/BRO192409160.shtml

September 15, 1991: Lankford Hits For The Cycle

     On September 15, 1991, Cardinals outfielder Ray Lankford became the first rookie to hit for the cycle with the Birds on the Bat across his chest since Cliff Heathcote accomplished the feat for the club in 1918. The historic performance keyed the Redbirds to a 7-2 win over the New York Mets in front of more than 26,000 Cardinal faithful at Busch. Lankford's run at the record books began with a double in the first. He then singled in the third, and tripled in the fifth. Those first three hits had come against Pete Schourek who had gotten the call to start against Rheal Cormier. Schourek could not get out of that inning, as he gave up three runs, before getting the hook. On the other hand, Cormier was strong. In fact he went the distance, while Ray completed one of the greatest feats in baseball with a solo shot off of Wally Whitehurst to lead off the seventh. The cycle was complete, and Ray had scored for the fourth time that day when he touched the plate. To top things off Lankford had also snatched a bag in the contest... a little cycle bonus material. Quite the day for the kid who would call St. Louis home for more than a decade.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN199109150.shtml

     The aforementioned Heathcote was the first player in the modern era to hit for the cycle as a member of the Cardinals. With him included the feat has been accomplished 16 times by 15 different ballplayers who had the Birds on the Bat across their chests.  Outfielder Cliff Heathcote was the first man to do it, while Ken Boyer is the only man who accomplished the feat twice. It was accomplished four times pre 1900 by the club who would become known as the Cardinals when the club called themselves the Browns. In 1887, long before Boyer hit for his second cycle, Tip O'Neill picked up his second cycle, just eight days after he did it for the first time. Mark Grudzielanek is the last Cardinals player to hit for the cycle, which came on April 27, 2005.

Here is the complete list of men who have hit for the cycle as a member of the National League club that calls St. Louis home. *Note: the club joined the National League in 1892, and before that they were members of the American Association.

• 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

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