158-796: The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston . The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division , having moved to the division in 2013 after spending their first 51 seasons in the National League (NL). They are one of two major league clubs based in Texas; the Texas Rangers belong to the same division. Established as
316-670: A Gold Glove -winning season) to replace Taveras. On June 16, 2015, the FBI and the Justice Department started an investigation on the Cardinals for possibly hacking the Houston Astros . The hacking incident was perpetrated by Scouting Director Chris Correa. For the first time since the 2007 – 2008 seasons , the Cardinals missed the playoffs in consecutive years, 2016 – 2017 . On July 14, 2018, following an 8–2 loss to
474-407: A battery , at 325 starts together going back to 2007. The previous record holding duo, Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan , had held the record since 1975. The Cardinals play their home games at Busch Stadium (also referred to as New Busch Stadium or Busch III ) in downtown St. Louis , straddling 7th and Clark near the intersection of Interstates 64 , 55 , and 44 . The stadium opened for
632-488: A 66–96 record. The team was still building, trying to find that perfect mix to compete. The 1964 campaign began on a sad note, as relief pitcher Jim Umbricht died of cancer at the age of 33 on April 8, just before Opening Day . Umbricht was the only Colt .45s pitcher to post a winning record in Houston's first two seasons. He was so well liked by players and fans that the team retired his jersey number, 32, in 1965. Just on
790-609: A big part of the team's success in later years. With May gone, Bob Watson was able to move to first base and was a bright spot in the line up, batting .324 with 85 RBI. The two biggest moves the Astros made in the offseason were the acquisitions of Joe Niekro and José Cruz . The Astros bought Niekro from the Braves for almost nothing. Niekro had bounced around the big leagues with minimal success. His older brother Phil Niekro had started teaching Joe how to throw his knuckleball and Joe
948-483: A color commentator until he retired from broadcasting in 1976. Elston continued with the Astros until 1986. The Colt .45s began their existence playing at Colt Stadium , a temporary venue built just north of the construction site of their permanent home, a domed stadium. Hofheinz and his partners believed a domed stadium was a must for MLB to be viable in Houston, given the area's oppressive humidity. The Colt .45s started their inaugural season on April 10, 1962, against
1106-474: A colorful cardboard arrangement featuring cardinal birds on a table in a Presbyterian church in Ferguson, Missouri , at which he was speaking. The arrangement's production was by a woman named Allie May Schmidt. Schmidt's father, a graphic designer , helped Rickey make the logo a familiar staple on Cardinals uniforms. While the team had been known as the Cardinals for over 20 years by then, this logo changed
1264-497: A concert from their 360° Tour in 2011. Ballpark Village is a mixed-use development located across Clark Street from Busch Stadium. Phase 1 of the development, completed for the start of the 2014 season, includes entertainment venues, restaurants , and retail. Anchored by Cardinals Nation (which includes the Cardinals Hall of Fame , a two-story Cardinals-themed restaurant and rooftop seating for 300+ fans with views of
1422-545: A history of animosity towards one another since the late 2000s as both teams often met frequently in the postseason. The Dodgers have not fared as well against the Cardinals in the postseason. In five prior postseason series matchups, the Cardinals have won four with the Dodgers winning only the 2009 NLDS and the 2021 National League Wild Card Game. The rivalry between the Cardinals and the New York Mets peaked during
1580-574: A member club of the National League (NL) Central Division . Since the 2006 season , the Cardinals have played their home games at Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. One of the nation's oldest and most successful professional baseball clubs, the Cardinals have won 11 World Series championships , the most of any NL team and second in MLB only to the New York Yankees . The team has won 19 National League pennants , third-most of any team behind
1738-511: A new personal strikeout record at 313. Joe Sambito came into his own with 22 saves as the Astros closer. Things were going as they should for a team that could win the west. The Astros and Reds battled the final month of the season. The Reds pulled ahead of the Astros by a game and a half. Later that month they split a pair and the Reds kept the lead. The Astros finished with their best record to that point at 89–73 and 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 games behind
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#17327647611121896-490: A new pitch, the split-finger fastball. Scott, who was coming off of a 5–11 season, had found his new pitch and would become one of Houston's most celebrated hurlers. In June, Davis made the starting lineup at first base, adding power to the team. In September, Joe Niekro was traded to the Yankees for two minor league pitchers and lefty Jim Deshaies . The Astros finished in fourth place in 1985. After finishing fourth in 1985,
2054-535: A no-hitter on June 18. Wynn also provided some enthusiasm in 1967. The 5 ft 9 in Wynn was becoming known not only for how often he hit home runs, but also for how far he hit them. Wynn set club records with 37 home runs, and 107 RBIs. It was also in 1967 that Wynn hit his famous home run onto Interstate 75 in Cincinnati . As the season came to a close, the Astros found themselves again in ninth place and with
2212-611: A prominent oilman and real estate magnate in Houston who like Cullinan was brought in for his financial resources, and Judge Roy Hofheinz , a former Mayor of Houston and Harris County Judge who was recruited for his salesmanship and political style. They founded the Houston Sports Association (HSA) as their vehicle for attaining a big league franchise for the city of Houston. Given MLB's refusal to consider expansion, Kirksey, Cullinan, Smith, and Hofheinz joined forces with would-be owners from other cities and announced
2370-421: A record of 81–81. One of the big problems the Astros had in the late 1970s was that they were unable to compete in the free-agent market. Ford Motor Credit Company was still in control of the team and was looking to sell the Astros, but would not spend money on better players. Most of the talent was either farm grown or bought cheaply. The 1979 season would prove to be a big turnaround in Astros history. During
2528-490: A sixth-inning two-run bomb to the 300 level seats of Veterans Stadium . The Phillies added an insurance run on the way to a 3–1 win. Houston bounced back to win games two and three. Game four went into extra innings, with the Phillies taking the lead and the win in the tenth inning. Pete Rose started a rally with a one-out single, then Luzinski doubled off the left-field wall and Rose bowled over catcher Bruce Bochy to score
