August 31, 1926: The Cardinals Leap Into First With a Doubleheader Sweep Of The Pirates In St. Louis

On August 31, 1926, by winning both games of a doubleheader against the Pirates at Sportsman's Park, the Cardinals found themselves sitting in first place. The fans in St. Louis hadn't seen the team capture a pennant since 1888 when they were known as the Browns. The city was buzzing and the ballpark was packed as they had put together a hot month that brought them from fourth place to first place in just 3 weeks. In the first game Wee Willie Sherdel pitched a gem and his offense came through for him as they took the contest 6-1. Sherdel scattered 7 hits throughout, while Les Bell and Chick Hafey both hit home runs in the convincing win for the Birds. Alan Sothoron pitched the second game for the Cards and he held the Pirates to just 3 hits as the team took the tilt 2-1. The Pirates got their run in the fourth on a sacrifice by Kiki Cuyler but couldn't hold on as the Cards plated both of their runs in the seventh with a pair of rbi's by Jim Bottomley and Chick Hafey. Sothorn pitched the Cardinals to just three wins in '26, this by far was his biggest victory as the team made a charge for the National League flag. The next day the team finished the Pirates off with another doubleheader, sweep at the ole ballpark. Those were the last two regular season games played in St. Louis during that '26 season. The club went on a seven city road trip to finish off the campaign and it was a battle to the finish line, the Cardinals finished just two games ahead of the Reds to take home their first pennant in 38 years before winning their first World Title.

Check out the box scores
First Game: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN192608311.shtml
Second Game: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN192608312.shtml

August 30, 1941: Lon Warneke No-Hits The Reds In Cincy

On August 30, 1941, Lon Warneke pitched the fourth no-hitter in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals organization as the team beat the Reds 2-0 in Cincinnati. The Cardinals hurler allowed just one walk, while two errors accounted for two more baserunners. Not one of the those men reached second. The first man to reach was in the fifth inning when the Reds first baseman Frank McCormick hit a hotshot up the middle that second baseman Creepy Crespi mishandled and threw high and wide of first, bringing Johnny Mize off the bag. McCormick was erased just one batter later, Jim Gleeson was a strikeout victim, then Walker Cooper gunned down McCormick as he attempted to steal second, nothin like a good ole strike'em out, throw'em out double play to keep a no-no alive. Gleeson opened up the seventh with a popup over the Jimmy Brown's head, the Cardinals third baseman stumbled and fell as he attempted to retrieve it for the second Redbird error of the game. The next man up was Reds catcher Ernie Lombardi, he hit the ball straight to Crespi who turned a tailor made double play to erase both him and Gleeson. Following the double play Warneke issued a walk to Lonnie Frey, it was his only walk of the contest. The biggest scare for Warneke came after the walk when Frank McCormick hit a high fly ball that was hauled in at the left field wall by Don Padgett. It was a pitching performance that the Cardinals needed as the pitcher for the Reds, Elmer Riddle tossed a gem of his own. Riddle allowed just 5 hits with one of those hits coming off the Cardinals pitcher. While Riddle was the loser in the contest, he was not charged with an earned run as defensive miscues led to both Cardinals runs in the seventh inning. When the ninth inning rolled around and Warneke had the no-hitter intact, the crowd of nearly 10,000 began to cheer for the Cardinals pitcher in hopes that he would complete the bid. The cheers got louder after he got Lloyd Waner to popup to Marty Marion at short to record the first out, Ernie Koy followed it up with a ground ball to Marion who threw him out at first. Just one hour and forty nine minutes after Warneke had threw his first pitch, he got Bill Werber to hit a popup to Mize at first that put the no-no in the books.

