ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The start of the 2021 St. Louis Cardinals season will be one that people remember for a long time. As it will bring the return of fans to Busch Stadium and other MLB ballparks after the pandemic-stricken 2020 season.
But before we get to this season, there's a lot of past history to appreciate with this historic franchise.
To get you ready for the 2021 season we dug up 10 facts about the team that you may have never known and probably didn't need to know, but we bet you'll be entertained regardless...
Here are 10 obscure facts about the St. Louis Cardinals history:
1. The Cardinals are the oldest MLB team west of the Mississippi River
The St. Louis Browns originally played in the other major professional baseball league in the US, the American Association. But the league folded after 1891 season and the next year, St. Louis moved into the reformed National League, that later became part of MLB.
2. The Cardinals got their name thanks to some chatty Cathy in the stands
The Cardinals didn't officially become the Cardinals until 1900. They were the Browns until 1898, then were rebranded as the Perfectos the next year with new uniforms in a striking cardinal color. In the 1899 season, sportswriter Willie McHale heard a female fan talking in the stands about "what a lovely shade of cardinal" the team's socks were. He began referring to the players as the Cardinals that season and in 1900 the nickname was changed to Cardinals.
3. The Cardinals have 57 Hall of Famers
Between all MLB players, managers and executives in the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum, 57 of them have spent time in the Cardinals organization. That includes Larry Walker and Ted Simmons going in this year.
4. The first MLB position player to wear eyeglasses during a game was a Cardinals player
George "Specs" Toporcer played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1921 through 1928. As a utility infielder whose career batting average was .279, he played 249 games at shortstop, 105 at second base, 95 at third base and 3 at first base. And speaking of great nicknames...
5. Former Cardinals players sport some of the best nicknames in baseball history
You know about Stan “The Man” Musial, Ozzie “The Wizard of Oz” Smith and probably have heard of the “Gashouse Gang” for 1934 team that won NL pennant. But did you know Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin was also known as “Wild Horse of the Osage.” And maybe the most unique nickname in Cardinals history is Joseph “Creepy” Crespi, the leadoff hitter for the 1942 World Series champions, who is also a St. Louis native.
“I used to hear a lot of different stories. But I think the best one is from some sportswriter. He said the way I creep up on a ball – because I run low to the ground after a ground ball,” Crespi told Jack Buck on KMOX in 1977.
6. Before Musial played baseball, he was a talented gymnast
Musial, perhaps one of the 10 greatest baseball players of all time, was first a gifted gymnast. He was apparently a great tumbler, and according to biographer Joseph Stanton, who wrote the 2007 “Stan Musial” biography, The Man’s early training helped make him more agile as both a fielder and base-runner.
7. St. Louis once played against St. Louis in a World Series
The “Streetcar Series” was the name of the 1944 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns. It was called that because that’s how most people traveled to the ballpark. It was the only all-St. Louis World Series ever and the Cardinals won in six games.
8. The Cardinals have hosted at least 1 million fans annually nearly every year since 1946
In 1946 St. Louis reached 1,000,000 fans in attendance in a season for the first time. Since that season there have only been six years that the Cardinals haven't exceeded the million mark. They’ve had more than 3,000,000 in attendance every year since 2004 (besides 2020 when no fans were allowed in MLB ballparks).
9. The Cardinals have never tanked
Since 1919, the Cardinals have only finished in last place in the National League once (1990). And in that year, Vince Coleman led the league in steals for the sixth straight year, tying Maury Wills' N.L. record, and batted a career-high .292.
10. One of the best baseball-amid-the-pandemic stories came from St. Louis
In what must be the biggest caravan in pro sports history, the Cardinals drove 41 rental cars from St. Louis to Chicago to limit contact between players and coaches due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It happened after the team was cleared to play games again following an outbreak among the team.
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