2686-558: A starter on the All-Star Team . The success did not last as they lost Jimmy Wynn for the season after he crashed into an outfield fence in Philadelphia and Morgan had broken his knee cap. The 1967 season saw first baseman Eddie Mathews join the Astros. The slugger hit his 500th home run while in Houston. He would be traded late in the season and Doug Rader would be promoted to the big leagues. Rookie Don Wilson pitched
2844-448: A three-man rotation to start the season. This allowed Lanier to keep his three starters ( Nolan Ryan , Bob Knepper , and Mike Scott ) sharp and to slowly work in rookie hurler Jim Deshaies . Bill Doran and Glenn Davis held down the right side of the field but Lainer rotated the left side. Denny Walling and Craig Reynolds faced the right-handed pitchers while Phil Garner and Dickie Thon batted against left-handers. Lanier knew
3002-490: A winning percentage below .500. The team looked good on paper, but could not make it work on the field. April 15, 1968, saw a pitching duel for the ages. The Astros' Don Wilson and the Mets' Tom Seaver faced each other in a battle that lasted six hours. Seaver went ten innings, allowing no walks and just two hits. Wilson went nine innings, allowing five hits and three walks. After the starters exited, eleven relievers (seven for
3160-423: A workout. He had suffered a stroke after a blood clot in the arm apparently moved to his neck and cut off blood flow to the brain. Surgery was done to save his life, but the Astros had lost their ace pitcher after a 10–4 start with a stingy 1.89 ERA. Richard attempted a comeback, but would never again pitch a big league game. After the loss of Richard and some offensive struggles, the Astros slipped to third place in
3318-596: Is St. Louis' highest since the franchise joined the National League. Musial was considered the most consistent hitter of his era and most accomplished in team history, winning three MVPs and seven batting titles . St. Louis then won the 1946 World Series on Slaughter's Mad Dash in Game 7. Breadon was forced to sell the team in 1947 but won six World Series and nine NL pennants as Cardinals owner. They remained competitive, finishing .500 or better in thirteen of
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#17327647611123476-546: Is considered one of the most lopsided trades in Major League history, as St. Louis received outfielder Lou Brock from the Cubs for pitcher Ernie Broglio . MVP third baseman Ken Boyer and pitcher Bob Gibson led the club to a World Series win the same year and Curt Flood , Bill White , Curt Simmons , and Steve Carlton also made key contributions in this decade. In 1967 , new arrival Orlando Cepeda won
3634-557: Is generally considered to be the first year of existence for the franchise which would later become known as the St. Louis Cardinals. The next season , St. Louis shortened their name to the Browns . Soon thereafter they became the dominant team in the AA, as manager Charlie Comiskey guided St. Louis to four pennants in a row from 1885 to 1888 . Pitcher and outfielder Bob Caruthers led
3792-705: Is often applied as an umbrella term for all leagues — major and minor — under the authority of the Commissioner of Baseball . Operating outside the Minor League Baseball organization are many independent minor leagues such as the Atlantic League , American Association , Frontier League , and the feeder league to these the Empire Professional Baseball League . Japan has had professional baseball since
3950-481: Is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada consists of the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Historically, teams in one league never played teams in
4108-522: The 1985 World Series , which the Royals won 4–3, and which remains their only post-season meeting. Since interleague play began in 1997 , the Cardinals and Royals have met in four to six games each season, evenly split between the two cities. As of 2021, the Cardinals lead the overall series 71–50. The rivalry heated up in 2015, when both teams held the best records in their respective leagues when they opened each of their two series. The Royals advanced to
4266-485: The 2006 season at a cost of $ 411 million and holds a normal capacity of 46,861. The Cardinals finished their inaugural season in the new Busch Stadium by winning the 2006 World Series , the first team to do so since the New York Yankees in 1923. This open-air stadium emulates the HOK Sport (now Populous )-designed " retro-style " baseball-only parks built since the 1990s. The open panoramic perspective over
4424-401: The 2011 World Series accommodated a baseball record of 47,399 by increasing the number of standing room only tickets. The attendance record for any sporting event is 48,263, in a 2013 association football (soccer) friendly match between Chelsea F.C. and Manchester City F.C. , made possible by on-field seating. The largest attendance (53,000) of any event at Busch belongs to U2 during
4582-600: The 2011 championship team's unprecedented comebacks, and Albert Pujols ’ 700th home run . The Cardinals have won 105 or more games in four seasons and won 100 or more nine times. Cardinals players have won 21 league MVPs , four batting Triple Crowns, and three Cy Young Awards . Baseball Hall of Fame inductees include Lou Brock , Dizzy Dean , Bob Gibson , Whitey Herzog , Rogers Hornsby , Tony LaRussa , Joe Medwick , Stan Musial , Enos Slaughter , Branch Rickey , Red Schoendienst , Ozzie Smith , Ted Simmons , Bruce Sutter , and Scott Rolen . In 2018, Forbes valued
4740-404: The American League .) Notable Cardinals achievements include manager/owner Branch Rickey 's invention of the farm system , Rogers Hornsby 's two batting Triple Crowns , Dizzy Dean 's 30- win season in 1934, Stan Musial 's 17 MLB and 29 NL records, Bob Gibson 's 1.12 earned run average (ERA) in 1968, Whitey Herzog 's Whiteyball , Mark McGwire 's single-season home run record in 1998 ,
4898-524: The Astrodome , in 1965. The name honored Houston's position as the center of the nation's space program— NASA 's new Manned Spacecraft Center had recently opened southeast of the city. The Astrodome, called the "Eighth Wonder of the World", did little to improve the home team's results on the field. While several "indoor" firsts were accomplished, the team still finished ninth in the standings. The attendance
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5056-439: The Braves the second game of the season. In May 1979, New Jersey shipping tycoon John McMullen had agreed to buy the Astros. Now with an investor in charge, the Astros would be more likely to compete in the free-agent market. The Astros were playing great baseball throughout the season. José Cruz and Enos Cabell both stole 30 bases. Joe Niekro had a great year with 21 wins and 3.00 ERA. J. R. Richard won 18 games and set
5214-514: The Chicago Cubs with Harry Craft as the Colt .45s' manager. Bob Aspromonte scored the first run for the Colt .45s on an Al Spangler triple in the first inning. They started the season with a three-game sweep of the Cubs but eventually finished eighth among the National League's ten teams. The team's best pitcher, Richard "Turk" Farrell , lost 20 games despite an ERA of 3.02. A starter for
