April 25, 1925, Prohibition Meets Baseball In St. Louis

     On April 25, 1925, a group of Reds fans known as the "Royal Rooters", along with the President of the Reds organization Garry Herrmann were formally charged for illegally transporting alcohol to the Statler Hotel in St. Louis. The day before they had been raided, and while no arrests were made charges had been filed. The Prohibition Era tale was an interesting one that happened to take place in the midst of Cardinal Nation

     The Prohibition Era lasted from 1920 to 1933, but as we all know that did not stop America from drinking at all. In fact, it simply made it so that people had to find unorthodox ways of obtaining and shipping their liquor. The group of fans that traveled with the Reds was said to be at least 100 members strong. They went town to town, watched their club play ball, then lived it up in the hotels thereafter. They made no secret of having a Pullman car reserved on the team's train for all of their "supplies" that may have included "real beer." Although, nobody would admit they knew anything about any real beer, even though they had empty barrels next to them. It was rather hilarious.

     The Reds were in town for a four game set, and it seem that the group that tagged along had more than enough food, as they were seen unloading 25 barrels labeled "sauerkraut." 13 of those 25 were said to have "real beer" in them, which was a violation of the law. At the time anything over .5% was illegal, and this group of fans had beer with them that was 4.5%. That would be close to a standard Bud Light today.  Five days after the article in the first picture was published The Sporting News reported that seven had been charged, which included the Reds President. Six months to the date of the raid in St. Louis, Herrmann and company were cleared of all charges. This came after Federal agents admitted they did not have search warrants for the seizure. Herrmann and the Royal Rooters got the last laugh, and they probably toasted to the triumph with a glass of real beer.

     Prohibition ended in 1933. The St. Louis institution known as Budweiser survived a number of ways. They produced 25 different non-alcohol related products. From soft drinks to ice cream. Anything to survive. I recently have been working on a project that revolves around vintage ads, which led me to finding the Budweiser ad in a newspaper from 1922, which proclaims it was the process not the alcohol content that made people enjoy their beer. The company was doing what it had to do to survive during the time, and that they did. The Prohibition Era was a very interesting time in America. I would imagine corruption ran rampant  throughout America and those with money could easily get what they wanted, then pay whatever fines they incurred. It is only speculation on my part, but there is a good chance that Herrmann shook the right hand, and had a stack of money slip into it.

Some interesting facts about the Statler Hotel: It sits at 822 Washington Avenue, and today it is known as the Renaissance Grand Hotel. It opened its doors in 1917 and was the nation's first air conditioned hotel. At the time it was one of the finest hotels in the land. It is likely that a lot of visiting athletes enjoyed a night in those air conditioned rooms, as well as all kinds of other people who were passing through what was then referred to as the Mound City. The hotel changed hands and names through the years before being closed for renovation in 1987. It took more than a decade for that renovation to begin in 1999. The Renaissance Grand reopened their doors in 2002. If you ever pass the place just think of the day that a prohibition era raid interrupted a handful of Reds fans day.

You can read about the hotel and view pictures of it through the years here: http://www.builtstlouis.net/statler01.html

In full disclosure: I originally wrote this blog under the assumption that the raid happened on April 25th. As I researched it I realized that it happened on the 24th due to the date on the article that was published in The Evening Independent out of St. Petersburg, Florida on April 25, 1925. It did happen in the evening, so there is a chance that it happened after the clock struck 12. I found the story to be so interesting I decided to publish it. I do assume that the charges were formally filed on the 25th, but that is purely an assumption because I did not see an article Stating that with my own eyes, but since I do know that the group was formally cleared of the charges I do believe that is a safe assumption.

April 24, 1915: Slim Sallee Two Hits The Cubbies

     On April 24, 1915, Cardinals lefty Slim Sallee allowed just two hits during a 3-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs in St. Louis. He was given a lead in the second when Miller Huggins come up with an RBI single, and that is all Sallee needed, as he stood tall on the mound until the final out was recorded.

    The first hit Sallee gave up was a one out single to Wildfire Schulte, but it amounted to nothing, as Dots Miller made a spectacular play at first robbing Heinie Zimmerman of a hit, then doubling off the runner. The wildfire was out before it had a chance to light, and by the time the Cubs second baseman Art Phelan doubled in the ninth the Cardinals had scored two more runs, and this it Sallee finished them off moments later. It truly was a duel between Cubs hurler Zip Zabel and Slim Sallee, as Zabel only surrendered five hits of his own, but as in all duels one man walks away victorious. That man was Slim Sallee.

