April 27, 1943: Cooper Spins a Gem

   

     On April 27, 1943, Mort Cooper tossed a gem in the home opener at Sportsman's Park, as he helped lead the way to a 7-0 victory over the Cubs. The Cubs starter, Paul Derringer was rocked, allowing four runs to cross the dish in the first, then was yanked for a reliever with two outs in the first. The Cardinals knocked in another run to make it 5-0, before Cooper even stepped on the bump. From there on out Coop was in control, allowing just five hits, while his teammates added two more runs to the totals, with a run, and a run in the sixth.

     The pitching staff in '43 started out on fire, allowing just three runs in their first five games. Mort Cooper led the National League with 21 wins, while Stan Musial led the league with a .357 average, 48 doubles, and 20 triples. Musial picked up one of those doubles in that big first inning on that day at Sportsman's Park. The club ended up winning 105 games, and the National League Flag by an astounding 18 games. They clinched on September 18th, then would go onto meet the Yankees for a rematch of the '42 Fall Classic.

     Unfortunately, the club that had dominated the National League would fall to the New Yorkers four games to one. With that said, what a year it was. The disappointment of losing that one would not take long to get past, as they took the cake in 1944, then again in 1946. Those teams from 1941 to 1946 were some of the greatest teams that the Cardinals ever put on the diamond and they will forever be remembered.

Check out the box score here; http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN194304270.shtml

April 25, 1956: Haddix Two-Hits The Cubbies at Busch

     On April 25, 1956, Harvey Haddix took care of business against the Cubs in St. Louis by allowing just two hits during a 6-0 win in front of 3,378 fans at Busch. The only hits by the Baby Bears were singles by Ernie Banks in the second, then another by Gene Baker in the sixth. Wally Moon and Rip Repulski helped the cause with a pair of 2 for 4 days, while Stan "The Man" Musial knocked in two with a double. Stan's double was the 540th of his career, which tied him with Joe Medwick on the all time doubles list. The Post Dispatch made note that the 540 doubles were "a considerable number below Honus Wagner's all time mark of 651. Stan finished his career with 725 two-baggers. Not only did Musial reach that milestone, the 35-year-old slugger also scored his 1,500th run of his career when Moon doubled in the second. Musial's final number in the runs scored department was 1,949.

     That game proved to be Haddix's last win in a Cardinals uniform, as he was dealt to Philadelphia in early May. He went 53-40 with the club over five seasons, with his best coming during his rookie season in 1953 when he won 20 games.

Check out the box score here:http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN195604250.shtml

April 22, 1926: Hafey's Tenth Inning Blast Sinks The Pirates Ship

     On April 22, 1926, Chick Hafey's tenth inning two run blast led the way to a 5-3 Cardinals win in Pittsburgh. It was a special day for the Pirates organization, as they hoisted the Championship Flag at Forbes Field with an estimated 35,000 fans witnessing the event. However, both clubs committed crucial errors, which led to extra innings, which set up Hafey's game winning home run in the tenth. Rogers Hornsby was aboard when Hafey came to the dish and the player/manager was more than happy when he watched the sphere sail over the wall to give the Cardinals the final lead of the day. Vic Keen, who started the ballgame for St. Louis, finished it has well. The hurler's stat line was not the prettiest, allowing ten hits, while striking out one. However, he kept his club in it, then finished off the defending champions, before celebrating the victory with his teammates.

     Chick Hafey hit .271 with four home runs during that '26 season. He played in just 78 games during the regular season. However, he did go onto play in each game of the World Series that followed. Of those four home runs he hit that season, it may be safe to say that the one he hit on that day in late April was the biggest blast for him during the campaign. The team won 89 games, which was good enough to secure a National League title by just two games, so that win like each and every win during that season was crucial.

     Despite battling poor eyesight and sinus problems, Hafey's best days were ahead of him. He had come up from Branch Rickey's farm system in 1924, and was still developing into a player that would find a place in Baseball's Hall of Fame. In the years to come, Hafey would find a true power stroke, hitting the double-digit mark in home runs from 1927 to 1931. When he wasn't hitting home runs, he was just flat out hitting, as he hit .329 or better six times during that same time frame. Hafey helped the Cardinals win three more National League pennants, as well as their second World Championship title in 1931. That '31 season was perhaps his greatest season, as he won the batting title with a .349 average. It was the closest batting title race in the history of the game, as Hafey took it in his last at bat of the season, beating out Jim Bottomley and Bill Terry.

     A contract dispute led to Hafey's departure from St. Louis in the Spring of '32. He ended up being shipped to Cincinnati where he finished out his career. It was said that he exited the game in 1937 because he could see night baseball on the horizon and those vision problems coupled with the sinus problems would not bode well for him, so he hung ip the ole cleats. Before doing so the man they called Chick had made a name for himself, with some calling him the second best right-handed hitter of his day, with only Rogers Hornsby ahead of him. Forever a Cardinal, Chick Hafey found his spot in Cooperstown in 1971 after being selected for enshrinement by a Veteran's Committee. His days would forever be remembered. One of those days that would be remembered came in Pittsburgh in 1926, as Hafey strolled to the dish in the tenth, took a home run cut, then trotted around the bases, before meeting Hornsby at the plate.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT192604220.shtml

If you would like to know more about Chick Hafey you can read his SABR bio here: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/96ae4951


Chick Hafey's stats: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hafeych01.shtml