5372-504: The China National Baseball League , Israel Baseball League , and Baseball Philippines . During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, players of black African descent were barred from playing the major leagues , though several did manage to play by claiming to be Cubans or Native Americans . As a result, a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed. However, after Jackie Robinson began playing with
5530-500: The Cincinnati Reds , the St. Louis Cardinals announced they had dismissed manager Mike Matheny after 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 seasons. The team then named Mike Shildt interim manager, and he was made the permanent manager a month later. On November 19, 2018, the team announced that the "Victory Blue" uniforms, worn by the Cardinals during the late 1970s and 1980s, would be returning for the 2019 season. The uniforms, integrating
5688-580: The Gateway Arch , and a red "STL" wordmark, is placed on either sleeve. Caps are red and featured the aforementioned "STL" wordmark in white with navy blue trim. The team mascot is an anthropomorphic cardinal wearing the team's uniform named Fredbird . He is assisted by Team Fredbird , a group of eleven women who entertain fans from the field and on top of the dugouts. While unofficial, the Rally Squirrel became an unexpected phenomenon during
5846-635: The Houston Colt .45s , the Astros entered the National League as an expansion team in 1962 along with the New York Mets . The current name, reflecting Houston's role as the host of the Johnson Space Center , was adopted three years later, when they moved into the Astrodome , the first-ever domed sports stadium and the so-called "Eighth Wonder of the World". The Astros moved to Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park ) in 2000 . The team played in
6004-711: The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants . St. Louis has also won 15 division titles in the East and Central divisions. In 1881, entrepreneur Chris von der Ahe purchased the Brown Stockings barnstorming club, renamed it the St. Louis Browns , and made it a charter member of the American Association baseball league. The team won four league championships, qualifying them to play in
6162-643: The NL West division from 1969 to 1993, then the NL Central division from 1994 to 2012, before being moved to the AL West as part of an MLB realignment in 2013. The Astros posted their first winning record in 1972 and made the playoffs for the first time in 1980 , before winning a total of three division titles throughout the 1980s. Spearheaded by the Killer B's , a collection of prominent hitters that included
6320-427: The National League eventually brought an MLB team to Texas in 1962 , Houston officials had been making efforts to do so for years prior, with a group effort led in 1952 to buy the St. Louis Cardinals for $ 4.25 million, but local owners were instead chosen. There were four men chiefly responsible for bringing Major League Baseball to Houston: journalist/promoter George Kirksey, Craig Cullinan Jr. , R.E. "Bob" Smith ,
6478-490: The National League Central , and the rivalry faded soon after. The two teams would meet in the 2000 and 2006 National League Championship Series , briefly rekindling the rivalry. An investment group led by William DeWitt Jr. owns the St. Louis Cardinals, having bought the team from Anheuser-Busch (AB) in 1996. As with other periods of the Cardinals' transaction history, doubt loomed as to whether
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6636-467: The Perfectos in 1899 would be the team's best finish between the AA era and Sam Breadon 's purchase of the team. As the "Perfectos", the team wore their jersey with a cardinal red trim and sock striping. Later that season, St. Louis Republic sportswriter Willie McHale included an account in a column of a female fan he heard remarking about the uniforms, "What a lovely shade of cardinal." Fans liked
6794-548: The Philadelphia Phillies , winning their second title in the latter series. Often cited as the best team in the American League, the team's sustained success since 2015 has led some to declare the Astros a dynasty. They are the only team to win a postseason series in seven straight seasons. Their fifth pennant in 2022 made them the second team created in the expansion era to win five league pennants (after
6952-408: The Texas Rangers later that game with a walk-off home run from Freese. After winning that Series, La Russa retired and became the only manager to do so after winning a title. He also finished with the most wins for managers in franchise history with 1,408. La Russa's successor, Mike Matheny , helped extend St. Louis' playoff run as he became the first manager in the division play era to guide
7110-484: The minor league farm system , filling the role of today's general manager . With Rogers Hornsby at second base, he claimed Triple Crowns in 1922 and 1925 , and the Cardinals won the 1926 World Series , their first. St. Louis then won the league in 1928 , 1930 , and 1931 and the 1931 World Series . The Gashouse Gang edition claimed the 1934 World Series and the Cardinals amassed new thresholds of popularity far outside St. Louis via radio, which led to
7268-689: The .312 mark and drove in 94 runs. Doug Rader and Jimmy Wynn both had 20 or more home runs. However, injuries to their pitching staff limited the Astros to an 82–80 fourth-place finish. The Astros again finished in fourth place the next year under new manager Preston Gómez . With the $ 38 million deficit of the Astrodome, control of the Astrodomain (including the Astros) was passed from Roy Hofheinz to GE Credit and Ford Motor Credit. The creditors were just interested in preserving asset value of
7426-474: The 1891 season and the Browns transferred to the National League. This time, the club entered an era of stark futility. Between 1892 and 1919 , St. Louis managed just five winning seasons, finished in last or next-to-last place sixteen times, and ended four seasons with 100 losses or more. The nadir was the 1897 season : a 29–102 record for a franchise-worst .221 winning percentage. St. Louis' 84–67 finish as
7584-700: The 1930s. Nippon Professional Baseball consists of two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League , each with six teams. South Korea has had professional baseball since 1982. There are 10 teams in KBO League . Taiwan has had professional baseball since the 1990s. The Chinese Professional Baseball League absorbed Taiwan Major League in 2003. There are currently 6 teams in the CPBL. Other Asian leagues include three now defunct leagues,
7742-511: The 1969 season with a record of 81 wins, 81 losses, marking their first season of .500 ball. In 1970 , the Astros were expected to be a serious threat in the National League West. In June, 19-year-old César Cedeño was called up and immediately showed signs of being a superstar. The Dominican outfielder batted .310 after being called up. Not to be outdone, Menke batted .304 and Jesús Alou batted .306. The Astros' batting average
