In the long and decorated history of the St. Louis Cardinals, few players combined talent, leadership, and consistency more completely than Ken Boyer. Yet outside St. Louis, his name is too often overlooked. Boyer won a National League Most Valuable Player Award, starred in a World Series, claimed five Gold Gloves, earned 11 All-Star selections, […]
Ken Boyer: The Cardinals Captain With a Hall of Fame Case Read More »
The biggest moment of Ken Boyer’s career came with his brother Clete just a few feet away, playing third base for the Yankees on the game’s biggest stage. Down two games to one in the 1964 World Series, with the Yankees ahead 3-0 in Game 4, Boyer pulled a grand slam just inside the left-field
October 11, 1964: Ken Boyer grand slam wins Game 4 of the World Series Read More »
No one seemed to think very much of Bing Devine’s first trade as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. After Devine traded relief pitcher Willard Schmidt and minor-league pitchers Ted Wieand and Marty Kutyna to the Reds for outfielders Curt Flood and Joe Taylor, legendary St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports editor Bob Broeg described the
How Curt Flood became a Cardinal Read More »
Ken Boyer had just returned from a quail-hunting trip in Hermann, Mo., when the phone rang. It was a reporter, calling to tell Boyer that he had just been named the 1964 National League MVP. “I guess 14 must be my lucky number,” Boyer said. “That’s my uniform number and that’s how many birds we
Ken Boyer is named National League MVP: November 23, 1964 Read More »
On September 14, 1961, all-star Cardinals third baseman Ken Boyer became the first player in major league history to complete the cycle with a walk-off home run. Boyer’s 11th-inning, game-winning blast against the Cubs concluded a busy day in the batter’s box for Boyer, who totaled seven hits in the evening double-header. In the opener,
September 14, 1961: Ken Boyer hits walk-off home run to complete the cycle Read More »
On July 30, 1959, Bob Gibson formally introduced himself to the Cincinnati Reds and Major League Baseball, earning the first of 251 career victories in the first starting assignment of his career. That April, Gibson had made three appearances for the Cardinals, each in relief. On April 15, Gibson made his major league debut, pitching
Bob Gibson gets his first career win: July 30, 1959 Read More »
On June 23, 1961, Stan Musial hopped off the trainer’s table and proceeded to hit two homers and drive in seven runs to lead the Cardinals to a 10-5 win over the San Francisco Giants. Just imagine what he could have accomplished if he had been fully healthy. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Musial
40-year-old Stan Musial drives in seven: June 23, 1961 Read More »
Off to a slow start to the 1964 season, the Cardinals had to do something. For manager Bing Devine, that meant making one of the most famous deals in baseball history, trading Ernie Broglio, Bobby Shantz, and Doug Clemens to the Cubs for Lou Brock, Jack Spring, and Paul Toth. For Ken Boyer, that meant wearing his
Ken Boyer hits for the cycle, Lou Brock makes first Cardinals start: 6/16/1964 Read More »
Fourteen years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Bill White, a four-time all-star and the defending National League Gold Glove Award winner at first base, arrived in St. Petersburg, Florida, for spring training with the St. Louis Cardinals. While some of the Cardinals’ star players, such as Stan
How Bill White, Curt Flood, and others integrated Cardinals spring training Read More »