Here's the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN194108300.shtml

August 29, 1977: Lou Brock Becomes The All Time Stolen Base Leader

On August 29, 1977, in a game against the Padres in San Diego, Lou Brock tied then surpassed Ty Cobb to become the all time stolen base leader. Brock came into the game with 891stolen bases on his resume, just one short of Cobb's record that had stood for 49 years. The base burglar led the game off with a walk and promptly stole second to tie the long standing record. As he stole the bag the Padres catcher Dave Roberts attempted to gun him down but sailed the ball wide of the second baseman and into center. Brock alertly moved to third on the error, then was mobbed by his teammates. With the game temporarily halted due to the historic milestone second base was taken up and presented to the 38 year old Brock. When play resumed Jerry Mumphrey knocked Brock win with a single that started the scoring for the Cardinals. By the time the first inning came to an end Brock was tied with Cobb and the Birds held a 3-0 lead. The record breaking moment came in the seventh with the Birds leading 3-2, Brock reached first on a fielder's choice then surpassed Cobb as he swiped second. Once again Dave Roberts attempted to gun him down but sailed it wide of the bag, this time his shortstop kept the ball from getting out of the infield but not before Lou became the all time stolen base leader after stealing his 28th bag of the season and the 893rd bag of his career. Brock was mobbed once again, his teammates presented him the bag for the second time as he was the All Time Leader in Stolen Bases. The Cardinals skipper Vern Rapp gave his left fielder the rest of the day off as the team headed into the bottom of the seventh with the team still ahead 3-2. Unfortunately for Brock and the Birds, Mike Ivie hit a two run shot for the Padres in the eighth that led his team to a 4-3 win. It took Cobb 3,033 games over 23 years to amass 892 stolen bases, while Brock reached the mark in 2,376th game during his 16th year in the league.  Brock had just 50 steals under his belt after spending his first four years with the Cubs, when he got to St. Louis he was off and runnin as the Cardinals management realized he could wreak havoc on the basepaths.  He would lead the National League in steals eight times and lead all of the majors six times on his way to stealing his way to Cooperstown with a grand total of 938 stolen bases. As they say all records are made to be broken and a 23 year old by the name of Rickey Henderson broke Lou's single season record in 1982 by stealing a 130 bases The astounding thing about Lou's 118 in '74 was that he did that at the age of 35. Henderson also broke the all time record when he swiped 939 in May of '91. Henderson had a lot more gas in the tank after that and he finished his career with an eye popping 1,406 stolen bases. While his records were broken there is only one man you think of in St. Louis when the words stolen base popup, and that man is named Louuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Brock!!!

Check out the box score and Lou's career numbers:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SDN/SDN197708290.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brocklo01.shtml

August 28, 1971: Bob Gibson Dominates The Reds At Busch

On August 28, 1971, Bob Gibson struck out 13 and gave up just three hits in a 4-0 complete game win over the Cincinnati Reds at Busch. The Cardinals hurler appeared to be in a duel with the Reds starter Gary Nolan who hadn't given up a hit until Gibby tagged him for a single to lead off a two run third inning. Gibby was quickly erased from the base paths when Lou Brock hit into a fielders choice which only put Brock's speed in position to make the Reds pay, and made them pay he did. Brock stole second, then came wheeling into score after Ted Sizemore singled to left. Matty Alou followed Sizemore with another single that brought Joe Torre to the dish. Torre roped one into left that scored Sizemore and the birds were off and runnin. Nolan kept the Cardinals off the board in the fourth, but didn't have the same luck in the fifth. He gave up a one out single to Brock and once again Brock stole second and was knocked in by Sizemore. Matty Alou followed Sizemore up with another single and the Birds were rockin and rollin once again. This time Sparky Anderson chose to walk Torre to get to Ted Simmons who hit into a groundball out that forced Sizemore out at the plate, only to have Johnny Bench sail one over his first baseman's head in an attempt to double off Simmons. The error by Bench brought Alou into score the fourth Redbird run and it was all they would need as their ace was flatout dealin. Gibby had given up a single in the fourth, another in the fifth, then one more in the eighth, while walking just one man enroute to the 13 K performance that included three strikeouts of Bench.

Check out the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN197108280.shtml

August 27, 1965: Boyer's 14th Inning Double Beats The Reds In Cincy

On August 27, 1965, the Cardinals knocked the Reds off 6-5 thanks to a 14th inning rbi double by Ken Boyer. The game was looking like it might be all Cardinals early on. Boyer knocked in a run in the first to give the Birds the lead right out the gate. Bob Skinner and Bill White extended the Cardinals lead to 3-0 with an rbi apiece in the third, then Lou Brock got in on the action by knocking a run in with a single in the fourth. Brock's single ended the day for Reds pitcher Joey Jay who left the game with his team trailing 4-0. In the bottom of the fourth the Reds would begin to mount a comeback. Gordy Coleman and Johnny Edwards cut the lead in half with a pair of rbi's that let the Birds know they would have to battle to win that day at Crosley Field. Bill White responded with a two out rbi single in the fifth that brought Boyer into score. Cincy answered right back with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning as Frank Robinson got in on the rbi festival with a two out single that brought Tommy Harper trotting in to make the score 5-3 Cards. After a scoreless sixth and seventh the reds struck again with a pair of ribbies by Coleman and Robinson to knot things up at 5 all. As the game became a true battle of the bullpens both pens showed they were up to the task until that fourteenth and final inning of the contest. Bill McCool, who had been toeing the rubber for the Reds since the twelfth inning got a quick out before issuing back-to-back walks to Lou Brock and Curt Flood, McCool then set Mike Shannon down on strikes before Boyer came to the dish. All McCool needed was one more out to erase the threat but that out would have to wait. Boyer got ahold of one that shot into center and brought Brock flying in while Boyer came sliding into second. The Birds were flying high with the 6-5 lead and they were just three out away from ending a game that lasted more than 5 hours. In the bottom of the fourteenth, Hal Woodeshick got two quick outs, then gave up a single to Leo Cardenas that put the tying run on first and the winning run at the plate. Red Schoendienst wasn't taking any chances, the Cardinals skipper brought the ace of the staff Bob Gibson into get the last out and Gibson didn't disappoint. He induced Art Shamsky into popup that was caught in foul territory to give Gibby his only save of that '65 season.

