July 29, 1933: Pepper Martin Walks It Off In The Tenth

     On July 29, 1933, Pepper Martin ended a ten inning affair with a three run walk off blast to beat the Cubs at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis.

     The Birds flew out of the gate early in this one, scoring four runs in the second, before the Baby Bears answered back with two of their own in the fourth on a two run home run by Babe Herman. The Birds got one of those back in the bottom of the fourth, but they would have a fight on their hands, as the Chicago squad was desperate to stop a losing streak.

     Martin knocked in a run in the sixth to make it a 6-2 ballgame, which may have seemed to be a comfortable lead, but as we all know a game does not end in the sixth, and the Cubs knew that too. It seems the man that knew it real well was Babe Herman, as he hit his second home run of the day in the seventh to make it 6-4. The heat was on, and it would get hotter in the ninth, when a single by Kiki Cuyler, a double by Frank Demaree, and a key pinch hit by Woody English pushed two runs across to tie it up at 6-6. Up to that point Tex Carleton looked like he would secure the victory for the Redbirds, but he handed the ball over to Jesse Haines, after getting one out in the ninth that unraveled in a haste. Haines was charged with the second run, but would end up getting the win, as he set the table for Martin to win it with the big blast in the tenth.

     A hero of the World Series winning club of 1931, Martin had a run of bad luck in '32, which may have had some pundits questioning if he would be able to match the production that helped lift the Cardinals to the top of the heap. He answered those questions with a career year, in which he hit .316, led the National League in runs scored with 122, and stolen bases with 26. Never known for his pop, The Wild Horse of Osage hit just eight home runs that season. One of those home runs was a walk off blast that put the Cubs to bed. It was a memorable blast indeed.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN193307290.shtml

Side note: Martin hit two walk off home runs in his career. The one that came on that day in '33 was the first. The second came during the Summer of '36. We'll save that tale for another day.

July 28, 1977: Urrea Shuts'em Down

     On July 28, 1977, rookie pitcher John Urrea turned in a dominating complete-game performance during a 3-0 win over the Atlanta Braves in St. Louis. The big righty set down 12 in a row before allowing a hit, as he sailed to victory while allowing just five hits total. He got the run support he needed in the first when Atlanta's starter Buzz Capra sailed one past his catcher, which brought Garry Templeton into score. Templeton came up big in the fifth with a two out triple that plated Urrea, who had drew a walk, and Lou Brock who singled right behind him. The offense could not push another run across in the contest, but they did not need to, with Urrea on the bump.

     That was the second start  and first win of Urrea's career. He had made one a week earlier, but did not get a decision. It was also the only complete game shutout of his major league career, which took place over parts of five seasons. He put up decent numbers during that '77 season, going 7-6 with a 3.16 E.R.A., but was not able to build on that success. Urrea posted a 15-16 record with the Cardinals through the 1980 season, then was sent to San Diego in 1981 as a part of a package deal. He went 2-2 with the Padres, before his days on the major league diamond came to a close. While Urrea never stood before a crowd delivering a speech in Cooperstown, New York, he did stand on that major league diamond, and on that day at Busch Stadium he achiieved what many most men can only dream of.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN197707280.shtml

July 27, 1989: Coleman's Streak Stops at 50

     On July 27, 1989, Vince Coleman's record setting streak of 50 consecutive stolen bases was snapped in Montreal during a 2-0 Cardinals win over the Expos. Coleman attempted to swipe a bag in the fourth, but was gunned down by Montreal's backstop Nelson Santovenia. It may be one of the greatest highlights of Santovenia's short career in the majors. While the streak came to an end, Coleman did figure into the victory by making a game saving play in the ninth, when he scaled the wall and robbed second baseman Damaso Garcia of a game-tying double to preserve the victory. Coleman went right back to work in the ninth by stealing a base, then scoring the second Redburd run of the day to take a little pressure off the pen. The 50 consecutive steals is a record that still stands today. The previous record holder had been Davy Lopes, who stole 38 in succession as a member of the 1975 Los Angeles Dodgers. Coleman ran right past that one, and kept on running until Santovenia gunned him down. All good things must come to an end, however, all good things should be remembered as well.

Several men have surpassed Lopes' streak, but only Ichiro Suzuki seriously threatened Coleman's 50 consecutive steals with 45 consecutive stolen bases in 2006.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MON/MON198907280.shtml

July 26, 1901: The Birds and Bucs Brawl In The Lou

     On July 26, 1901, the Cardinals whooped the Pirates in more than one way, as they smacked them around with their fists, then beat them 12-7 on the scoreboard. The Bucco's came out swingin', as they scored six runs in the first, and looked like they may just roll over the Cardinals, Then the Birds came flying back into the fray with a run in the second, then four more in the third. It was during the four run third that all hell broke loose.

     The Birds strung together a few hits against Deacon Phillippe, scored a couple runs, on a timely hit by player/manager Patsy Donovan, which was followed by a hotshot up the middle by third baseman Otto Kruger. The Pirates second baseman Claude Ritchey fielded the ball, but threw it away when he tried to run down Kruger at first. Now the account in the Pittsburgh Press claimed that the Cardinals players gathered around the ball, as their former teammate, who was now catching for the Pirates, Jack O'Connor scrambled toward the dugout in an attempt to retrieve the ball. An account out of the St. Louis Republic claimed the players on the Cardinals bench scattered. I guess the writers had on their home team glasses on that fine day, and saw it through them when they sided with one team or the other. The paper out of St. Louis did acknowledge that O'Connor had come into contact with several Cardinals players, before finding the ball, while another run scored.