7900-531: The 1980s when both teams contended for National League East supremacy. The rivalry began with the 1983 trade that brought Keith Hernandez from the Cardinals to the Mets, essentially turning the latter into contenders. Between 1985 and 1988, the division was dominated by either of the two teams, and in three of those years, the NL East winner went on to the World Series. In 1994, the Cardinals were moved to
8058-565: The 2011 postseason. Making its "debut" in Game 3 of the NLDS on October 4, a squirrel ran across home plate in the middle of a pitch from Roy Oswalt of the Phillies to the Cardinals' Skip Schumaker . The Cardinals would win Game 4 and subsequently Game 5 (October 7) in Philadelphia to advance to the NLCS, symbolizing the squirrel's "role" in the victory. The squirrel was popularized as "Buschie
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#17327647611128216-446: The 2013 season. The modified jersey, cream-colored with red trim on the sleeves and down the front, retains the "birds on the bat" but is the first since 1932 in which "St. Louis" is used instead of "Cardinals". 2013 also saw the team adopt their red caps as their main cap for both home and away games for the first time since 1991; the navy cap was retained as an alternate, used when visiting other teams with red home caps. Starting with
8374-468: The 2019 season, the Cardinals have worn updated powder blue alternate uniforms during Saturday road games. Like the Saturday home cream alternates, it features red piping and "St. Louis" below the "birds on the bat" logo. In 2020, the Cardinals introduced a slightly updated version of their " StL " cap logo, which was "soft launched" in 2019 via their social media accounts and game broadcasts. In 2023,
8532-469: The 2021 season, the Cardinals added a new helmet to match their home Sunday alternate caps. The new birds on the bat design was modified again the next year, with yellow beaks and white eyes replacing the red beaks and yellow eyes of the 1998 version. Uniform numbers also returned to the front of the jerseys in 1999 after a two-year absence. On November 16, 2012, the Cardinals unveiled a new alternate uniform to be worn at home games on Saturdays beginning with
8690-437: The 9th inning. In the 9th, starting pitcher Bob Knepper would give up two runs, and once again the Astros would look to Dave Smith to close it out. However, Smith would walk Gary Carter and Darryl Strawberry , giving up a sacrifice fly to Ray Knight , tying the game. Despite having the go-ahead runs on base, Smith was able to escape the inning without any further damage. Professional baseball Professional baseball
8848-429: The Astrodome. Lanier's style of baseball took Houston by storm. Before Lanier took over, fans were accustomed to Houston's occasional slow starts, but with Lanier leading the way, Houston got off to a hot start, winning 13 of their first 19 contests. Prior to the start of the season the Astros acquired outfielder Billy Hatcher from the Cubs for Jerry Mumphrey . Lainer also made a change in the pitching staff, going with
9006-402: The Astros and the visiting teams to miss routine pop flies. A new artificial turf was created called " AstroTurf " and Houston would be involved in yet another change in the way the game was played. With new manager Grady Hatton , the Astros started the 1966 season strong. By May they were in second place in the National League and looked like a team that could contend. Joe Morgan was named as
9164-458: The Astros embraced sabermetrics and pioneered new analytical technologies in their transition to the American League, and by the mid-2010s transformed from a historically middling franchise into one of MLB's most dominant and successful clubs, as headlined by stars such as Jose Altuve . Since then, the Astros have won over 100 games in four seasons, and have appeared in a record seven consecutive American League Championship Series , winning four of
9322-583: The Astros fired general manager Al Rosen and manager Bob Lillis . The former was supplanted by Dick Wagner , the man whose Reds defeated the Astros to win the 1979 NL West title. The latter was replaced by Hal Lanier who, like his manager mentor in St. Louis, Whitey Herzog , had a hard-nosed approach to managing and espoused a playing style that focused on pitching, defense, and speed rather than home runs to win games. This style of baseball, known as Whiteyball , took advantage of stadiums with deep fences and artificial turf, both of which were characteristics of
9480-464: The Astros from 1967 until 1975. Although most players for the major league franchise were obtained through the 1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft , Buffs players J.C. Hartman , Pidge Browne , Jim Campbell , Ron Davis , Dave Giusti , and Dave Roberts were chosen to continue as major league ball players. Similarly, the radio broadcasting team remained with the new Houston major league franchise. Loel Passe worked alongside Gene Elston as
9638-655: The Astros had talent and he put it to work. The Astrodome was host to the 1986 All-Star Game in which Astros Mike Scott , Kevin Bass , Glenn Davis , and Dave Smith represented the host field. The Astros kept pace with the NL West after the All-Star break. They went on a streak of five straight come-from-behind wins. Houston swept a key 3-game series over the San Francisco Giants in late September to clinch
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#17327647611129796-550: The Astros made some changes to their uniform: they kept the same style they had in previous seasons, but inverted the colors. What was navy was now orange and what was orange was now a lighter shade of blue. The players' last names were added to the back of the jerseys. In 1972, the uniform fabric was also changed to what was at the time revolutionizing the industry – polyester. Belts were replaced by elastic waistbands, and jerseys zipped up instead of having buttons. The uniforms became popular with fans, but would last only until 1975, when
9954-468: The Astros tied the game in the sixth with an Alan Ashby single scoring Denny Walling . Houston took a 5–2 lead in the seventh; however, the Phillies came back with five runs in the inning. The Astros came back against Tug McGraw with four singles and two two-out runs. Now in extra innings, Garry Maddox doubled in Del Unser with one out to give the Phillies an 8–7 lead. The Astros failed to score in
10112-490: The Astros to complete the trade. Cuellar was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Curt Blefary . Other new players included catcher Johnny Edwards , infielder Denis Menke and pitcher Denny Lemaster . Wilson continued to pitch brilliantly and on May 1 threw the second no-hitter of his career. In that game, he struck out 18 batters, tying what was then the all-time single-game mark. He was just 24 years of age and
10270-417: The Astros were ahead at Shea Stadium , 5–4, in the bottom of the 9th when closer Dave Smith gave up a two-run home run to Lenny Dykstra , giving the Mets a dramatic 6–5 win. However, the signature game of the series was Game 6. Needing a win to get to Mike Scott (who had been dominant in the series) in Game 7, the Astros jumped off to a 3–0 lead in the first inning but neither team would score again until