April 21, 1059: Stan Breaks Up a No-No In Chicago

     On April 21, 1959, Stan Musial broke up his second no-hitter in four days, with a seventh inning double off of  Cubs hurler Glenn Hobbie during a 1-0 loss in Chicago. On the 18th of April, Stan broke up Jack Sanford's bid for a no-no by coming in as a pinch-hitter in the seventh, then ripping a single. Unfortunately for the Redbirds, the only hits in both of these games were provided by Musial. However, those hits kept the club from suffering their first no-hit game since Cincinnati's Hod Eller had acheived the feat against the Cardinals in May of 1919. The days of Musial playing the game of baseball on a diamond were coming to close much sooner than later when he broke up those no-hitters. he was 40 years old at the time, and his best days were surely behind him. However, The Man could still put the fear in a pitcher when he stepped into the box, got into his famous corkscrew stance, before taking a swing on a ball that would find its way through a hole.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN195904210.shtml

April 20, 1884: The Maroons Open The Season With a Win In St. Louis

     On April 20, 1884, the Maroons of the Union Association beat the Chicago Browns 7-2 at the Uniton Base Ball Park in St. Louis. A crowd of more than 10,000 witnessed the rain-shortened ballgame, which was called after just six innings due to the conditions. One fan who sat in the stands at that day told the Post Dispatch that it was like watching men play ball while wearing ice skates.

     Chicago's hurler, Hugh Daily, who was also known as "one arm", due to an accident he suffered as a child, won the St. Louis crowd over with what was deemed an effective delivery. The Chicago Tribune (which is where the featured article appeared) said that Daily struck out no less than 10 men. While he had his moments, the one armed hurler got knocked around by the hard hitting veterans of the St. Louis club, and was haunted by errors. That same article capped things off by saying the Maroons were not a lock to win the Union Association pennant like most had expected before the season began, That article was wrong. In fact, the Maroons were so dominant, going 94-19 on the season, that they have been attributed to the collapse of the short lived league. Not one other team in the league could hold a candle to them.

      The Union Association folded after the 1884 season. The league had aspirations of taking players away from the American Association and the National League. However, it was looked at as an inferior product overall and just could not compete with the big boys. Most historians do not consider the Union Association a true major league. Although, there were decent players sprinkled throughout, and fraction of them would find their way to big league rosters after the league disappeared into the past.  The only team in the Union Association that may have been considered anything close to a major league ballclub were the Maroons, and the only man who was considered a true star was the Maroons, Fred Dunlap. Dunlap hit an eye-popping .412 during that 1884 season, and would go onto have a decent career at the major league level.

     The Maroons joined the National League after the Union Association folded. However, they could not compete with the St. Louis Browns (who would be known as the Cardinals in less than twenty years). The Browns were poised to go on a historic run that led to four straight American Association pennants beginning in 1885. The Browns dominance ended up pushing the Maroons out of town to Indianapolis where they become known as the Hoosiers. The club competed in the National League until the end of the 1887 campaign, never coming close to the days they had during that 1884 season in St. Louis. While the team would end up being a part of baseball's forgotten past, today they are remembered.

Read about the ole ballpark here: http://sabr.org/bioproj/park/d9c10c59

April 18, 1950: The Birds Take Down the Bucs on Opening Night

     On April 18, 1950, more than 20,000 souls witnessed the first Opening Night game in the history of Major League Baseball at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, and watched the Cardinals knock off the Pirates by the score of 4-2. Red Schoendienst and Stan Musial delighted the crowd by hitting home runs in the contest, while the kid from The Hill, Joe Garagiola went 3 for 3 with an RBI.

     Red got things going early for the Redbirds by hitting a solo shot in the first, while Musial matched him with a solo shot to lead things off in the third. The Cardinals starter, Gerry Staley, ran into some trouble in the sixth after allowing a double and a walk, which led to Johnny Hopp knocking in both runners to tie the ballgame at 2-2. However, Staley stood tall through it all, and gave the Cardinals nine full innings of work, settling down the rest of the way. The hurler watched the Redbirds retake the lead in the sixth on the ribbie by Garagiola, than he watched Enos Slaughter and an insurance run with a two out single that brought Schoendienst trotting into score during the seventh. That would be the ballgame, as Staley held the Pirates at bay the rest of the night.

The artwork featured with today's fact appeared in The Post Dispatch  the following day.  It was done by Amadee Wohlschlaeger, who drew the Post's Weatherbird, along with many moments in sports around St. Louis as well. I always feel lucky to see his work, and will try to share it as often as possible. He was really something special. This piece was featured on Stltoday.com in 2014 when he passed away at the age of 102: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/obituaries/amadee-dies-at-weatherbird-artist-was-one-of-the-last/article_8ddfa9a1-eb32-555d-910b-cb6386344007.html

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN195004180.shtml

April 15,1892: The First National League Win In Club History

     On April 15, 1892, 2,600 fans witnessed the first National league win for the club that would be known as the Cardinal, as they defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-3 in St. Louis. The men of the hour were Ted Britenstein, who hurled six innings of no-hit ball, before giving up his only three hits of the day in the seventh, and outfielder Cliff Carroll, who fell a home run shy of the cycle, and recorded a sacrifice hit as well. Carroll, not only took care of business at the plate, he also was an asset in the filed, as he stopped what was deemed a sure triple by gunning  the ball into third to hold the man at second. In the grand scheme of things this win may be rather insignificant for a club that finished with a record of 56-94. However, it was the first win of many for the club that would become the cream of the crop in the National League.

The article featured with today's fact appeared in The St. Louis Post Dispatch the following day. For me, I look at it as a treasure. I see these articles as something that puts you back in the moment. I hope you enjoy and appreciate them as much as I do.