ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Former St. Louis Cardinals All-Star, coach and sales director Joe Cunningham has died. He was 89-years-old.
The man known as "Smokey" was a former outfielder/ first baseman who played parts of seven seasons with the Cardinals after being signed as a 17-year-old by the team in 1949. His finest season came in 1959 when he led the Majors with a .453 on-base percentage, was named to two National League All-Star teams and finished as runner-up to Hank Aaron for the National League batting title with a .345 average.
Following his playing days, Cunningham returned to baseball as an instructor serving as manager for the Single-A affiliates Modesto Reds (1968-69) and St. Petersburg Cardinals (1970-71). He later served on Whitey Herzog’s major league coaching staff for one season during the team’s World Series championship run in 1982.
Cunningham’s biggest contribution to the organization may have been off the field, after being named as the Cardinals Director of Sales in 1972. He is credited with building the Group and Season Ticket departments, and creating the foundation for the organization to be one of the leading ticket sales teams in all of Major League Baseball for the past 30 years.
As a Group Sales innovator, he created programs such as community nights, high school baseball games at Busch Stadium, anthem performances and on-field experiences that built countless loyal Cardinals fans over the years, all of which are carried forward today. Cunningham also helped develop the Party Room and All-Inclusive experience at Busch Stadium when he turned the vacant football press box at Busch Stadium II into festive party areas. Party Rooms and All-Inclusive tickets continue to remain as one of the most popular game day experiences for thousands of Cardinals fans at each game.
In 2015, the Cardinals honored Cunningham with a surprise ceremony at Busch Stadium, dedicating a new area of the ballpark adjacent to the UMB Champions Club called “Cunningham Corner” that is utilized for various group events, programs and postseason celebrations.
Cunningham was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
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