     At that point O'Connor was enraged, so he went after the closest man to him, which was the skipper Donovan, who by all accounts was clearly assaulted. O'Connor picked the wrong battle, because every single player on the St. Louis bench had his back, and one player in particular, a 24-year-old pitcher by the name of  Eddie Murphy flew in and floored O'Connor with a knockout blow to the jaw. According the Pittsburgh Press "The catcher fell and was dead to the world." Benches began to clear, before the police got involved to break up the melee. The officers had their hands full, as they also had to contain a crowd of men who attempted to storm the field, A good five minutes later the police got it under control, but the teams were hot, and there were tense moments throughout the rest of the game.

      The Pirates maintained a 7-5 lead until the Cards blew the door open with a four runs in the seventh, then three more in the eighth to put the visitors away. In the end it was called the most exciting game that happened at League Park up to that point, for a team that would finish fourth in the standings that season. The Pirates won the National League pennant with 90 wins, but this was two seasons before the World Series would begin between the National and American leagues. While the Pirates came out on top of the standing that season, they knew when they had to face the Cardinals they would have a fight on their hands. They sure did on that day in late July.

The account of the game in the photo above was taken out of the Pittsburgh Press, while the picture of the (sort of weird) fan came out of the St. Louis Republic. If you are interested in reading the Republic's account of the game you could do that here:
http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84020274/1901-07-27/ed-1/seq-4/

I would have liked to clip it completely, but quite frankly it was too large, so I went with the rather laughable piece out of Pittsburgh.

July 25, 1962: Stan The Man Becomes The National League's RBI King

     On July 25, 1962, Stan The Man Musial set the National League RBI record by knocking in his 1,862nd run with a two run blast in the sixth inning at Busch. The bomb was all the offense the Redbirds could muster on that day against Don Drysdale's Dodgers, who put five runs on the board to take the contest 5-2. While the end result of the contest was not what the fans in the stands had hoped for, the crowd of more than 24,000 witnessed a special moment in the career of The Man. He had surpassed the legendary New York Giant Mel Ott. Musial finished his career with 1,951 ribbies, which stands as seventh on the all time list as we sit here today.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196207250.shtml

July 24, 1979: Simba Returns To The Lineup

     On July 24, 1979, Ted Simmons made a triumphant return to the lineup, after a broken bone in his wrist had sidelined him for a month. The backstop made his presence known early, as he ripped a first inning double that gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead, and there was no looking back, as they prevailed 7-3 over the Atlanta Braves at Busch. Garry Templeton also returned to the lineup after sitting for three days due to a leg injury, and contributed with a lead off double in the first, and RBI double in the second, a sac fly in the fourth, then tripled and scored on a Lou Brock single in the seventh. It was the 2,979th hit of Lou's career. Simmons' return was the headliner of the day. He also drew a walk, and a single in the contest, but it was his presence behind the dish that made the pitching staff rejoice. Particularly that day's starter Pete Vuckovich, who scattered six hits and struck out eight. Simmons put together a strong season despite being on the shelf for a bit. In fact, he hit a career high 26 home runs that season. His days as a Cardinal would end after the 1980 season, however, Simba would forever be a Cardinal.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN197907240.shtml

Happy Birthday to an old friend of mine Mrs. Valerie Ashcraft. She celebrated her first birthday on that fine day, and has celebrated many wins since.

July 23, 1947: Red Caps Off The Rally

     On July 23, 1947, down 5-2 to the New York Giants in the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals put together a four run rally to win 6-5 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Red Scheoendienst capped off a four run rally by knocking in the tying and winning runs.

     You can look at this game and see how different a pitcher was treated in those days, as New York's starter Dave Koslo was still on the bump when the bottom of the ninth rolled around. It was well before the days of the pitching specialists that had specific roles for the late innings, therefore this was  Koslo's game to win or lose, and luckily for Eddie Dyer's Redbirds it was the latter of the two. The game winning rally started with a single by White Kurowski to lead things off, then Ducky Medwick picked up a one out single, before Koslo walked Marty Marion. The heat was on at the ole ballpark with the bases full.

    With that said, the wheels had not come off of the Giants bus completely. Koslo picked up an out when pinch hitter Erv Dusak hit a grounder that took Marion out at second base, however, it did score Kurowski, and the Birds were in business. Del Wilber then had his number called on to pinch hit for the pitcher Al Brazle, and he came though with a RBI double to score Medwick that put the club within one run of tying it up, as Dusak was standing on third. Rather than tie it up, Red pounced on the first pitch he saw, and ripped it right through the box in center and won the ballgame. Dusak and Joffre Cross, who ran for Wilber came into score the game winner. Moments later, the boys trotted off the fields with smiles beaming across their faces, as the crowd stood and cheered. They had witnessed quite the rally.

Check out the box score here:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN194707230.shtml