July 31, 1928: Sand's Boneheaded Play Helps Lifts The Birds To Victory

     On July 31, 1928, the Cardinals picked up 20 hits en route to an 18-5 beatdown of the Philadelphia Phillies at the Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. The two clubs were knotted up at two after three innings of play, before the Birds blew the door open with a five run frame in the fifth. That five run fifth featured a boneheaded play by Philadelphia's shortstop Heinie Sand, who thought he had picked up the third out, but as it turned out it was the second out. Sand and his teammates began trotting off the field, while Chick Hafey who was standing at first flew around the bases before they realized the err of their ways. It was like a string was pulled, and from there the Phillies began to unravel like an old sweater. The Cardinals scored a total of sixteen runs over the next four innings, as they pounded the home team into submission. Taylor Douthit led the way for the Cardinals in the 20-hit attack with five hits in six trips, and he was joined by four players who had three hits apiece, which included the pitcher Pete Alexander who went the distance. The 18 runs was the most runs the Cardinals would score in a game that season, and it was a game that ole Heinie Sand would surely never forget.

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI192807310.shtml

July 30, 1959: Bob Gibson Makes His First Start

     On July 30, 1959, Bob Gibson made his ever first major league start at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The 23-year-old beat the Reds 1-0 with an eight-hit complete game effort. Ken Boyer scored the lone run of the contest after picking up a double in the second inning, before being knocked in by Joe Cunningham. From there it was all Bob Gibson. The youngster was dominant, however, he did run into bases loaded jam in the ninth, after allowing a lead off single, then two consecutive two out walks, before he got Johnny Temple to fly out to Curt Flood in center. It was win number 1 of 251, and little did anybody know that it was just a glimpse of things to come for the hurler who was destined to be among the immortals in Cooperstown, New York. The kid was going to be a legend.

If you would like to read about Bob Gibson's life and Hall of Fame career you can check out his SABR bio here: http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/34500d95

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN195907300.shtml

On a side note: one of my favorite Gibby stats is he had 255 complete games. Four more complete games than he had wins. You had to pry the ball from his hands. When he took the mound the men in the pen knew they would be getting rest that day, and it was likely they would witness a gem.

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