10428-473: The Astros with 90 RBIs. The Menke/Morgan punch was beginning to come alive, and the team was responding to Walker's management style. The Astros dominated the season series against their expansion twins, the New York Mets. In one game at New York, Denis Menke and Jimmy Wynn hit grand slams in the same inning, against a Mets team that would go on to win the World Series that same year. The Astros finished
10586-529: The Astros would shock baseball and the fashion world. The uniforms were about the only thing that did change in 1971. The acquisition of Roger Metzger from the Chicago Cubs in the off-season moved Menke to first base and Bob Watson to the outfield. The Astros got off to a slow start and the pitching and hitting averages were down. Larry Dierker was selected to the All-Star Game in 1971, but due to an arm injury he could not make it. César Cedeño led
10744-552: The Astros' only Hall of Fame members Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell , the Astros began reaching major prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s with four further division titles and two Wild Card appearances, culminating in their first World Series appearance in 2005 where they were swept by the Chicago White Sox . After a major slump throughout the next decade, the team was purchased by business owner Jim Crane in 2011 for $ 680 million. Under Crane's ownership,
10902-481: The Cardinals abandoned Robison Field and returned to the original Sportsman's Park and became tenants of their American League rivals, the St. Louis Browns . In 1953, the Anheuser-Busch Brewery purchased the Cardinals and the new owner subsequently also purchased Sportsman's Park from the Browns and renamed it Busch Stadium, later becoming Busch I. The Browns then left St. Louis for Baltimore after
11060-771: The Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs . The rivalry is also known as the Downstate Illinois rivalry or the I-55 Series (in earlier years as the Route 66 Series ) as both cities are located along Interstate 55 (which itself succeeded the famous U.S. Route 66 ). The Cubs lead the series 1,253–1,196, through October 2021, while the Cardinals lead in National League pennants with 19 against the Cubs' 17. The Cubs have won 11 of those pennants in Major League Baseball's Modern Era (1901–present), while all 19 of
11218-551: The Cardinals at $ 1.9 billion, the 7th-highest among MLB clubs and far more than the $ 147 million paid in 1995 by owner William DeWitt Jr. 's investment group. In 2017, the team took in revenue of $ 319 million on an operating income of $ 40.0 million. John Mozeliak is the President of Baseball Operations, Mike Girsch is the general manager , and Oliver Marmol is the manager . The Cardinals are renowned for their strong fan support: despite being in one of
11376-414: The Cardinals changed their caps to solid blue with a red " StL ", removing the red bill. Also, for that season only, the Cardinals wore a script "Cardinals" wordmark on their uniforms excluding the "birds on the bat". An updated version of the "birds on the bat" logo returned in 1957 with the word "Cardinals" written in cursive beneath the bat; this logo, with some incremental changes along the way, has been
11534-468: The Cardinals failed to repeat as World Series champions, blowing a 3–1 lead to the underdog Detroit Tigers . In the 1970s, catcher/third baseman Joe Torre and first baseman Keith Hernandez each won MVPs, but the team's best finishes were second place and 90 wins . The team found their way back to the World Series three times in the 1980s, starting with manager Whitey Herzog and his Whiteyball style of play and another trade that altered course of
11692-438: The Cardinals finished second among MLB franchises in home game attendance, surpassed only by the Los Angeles Dodgers each season. The Cardinals since 1987 , have surpassed 3 million in 25 years, with the 25th season on September 18, 2023 . The Cardinals have had few logos throughout their history, although those logos have evolved over time. The first logo associated with the Cardinals was an interlocking "SL" that appeared on
11850-401: The Cardinals introduced Stifel as its first uniform sponsor. The Stifel patch, which has red letters with the background color corresponding to the team's uniform, is placed on either sleeve depending on a player's handedness. In 2024, the Cardinals unveiled their City Connect uniform. The red-based uniform with white pants maintained the trademark "birds on the bat" logo in front, but with
12008-631: The Cardinals to the NLCS and playoffs in his first two seasons. In 2014 , the Cardinals extended their NLCS streak to 4, with their 3–1 series victory over the Dodgers , in the NLDS . Ten days after being eliminated from the postseason by the San Francisco Giants , rookie outfielder Oscar Taveras was killed in a car accident while traveling to his hometown Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic . On November 17, they acquired Atlanta Braves right-fielder Jason Heyward (who had just come off
12166-524: The Cardinals' pennants have been won since 1926. The Cardinals also have an edge when it comes to World Series successes, having won 11 championships to the Cubs' 3. Games featuring the Cardinals and Cubs see numerous visiting fans in either Busch Stadium in St. Louis or Wrigley Field in Chicago. When the National League split into two and then three divisions, the Cardinals and Cubs remained together. This has added excitement to several pennant races over
12324-549: The Cardinals. The Cardinals' first 28 seasons in the NL were a complete reversal of their stay in the AA – with a .406 winning percentage, they compiled 1,632 wins, 2,425 losses and 74 ties. St. Louis baseball commenced a renaissance : since 1926 the Cardinals have won eleven World Series and nineteen NL pennants. Breadon spurred this revival when he bought out the majority stake in 1920 and appointed Rickey as business manager, who expanded scouting, player development, and pioneered
12482-412: The Colt .45s, Farrell was primarily a relief pitcher prior to playing for Houston. He was selected to both All-Star Games in 1962. The 1963 season saw more young talent mixed with seasoned veterans. Jimmy Wynn , Rusty Staub , and Joe Morgan all made their major league debuts in the 1963 season . However, Houston's position in the standings did not improve, as the Colt .45s finished in ninth place with
12640-600: The Dodgers took the next three in Los Angeles to advance to the NLCS . By 1982 , only four players and three starting pitchers remained from the 1980 squad. The Astros were out of pennant contention by August and began rebuilding for the near future. Bill Virdon was fired as manager and replaced by original Colt .45 Bob Lillis . Don Sutton asked to be traded and was sent to the Milwaukee Brewers for cash and
12798-665: The HSA to sell the team. To make matters worse, the Continental League as a whole folded in August 1960. However, on October 17, 1960, the National League granted an expansion franchise to the Houston Sports Association for them to begin play in the 1962 season. According to the Major League Baseball Constitution , the Houston Sports Association was required to obtain territorial rights from