     Slim Sallee spent 9 of his 14 year big league career in St. Louis. He first stepped on the mound in in 1908, then stuck around until he was dealt in 1916. He went 106-107 during that time, which at first glance may make a person think, well that is one game under .500. I believe one stat that overrules the one game under .500 is his E.R.A. during that time sat at 2.67. He was an above average pitcher, and unfortunately for him the Cardinals were a ways off when it came to putting a true contender on the field. Today, Sallee's 106 wins ranks 12th on the franchise's all time wins list, and that 2.67 E.R.A. is only second to John Tudor's 2.52, and Sallee had 125 more games on Tudor's overall record of 62-26.

If you would like to learn more about Slim Sallee check out his SABR biography here: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/f5ef8e5d. It is a very good read.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN191504240.shtml

April 23, 1968: Brock Walks It Off Against McCool

     On April 23, 1968, the Cardinals found themselves trailing the Reds 2-0 in the ninth, when they struck for two runs to tie the ballgame and send into extras where Lou Brock finished things off with a walk off two run blast in the tenth that gave the club a come from behind 4-2 victory.

     The wheels began to fall off the Reds bus with George Culver walking Curt Flood. Culver had been handcuffing the Cardinals lineup up to that point. It was just his second walk issued, he had struck out five, and allowed just four hits. However, it was his fifth hit surrendered that would end his day, as Roger Maris dropped a single into right.  The Reds skipper Dave Bristol called on Ted Abernathy to take over for Culver. Abernathy may have thought he had done his job when the first batter he faced, Orlando Cepeda, shot one to Tony Perez at third. In an attempt to start a game ending double play Perez threw the ball into right center. Dick Simpson, who had ran for Maris scored on the miscue, and the bases were loaded. One batter later Tim McCarver pushed in the game tying run with a groundout. It was a whole new ballgame with the score knotted up at two. 

     Steve Carlton started this one for the Birds. He ended up going five and a third, struck out four, gave up seven hits, and allowed the two runs, before handing the ball over to his bullpen. Ron Willis and Dick Hughes bridged the gap that ended with Joe Hoener pitching a scoreless ninth and tenth. The pitching staff collectively did their job, and Lou Brock was about to reward them and the rest of the team for it. The Reds sent Billy McCool out to pitch the tenth. McCool had finished second in saves in 1965 and 1966. He had gotten the best of the Redbirds during those two seasons, however, the tables had turned in the years that followed. 

     McCool was able to get Dal Maxvill to fly out, but then he walked Ed Spiezio, which brought Lou Brock to the plate. Brock was no stranger to McCool, saying that the young hurler had been as tough on him as anybody in baseball. He could only recall one hit off of McCool, which was a bloop single in '64. On top of that Brock had struck out three times in four trips to the plate on this night, and was searching for a hit. He found the hit and it was a big one as he pounced on a McCool pitch that sailed over the wall to win the ballgame. The walk off was just the second of Brock's career. He ended up hitting one more in 1969. It makes me wonder which of the three would he would consider the most memorable. I would imagine they all were all a thrill that goes beyond measure.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196804230.shtml

April 22, 1931: The Cardinals Take Down The Reds 3-2 In The Home Opener

     On April 22, 1931, the Cardinals opened their home schedule with a 3-2 win over the Reds at Sportsman's Park. Before the contest began the Governor Harry S. Caufield joined Mayor Victor J. Miller in pregame ceremonies that included raising the National League Flag. The Governor went onto throw out the first pitch before settling in to watch the Redbirds pound out a victory.

     Once the game got started it was quite the contest. The Birds got things going in the first, when George Watkins knocked in Ernie Orsatti with a two out single to give them a 1-0 lead that stood until Sylvester Johnson surrendered a solo shot to Wally Roettger in the fifth. The Reds took a 2-1 lead in the sixth, which was keyed by a two out double by their pitcher Ray Kolp who had settled down after the rocky first inning.  However, he became unsettled in the seventh when Andy High drove in Sparky Adams with a sacrifice fly to tie it up.

     Kolp was able to limit the damage to just the one run, but that only lasted until the eighth when he gave up back-to-back one out singles to Jim Bottomley and George Watkins. It spelled the end for Kolp, and his reliever Benny Frey could not clean up the mess he inherited, as he gave up a double that scored Bottomley and put the Birds up 3-2. While Johnson had turned in a solid performance with seven strong innings for the Birds, it was Jim Lindsey who got the win. Lindsey took over on the bump in the eighth, and gave up just one hit in that inning, before tossing a flawless ninth.