Check out the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN196508270.shtml

August 26, 1981: Templeton Flies The Bird

On August 26, 1981, Garry Templeton was fined $5,000 and suspended indefinitely by Cardinals skipper Whitey Herzog for making obscene gestures towards the fans at Busch. The trouble for Templeton started before the game against San Fran even started. He had told Whitey Herzog that he was too tired to play but the skipper put him in the lineup against his wishes. Templeton responded with a halfhearted effort that not only angered the fans but got under the manager's skin as well.  The real trouble began in the bottom of the first, Templeton struck out but the ball got past Giants catcher Milt May and he jogged down the baseline staring toward the Cardinal dugout rather than try and reach base. As he jogged the boos rang out and then Templeton to give the crowd an ole one finger salute. Umpire Bruce Froemming warned the shortstop after the incident which did not stop him from doing it again.  Before the fourth inning started Froemming tossed the embattled Templeton from the game. As Templeton jogged toward the dugout he made more obscene gestures toward the crowds and Herzog blew a friggin gasket. The skipper yanked him into the dugout and tossed him against the wall while telling him to get the hell out of there. Players and coaches had to break up the melee while Herzog screamed "I don't want you on the road trip. I don't want you around my players. I don't want to see you. You make $690,000 and you make an ass out of yourself. I don;t need that, and my players don't need that." The big story of the game should have been an 8 run outburst in the fifth inning that led to a  9-4 Cardinals victory, instead all the focus went toward one disgruntled player who failed to control his emotions. A day after the incident Templeton agreed to seek psychiatric help and was diagnosed and treated for depression. He returned to the Cardinals lineup in mid September, but his absence had hurt the club and they failed to make the playoffs. It was an unfortunate incident that Templeton has carried with him throughout his life, it is something he does not liked to be remembered for but unfortunately it is a moment in time he can't take back. Templeton wore the Birds on the Bat for a total of six years, in those six years he was selected to two All Star games, hit .305 and was one of the better hitting shortstops in the game which also led to a Silver Slugger Award in 1980. After the incident that led him to being traded to San Diego he went onto have a solid career with the Padres which included a second Silver Slugger Award and another All Star selection. After his playing career ended he managed a variety of minor league clubs and is currently the manager of the Newark Bears on the independent Can-Am league. In my eyes time heals all wounds and I have no disdain for Garry Templeton, while I think it's unfortunate for him to be remembered in such a way it was his own doing that made that memory. In the end it worked out quite well for the Cardinals, it makes me wonder if Ozzie would have found his way to St. Louis if Templeton wouldn't have reacted so poorly on that late August day in 1981. All I know is I'm glad it worked out the way it did, Ozzie became a legend while Templeton became another name from the past.

Wish I had the video, check out the box score: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN198108260.shtml

August 25, 1946: The Cardinals Battle The Dodgers as The Pennant Race Heats Up

On August 25, 1946, St. Louis was buzzing as the Brooklyn Dodgers came to town to take on the Cardinals with first place on the line. The two teams were set to play a doubleheader and it was sure to be a battle that had Sportsman's Park packed with Cardinals fans to cheer the team onto victory. The Dodgers had held a seven and a half game lead but couldn't hold off the surging Redbirds. In the first game, the Dodgers struck first, they plated a run in the fourth when Augie Galan knocked Carl Furillo in from second base with a single. The Birds evened things up in the bottom of the fourth with a solo shot by Stan Musial. Harry Walker put the Cards up 2-1 with an rbi single in the fifth, then Furillo knotted things back up at 2 with an rbi double that brought Pee Wee Reese into score. The score stayed tied until Cookie Lavagetto came up with a ninth inning single to give the Dodgers a 3-2 lead that they would not let go of. While the Cardinals fans were bummed about getting beat by dem bums from Brooklyn in the first game, the disappointment wouldn't last long. In the second game, Musial led an offensive onslaught with a 4 for 5 performance that included a double, three ribbies, and two runs scored as the Cardinals beat the Dodgers in a 14-8 rout that was called after 8 innings due to darkness. The Birds looked to have that game easily won as they scored 10 runs in the first six, then they had to survive back-to-back four run innings in the seventh and eighth before the sun tucked out of the sky. The ballpark did have lights installed in 1940, but the rules at the time would not allow a day game to be assisted by lighting. The split ended the day with a dead heat between the Birds and the Bums, it was a dead heat that ended with the first ever tiebreaker that led to a World Series Title for St. Louis. The '46 race was such a great race with two great teams. Everytime I watch the Cardinals play the Dodgers I think of that great race. Throughout the years the rivalry between the Dodgers and the Cardinals was a hot one, we might just see that rivalry heat up again this postseason.

The photo was snapped that day as Musial crossed the plate after hitting the home run in the first game.

Check out the box scores:
First game: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN194608251.shtml
Second game:http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN194608252.shtml