12956-469: The Houston Buffaloes in order to play in the Houston area, resulting in the HSA revisiting negotiations. Eventually, the Houston Sports Association succeeded in purchasing the Houston Buffaloes, which were at this point majority-owned by William Hopkins, on January 17, 1961. The Buffs played one last minor league season as the top farm team of the Chicago Cubs in 1961 before being succeeded by
13114-511: The MVP, helping to propel St. Louis to the World Series . The Cardinals won the league the following year behind their Major League-leading 2.49 staff ERA in what was an all-round record-breaking season of pitching dominance . Posting a modern-day record low ERA of 1.12 and striking out a one-game World Series -record of 17, Gibson won both the MVP and Cy Young awards that year. However,
13272-412: The Mets and four for the Astros) tried to end the game. The game finally ended in the 24th inning when Bob Aspromonte hit a shot toward Mets shortstop Al Weis . Weis had been perfect all night at short, but he was not quick enough to make the play. The ball zipped into left field, allowing Norm Miller to score. With baseball expansion and trades, the Astros had dramatically changed in 1969 . Aspromonte
13430-527: The Mets) and the fifth expansion team to have won two World Series championships. In 2024, the Astros clinched their AL West division title for the seventh time in eight years and became the first team to win the AL West division in four straight years since the 1971–1975 Oakland Athletics . The Astros maintain an ardent fanbase and strong global recognition, in part due to their penchant for scouting and signing international players,but have also attracted enmity in
13588-567: The NL winner Reds. With Dr. McMullen as sole owner of the Astros, the team would now benefit in ways a corporation could not give them. The rumors of the Astros moving out of Houston started to crumble and the Astros were now able to compete in the free-agent market. McMullen showed the city of Houston that he too wanted a winning team, signing nearby Alvin, Texas native Nolan Ryan to the first million-dollar-a-year deal. Ryan had four career no-hitters already and had struck out 383 in one season. Joe Morgan returned in 1980. The 1980 pitching staff
13746-550: The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, oversees nearly all minor league baseball in the United States and Canada. The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA, AA, High-A, A, and Rookie. These minor-league divisions are affiliated with major league teams, and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers. "Affiliated baseball" (archaically, " organized baseball ")
13904-594: The Rally Squirrel". As a tribute to the popularity of the squirrel, a small depiction of the Rally Squirrel is also included on the official World Series rings the team received. It shows up under the "STL" logo on the side of the ring. Fredbird sparked controversy in May 2015, when he was asked by a fan for a photograph and handed him a sign that said "Police Lives Matter". The team later claimed that Fredbird should not be involved in any political activity or social commentary. The Cardinals–Cubs rivalry refers to games between
14062-467: The Reds getting the better end of the deal. Houston sent second baseman Joe Morgan , infielder Denis Menke , pitcher Jack Billingham , outfielder César Gerónimo and prospect Ed Armbrister to Cincinnati for first baseman Lee May , second baseman Tommy Helms and infielder Jimmy Stewart . The trade left Astros fans and the baseball world scratching their heads as to why general manager Spec Richardson would give up so much for so little. The Reds, on
14220-457: The World Series, where they faced and ultimately defeated the New York Mets , while the Cardinals lost in the NLDS. Had the Cardinals made it to the World Series, they would have faced the Royals in a rematch of 1985. Primarily a playoff rivalry; since 1892, The Cardinals and Dodgers have met 6 times in the postseason with 2 meetings in the NLCS won by the Cardinals. Both teams have recently grown
14378-411: The bottom of the tenth. A 1981 player strike ran between June 12 and August 10. Ultimately, the strike would help the Astros get into the playoffs. Nolan Ryan and Bob Knepper picked up steam in the second half of the season. Ryan threw his fifth no-hitter on September 26 and finished the season with a 1.69 ERA. Knepper finished with an ERA of 2.18. In the wake of the strike, Major League Baseball took
14536-472: The brewery took control and hired Joe Torre to manage late in 1990 , then sold the team to an investment group led by William DeWitt Jr. in 1996 . Tony La Russa replaced Torre in the spring of 1996. In 1998, Mark McGwire competed with the Cubs' Sammy Sosa for a barrage of home runs in their pursuit of the single-season home run record . From 2000 to 2013 , the Cardinals reestablished their way to
14694-418: The cause of death was asphyxiation by carbon monoxide. Wilson was 29 years old. Wilson's number 40 was retired on April 13, 1975. The 1975 season saw the introduction of the Astros' new uniforms. Many teams were going away from the traditional uniform and the Astros were no exception. From the chest down, the uniform was a solid block of yellow, orange, and red stripes. There was also a large dark blue star over
14852-483: The city's NL club. The new Houston team was named the Colt .45s after a "Name the Team" contest was won by William Irving Neder. The Colt .45 was well known as "the gun that won the west". The colors selected were navy and orange. The first team was formed mostly through an expansion draft after the 1961 season. The Colt .45s and their expansion cousins, the New York Mets , took turns choosing players left unprotected by
15010-557: The club in St. Louis. In March 1996, AB sold the team for $ 147 million to a partnership headed by Southwest Bank's Drew Baur , Hanser and DeWitt Jr. Civic Center Redevelopment, a subsidiary of AB, held the parking garages and adjacent property and also transferred them to the Baur ownership group. Baur's group then sold the garages to another investment group, lowering the net franchise purchase price to about $ 100 million, about $ 10 million less than Financial World 's value of
15168-520: The club with 81 RBIs and the league with 40 doubles, but batted just .264 and had 102 strikeouts in his second season with the Astros. Pitcher J. R. Richard made his debut in September of the 1971 season against the Giants . In November 1971 the Astros and Cincinnati Reds made one of the biggest blockbuster trades in the history of the sport, and helped create The Big Red Machine of the 1970s, with
15326-649: The coining of the term " Cardinal Nation ". Dizzy Dean led the Gang, winning the 1934 MVP , and leading the NL multiple times in wins , strikeouts , innings , complete games and shutouts . Johnny Mize and Joe Medwick emerged as two power threats, with Medwick claiming the last Triple Crown for a Cardinal in 1937 . In the 1940s, a golden era emerged as Rickey's farm system became laden with such talent as Marty Marion , Enos Slaughter , Mort Cooper , Walker Cooper , Stan Musial , Max Lanier , Whitey Kurowski , Red Schoendienst and Johnny Beazley . It
