St. Louis Cardinals Team History

After the American Association collapsed, the National League re-enrolled St. Louis to raise the total to twelve. The St. Louis Cardinals have had perpetual affiliation since. Their inaugural season of reentry was largely a disappointment their winning percentage plunged from .625 in 1891 to .373. With an opportunity emerging the next season for a larger property at Vandeventer and Natural Bridge Avenues, Von der Ahe moved the club a few blocks north-northwest from Grand and Dodier and opened a new park christened as “New Sportsman’s Park” on April 27.

World Series – 1931
In the 1931 World Series, the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Athletics in seven games, a rematch and reversal of fortunes of the 1930 World Series.

World Series – 1926
The 1926 World Series pitted the NL champion St. Louis Cardinals against the AL champion New York Yankees. The Cardinals defeated the Yankees four games to three in the best-of-seven series, which took place from October 2 to 10, 1926 at Yankee Stadium and Sportsman’s Park.

World Series – 1944
The 1944 World Series was an all-St. Louis World Series, matching up the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns at Sportsman’s Park. It marked only the third time in World Series history in which both teams had the same home field, the other two being the 1921 and 1922 World Series in the Polo Grounds in New York City. The Series was also known as the “Trolley Series,” “Streetcar Series,” or the “St. Louis Showdown.” Coincidentally, this World Series was played the same year Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released the musical film Meet Me in St. Louis.

World Series – 1942
The 1942 World Series featured the defending champion New York Yankees against the St. Louis Cardinals, with the Cardinals winning the Series in five games for their first championship since 1934 and their fourth overall. The 1942 St. Louis Cardinals set a franchise record for victories with 106. Every Cardinal, except for Harry Gumbert was a product of the team’s farm system which was put in place by Branch Rickey.

World Series – 1934
The 1934 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers, with the Cardinals’ “Gashouse Gang” winning in seven games for their third championship in nine years.

World Series – 1967
The 1967 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Boston Red Sox in a rematch of the 1946 World Series, with the Cardinals winning in seven games for their second championship in four years and their eighth overall. The Series was played from October 4 to 12 in Fenway Park and Busch Memorial Stadium.

World Series – 1964
The 1964 World Series pitted the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees, with the Cardinals prevailing in seven games. St. Louis won their seventh world championship, while the Yankees, who had appeared in 14 of 16 World Series since 1949, did not play in the Series again until 1976.

World Series – 1946
The 1946 World Series was played in October 1946 between the St. Louis Cardinals (representing the National League) and the Boston Red Sox (representing the American League). The Cardinals won the Series in seven games, giving them their sixth championship.

The 1982 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Milwaukee Brewers, with the Cardinals winning in seven games. The Cardinals won the National League East division by three games over the Philadelphia Phillies, then defeated the Atlanta Braves by 3 games to none in the National League Championship Series. The Brewers won the American League East division by one game over the Baltimore Orioles, then defeated the California Angels by 3 games to 2 in the American League Championship Series. The 1982 World Series represented the last time (until the Giants won in 2010 and the Cardinals in 2011 respectively, both defeating the Texas Rangers) that the National League won back-to-back World Series; they had, in fact, won four straight, starting in 1979. Though the teams had never met, the cities had an existing commercial rivalry in the beer market, as St. Louis is the home of Anheuser Busch while Milwaukee is the home of Miller Brewing. This led to a few minor references to the Series being nicknamed the “Suds Series.” The cities previously had a rivalry in the National League when the Braves called Milwaukee home from 1953 – 1965. Notably, due to the Brewers’ move to the National League, this matchup (Cardinals vs. Brewers) at the World Series will not happen again (unless one of the teams switches leagues). In the modern era, only this series and the 2005 World Series (Chicago White Sox vs. Houston Astros) will no longer occur due to league switches. In 2011 the Cardinals and Brewers did meet for the National League Pennant, the latest possible postseason series now possible for the two franchises to play each other in. This was the first of thirteen consecutive World Series over fourteen years that did not include the New York Yankees (during that time, a player’s strike wiped out the remainder of the 1994 regular season games, postseason and World Series and delayed the start of the 1995 season); to date, it’s their longest such drought since 1923, the year of their first World Series championship.

The 2006 World Series, the 102nd edition of Major League Baseball’s championship series, began on October 21 and ended on October 27, and matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals won the Series in five games, taking Games 1, 3, 4 and 5. This was the third Series meeting between the Tigers and the Cardinals, the first in 38 years. St. Louis won the first in 1934, and Detroit won the second in 1968; each went the full seven games. The 1968 Series was the last before divisional play and an extra round of playoffs began.

The 2011 World Series was the 107th edition of Major League Baseball’s championship series. The best-of-seven playoff was played between the American League champion Texas Rangers and the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals, with the Cardinals defeating the Rangers in seven games to win their 11th World Series championship. The Series was noted for its back-and-forth Game 6, in which the Cardinals erased a two-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth inning, then did it again in the 10th. In both innings, the Rangers were one strike away from their first World Series championship. The Cardinals won the game in the 11th inning on a walk-off home run by David Freese. The Series was also known for the blowout Game 3, in which Cardinals player Albert Pujols hit three home runs, a World Series feat previously accomplished only by Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth, and subsequently only by Pablo Sandoval (in 2012). The Series began on October 19, earlier than the previous season so that no games would be played in November. The Cardinals enjoyed home-field advantage for the series because the National League won the 2011 All-Star Game 5–1 on July 12. The 2011 World Series was the first World Series to go all seven games since 2002.