     The Reds had not beaten the Cardinals since June 23, 1929. They would finally take one from the Cardinals with a win on May 24, 1931. That came in the first game of a doubleheader, and the Cardinals got their revenge in the second game with a 13-6 victory. The Cardinals ended up going 20-2 against the Reds that season, which helped them reach the 100 win plateau for the first time in franchise history. The Cardinals ended that season with 101 wins and went onto win the World Series for the second time in franchise history.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN193104220.shtml

April 21, 1961: The Cardinals Visit The Rock

   On April 21, 1961, a group of Cardinals visited Alcatraz on their off day in San Francisco. The group included players Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst, along with coaches Howie Pollet, Harry Walker, and Johnny Keane. As the article from the  Sporting News points out the trip brightened the day of many lives that more than likely lacked a lot of bright moments.

     Walker reflected on the trip in Larry Powell's book Bottom of the Ninth: An Oral History on the life of Harry "The Cat" Walker, by saying the group ate with the Warden, then toured the prison, which included visiting the cell that housed the Birdman of Alcatraz. After the tour they were taken to visit with the prisoners, and Walker's description of it was something else. He said that they were taken into a cell block, all the doors were opened, and the prisoners gathered around. "Murderers and all." Some of the prisoners ribbed the players saying that they needed to win, so they could stop losing their cigarettes after betting on the Redbirds, while others offered paintings to the players. For a brief moment in their lives these prisoners may have forgotten where they were as they chatted with the Redbird greats.

     Alcatraz housed more than 1,500 men over a 29 year span. I would imagine that the number of horror stories from the prison far outweigh the number of "feel good" stories such as this one. With that said, these men committed crimes that led to their incarceration and they had to pay a price. I am no one to judge, and I am glad to know that Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Howie Pollett, Harry Walker, and Johnny Keane felt the same way. They looked past their past, and brought those prisoners a ray of sunshine on that day in 1961.

April 20, 1910: Bases Loaded; All Aboard!!!

     On April 20, 1910, due to both teams having to catch a train, the Cardinals lost 5-4 to the Chicago Cubs in front of a home crowd in St. Louis. Both teams had agreed to end the game at 5 o'clock before the game began knowing that the trains had to maintain a tight schedule. This actually happened quite often in the age before air travel, but this game was quite different because it was called in the bottom of the eighth, with one out, and the bases full of Cardinals. The umpire, Hank O'Day, made the call to end it at the time which had been agreed on, which essentially saved the day for the Cubs. It was time to hit the rails.

 

April 19, 1900: Cy Young Leads The Cardinals To Victory

     On April 19, 1900, Cy Young struck out nine men and allowed just five hit on the way to an Opening Day 3-0 victory over the Pittsburg Pirates at Robison Field in St. Louis. The crowd of 15,000 was one of the largest attendance figure in baseball for the day, and they would leave the ballpark happy just one hour and fifty minutes after the contest began.

     For the most part this game was a true duel. Although, the Pirates suffered misfortune in having their starter Sam Leever knocked out by a scorcher that split the hurler's hand in the second. The injury led player/manager Fred Clarke into calling on Rube Wadell to take over. Wadell did not pitch bad; he just had a bad inning. It came in the fourth when Patsy Donovan, Dan McGann, and Jack O'Connor singled, before shortstop Bobby Wallace brought all three men into score with a triple. After that inning came to a close only one Cardinals batter scratched out a hit off of Wadell.

     Young's pitching line may seem dominant, but he had to work to win this game. With the offense failing to provide more of a cushion twice the Pirates found hope late in the ballgame. The first time came in the eighth, when Honus Wagner dropped in what appeared to be a single to center. However, Wagner was thrown out by the catcher Jack O'Connor after he was caught napping at first. The Buccaneers scratched out another hit off of Young in the inning, but no damage was done.

     The game looked to be over in the ninth, as Young set the first two men down in succession. He then gave up a double to Ginger Beaumont, and that was followed by what was described as an awkward bounder by Fred Clarke toward Lave Cross at third. Cross misplayed it and Beaumont wheeled over to third, while Clarke stood on first. In the words of the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette here is how it came to a close "With Williams up and Wagner to follow things looked stormy. However, Williams was too anxious and went after Young's high ones three times in succession, ending the ballgame with his third strikeout." Young also struck out Bones Ely three times. It was a good way to start a new century of baseball in St. Louis.

   Cy Young spent just two seasons in St. Louis. In those two seasons he posted a 45-35 record with a 2.78 E.R.A. The majority of Young's 511 wins came as a member of the Cleveland Spiders (241 wins), and the Boston Red Sox (192 wins). His time in St. Louis may have been short, but it was surely something that should be remembered. It was appointment baseball. Drop what you're doing The Cyclone is on the hill.