15484-431: The crew-neck collar became a V-neck. Another trend in baseball led the Cardinals to change their road uniforms from gray to light blue from 1976 to 1984; the player numbers were worn on the sleeves in 1979 and 1980. In 1992, the Cardinals returned to wearing traditional button-down shirts and pants with belts. That same year, they also brought back the all-navy cap with a red " StL ", which were last worn in 1964, for use on
15642-400: The division behind the Dodgers and the Reds. They bounced back to first with a ten-game winning streak, but the Dodgers regained a two-game lead before arriving in Houston on September 9. The Astros won the first two games of the series to tie the Dodgers for the division lead. The Astros went on to win a third game and take the lead- with three games against the Dodgers left. The Dodgers swept
15800-434: The division title. Mike Scott took the mound in the final game of the series and pitched a no-hitter – the only time in MLB history that any division was clinched via a no-hitter. Scott would finish the season with an 18–10 record and a Cy Young Award . The 1986 National League Championship Series against the New York Mets was noted for its drama and is considered to be one of the greatest postseason series. In Game 3,
15958-432: The end of the 2024 season, the Astros' all-time record is 5,009–4,965–5 (.502). In addition to having the most postseason appearances by an expansion team, they are the only expansion era team with an all-time winning record. In 2024, the Astros became the second expansion team to reach 5,000 wins. From 1888 until 1961, Houston's professional baseball club was the minor league Houston Buffaloes . Although expansion from
16116-571: The era's professional baseball championship series , a forerunner of the modern World Series . In two of these championships, the Browns met the Chicago White Stockings, now the Chicago Cubs , launching the enduring Cardinals–Cubs rivalry . In 1892, the Browns – also called the Perfectos – joined the National League . In 1900, the team was renamed the Cardinals . (Two years later, an unrelated St. Louis Browns team joined
16274-455: The everyday second baseman for the next seven seasons. The Astros finished third in the National League West. The 1984 season started off badly when shortstop Dickie Thon was hit in the head by a pitch and was lost for the season. In September, the Astros called up rookie Glenn Davis after he posted impressive numbers in AAA. The Astros finished in second place. In 1985 , Mike Scott learned
16432-411: The field across the street), a 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m ) Budweiser Brew House, FOX Sports Midwest Live! and PBR , the $ 100 million phase 1 development of Ballpark Village is intended to be a gathering space throughout the year, not just during the baseball season. Busch Stadium is the Cardinals' fourth home ballpark and the third to bear that name. The Cardinals' original home ballpark
16590-493: The first Astros player in team history to hit for the cycle in August versus the Reds. The Astros finished the strike-shortened season at 84–69, their first winning season. Astros fans had hoped for more of the same in 1973 , but it was not to be. The Astros run production was down, even though the same five sluggers the year before were still punching the ball out of the park. Lee May led the Astros with 28 home runs and Cesar Cedeño batted .320 with 25 home runs. Bob Watson hit
16748-466: The following season. In 1920, the "SL" largely disappeared from the team's uniforms, and for the next 20 years the team wore caps that were white with red striping and a red bill. In 1922, the Cardinals wore uniforms for the first time that featured two cardinal birds perched on a baseball bat over the name "Cardinals" with the letter "C" of the word hooked over the bat. The concept of the birds originated after general manager Branch Rickey noticed
16906-470: The formation of a new league to compete with the established National and American Leagues. They called the new league the Continental League . Wanting to protect potential new markets, both existing leagues chose to expand from eight teams to ten. However, plans eventually fell through for the Houston franchise after the Houston Buffaloes owner, Marty Marion , could not come to an agreement with
17064-552: The franchise: in 1982 , shortstop Garry Templeton was shipped to the Padres for fellow shortstop Ozzie Smith . Widely regarded as one of the best defensive players in history, Smith ranks first all-time among shortstops in Gold Glove Awards (13), All-Star games (15), assists (8,375), and double plays (1,590). St. Louis won the 1982 World Series from the Milwaukee Brewers that fall. The Cardinals again won
17222-457: The go-ahead run. The Phillies got an insurance run on the way to tying the series. Rookie Phillies pitcher Marty Bystrom was sent out by Philadelphia manager Dallas Green to face veteran Nolan Ryan in Game Five. The rookie gave up a run in the first inning, then held the Astros at bay until the sixth inning. An Astros lead was lost when Bob Boone hit a two-out single in the second, but
17380-402: The horizon, the structure of the new domed stadium was more prevalent and it would soon change the way that baseball was watched in Houston and around the league. On December 1, 1964, the team announced the name change from the Colt .45s to the "Astros". With Judge Roy Hofheinz now the sole owner of the franchise and the new venue complete, the renamed Astros moved into their new domed stadium,
17538-516: The largest games-won deficit after 130 games (at 10.5) to upstage the Atlanta Braves on the final day for the wild card playoff berth. In Game 3 of the World Series , Pujols became just the third player to hit three home runs in a World Series game. In Game 6, third baseman David Freese and outfielder Lance Berkman each tied the score on the Cardinals' final strike—the first such occurrence in any game in MLB history—and St. Louis defeated
17696-493: The last seven American League pennants. During this era, the Astros won the 2017 World Series , their first championship, against the Los Angeles Dodgers ; however, this win drew controversy and backlash from fans after the Astros were implicated in a sign stealing scandal . They made later World Series appearances in 2019 against the Washington Nationals , 2021 against the Atlanta Braves , and 2022 against
17854-481: The league in 1985 and 1987 . In the 1985 Series , they faced-off with cross-state rivals Kansas City Royals for the first time in a non-exhibition game, but they lost the series after a controversial call in Game 6; the 1987 series saw them face off against the Minnesota Twins , but could only win all three of their games played at home in the seven-game series. After Gussie Busch died in 1989 ,
