St Louis Cardinals Tickets

Staff Writer Matt Macaulay
One of the most storied franchises in Major League Baseball history, in one of the best baseball towns in America, the St. Louis Cardinals are supported by some of the most knowledgeable and loyal fans in the sport today.

Winners of more World Series’ than any other team in the National League and second only to the New York Yankees in all of baseball, the team moved into a state-of-the-art ballpark in 2006, which retained the name of team’s previous digs, but is commonly referred to as New Busch Stadium. The new park offers fans in the majority of seats an unobstructed view of the city’s skyline punctuated by the splendor of the famous Gateway Arch, and marked the use of the team’s new motto, “Welcome to Baseball Heaven”.

Established well over 100 years ago and originally introduced as the St. Louis Brown Stockings of the American Association in 1882, the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization has seen a level of success rarely rivaled by any other team throughout the history of baseball.

The team shortened its name to the Browns in 1883 and went on to dominate the league during its tenure in the AA, winning four straight titles from 1885-1888, and posting a winning record in all but its first season. In 1885 and 1886, the Browns played the Chicago White Stockings (now the Cubs) of the NL in the what was the equivalent to today’s World Series, resulting in a controversial tie in 1885, but winning in 1886, marking the first and only series won by the AA over the NL, and sparking one of baseball’s most intense and celebrated rivalries to this day.

The American Association folded after the 1891 season and the Browns were accepted into the National League, which was widely considered to be a much more competitive league and one in which the team failed to put together a winning season for the next seven years.

The team came under new ownership in 1898 and was called the St. Louis Perfectos for one year in 1899 before settling on the Cardinals in 1900 based on the new colors of the team’s uniforms.

The Cardinals saw their fair share of failure in the NL, never finishing better than third until 1926 when they won the NL pennant and beat the Yankees in seven games to win their first World Series’ of the modern era. Over the next eight years, the Cardinals, often referred to as the Gas House Gang, played in four more World Series’, winning in 1931 and again in 1934, a year that saw pitcher Dizzy Dean win 30 games.

The team finished with a winning record six out of the next seven seasons, but failed to win the pennant again until Stan “The Man” Musial’s rookie season in 1942 when they won their fourth World Series’ in five games against the Yankees. The Cardinals turned around and lost to the Yankees in five games the following year, but rebounded to win again in 1944 against the American League’s St. Louis Browns in what would come to be known as the fabled Streetcar Series.

The Cardinals won again in 1946, besting the Boston Red Sox in seven games, but failed to win the NL again until the acquisition of Lou Brock in 1964.

Lead by intimidating young pitcher Bob Gibson, St. Louis won its seventh and eighth World Series’ in 1964 and 1967 against the Yankees and Red Sox respectively, but wouldn’t win their ninth until 1982 when they beat the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games.

The Cardinals lost the World Series in 1985 and 1987 despite the superior defensive play of Ozzie Smith. St. Louis contended in the 1990’s and even saw Mark McGwire break the record for most home runs in a season with an astronomical 70 in 1998.

They returned to the World Series in 2004, but dropped four straight games to the Red Sox, handing Boston their first championship since 1918.

With former players and Hall of Famers like Dizzy Dean, Stan Musial, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, and Ozzie Smith, the Cardinals and the city of St. Louis will forever be heralded as an integral part of the American pastime.