18012-506: The league in ERA (2.07) and wins (40) in 1885 and finished in the top six in both in each of the following two seasons. He also led the AA in OBP (.448) and OPS (.974) in 1886 and finished fourth in batting average in 1886 (.334) and fifth in 1887 (.357). Outfielder Tip O'Neill won the first batting triple crown in franchise history in 1887 and the only one in AA history. By winning
18170-814: The major-league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Negro leagues gradually faded. The process of integration did not go entirely smoothly; there were some ugly incidents, including pitchers who would try to throw directly at a black player's head. Now, however, baseball is fully integrated, and there is little to no racial tension between teammates. Between 1943 and 1954, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League fielded teams in several Midwestern towns. St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis . The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as
18328-408: The midsection. The same multi-colored stripes ran down the pant legs. Players' numbers not only appeared on the back of the jersey, but also on the pant leg. The bright stripes were meant to appear as a fiery trail like a rocket sweeping across the heavens. The uniforms were panned by critics, but the public liked them and versions started appearing at the high school and little league level. The uniform
18486-518: The moniker "Cardinals" and, the next year in 1900, popularity for the nickname induced an official change to Cardinals . In 1902 , an American League team moved from Milwaukee into St. Louis, renamed themselves the St. Louis Browns and built a new park on the site of the Cardinals' old stadium , striking a rivalry that lasted five decades. Breadon bought a minority interest in the Cardinals in 1917 and in 1919 Browns manager Branch Rickey joined
18644-473: The next season , St. Louis joined the National League as a charter member, finishing in third place at 45–19. George Bradley hurled the first no-hitter in Major League history . The NL expelled St. Louis from the league after 1877 due to a game-fixing scandal and the team went bankrupt. Without a league, they continued play as a semi-professional barnstorming team through 1881. The magnitudes of
18802-475: The next series, forcing a one-game playoff the next day. The Astros won the playoff game 7–1, and advanced to their first post-season. The team would face the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1980 National League Championship Series . The Phillies sent out Steve Carlton in game one of the NLCS. The Phillies would win the opener after the Astros got out to a 1–0 third-inning lead. Ken Forsch pitched particularly strong fourth and fifth innings, but Greg Luzinski hit
18960-526: The next seventeen seasons, but fell short of winning the league or World Series until 1964 . In 1953 the Anheuser-Busch brewery bought the Cardinals and August "Gussie" Busch became team president, spurring the Browns' departure in 1953 to Baltimore to become the Orioles , and making the Cardinals the only major league club in town. More success followed in the 1960s, starting with what
19118-417: The offseason, the Astros attempted to fix some of their problem areas. They traded Floyd Bannister to Seattle for shortstop Craig Reynolds and acquired catcher Alan Ashby from Toronto for pitcher Mark Lemongello . Reynolds and Ashby were both solid in their positions and gave Houston some much-needed consistency. The season started with a boost from pitcher Ken Forsch , who threw a no-hitter against
19276-410: The other National League franchises. Many players and staff associated with the Houston Buffaloes organization continued in the major leagues. Manager Harry Craft , who had joined Houston in 1961, remained in the same position for the team until the end of the 1964 season . General manager Spec Richardson also continued with the organization as business manager but was later promoted back to GM for
19434-530: The other hand, would shore up many problems. They had an off year in 1971, but were the National League Pennant winner in 1972 . The Astros' acquisition of Lee May added more power to the lineup in 1972 . May, Wynn, Rader and Cedeño all had 20 or more home runs and Watson hit 16. Cedeño also led the Astros with a .320 batting average, 55 stolen bases and made spectacular plays on the field. Cedeño made his first All-Star game in 1972 and became
19592-510: The other until the World Series , in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other. This changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play . The Philadelphia Phillies , founded in 1883, are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports. In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. An organization officially styled Minor League Baseball , formerly
19750-545: The outfield wall offers a remarkable view of St. Louis' downtown skyline featuring the distinctive Gateway Arch . A replica of the Eads Bridge spans the entrance to the park on the third base side, while the statue of Stan Musial stands in front of that entrance. Other statues at the corner of 8th and Clark include Hall of Famers Rogers Hornsby , Ozzie Smith , George Sisler , Cool Papa Bell , Bob Gibson , Jack Buck , and others. Due to increased demand, Game 7 of
19908-656: The pennant, the Browns played the NL pennant winner in a predecessor of the World Series . The Browns twice met the Chicago White Stockings—the predecessor to the Chicago Cubs — tying one in a heated dispute and winning the other , thus spurring the vigorous St. Louis-Chicago rivalry that ensues to this day. During the franchise's ten seasons in the AA, they compiled an all-time league-high of 780 wins and .639 winning percentage. They lost just 432 contests while tying 21 others. The AA went bankrupt after
20066-488: The perception from the color to the bird. The now-famous "birds on the bat" design initially appeared with the birds perched on a black bat and "Cardinals" in printed letters. An alternate version of this logo with "St. Louis" replacing "Cardinals" appeared in 1930 and was the primary logo in 1931 and 1932 before "Cardinals" returned. In 1940, the now-familiar " StL " logo was introduced on the team's caps. The interlocking " StL " has undergone several slight modifications over
20224-556: The powder blue color with the team's current "Saturday alternate" jersey design, were to be worn 13 times on the road during the 2019 season. The Cardinals acquired Paul Goldschmidt in a trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks on December 5, 2018. On September 14, 2022, long-time starting pitcher Adam Wainwright and catcher Yadier Molina set the NL/AL record for most starts as pitcher and catcher duo, also referred to as
20382-411: The purchaser would keep the team in St. Louis, due to the city's status as a "small market", which appears to handicap a club's competitiveness. Such was the case when Sam Breadon put the Cardinals up for sale in 1947: then-NL President Ford Frick proposed moving the Cardinals to Chicago . When AB placed the Cardinals for sale in 1995, they publicly expressed intention to find a buyer who would keep
20540-509: The red caps were the only cap worn by the team full-time. In 1967, the birds on the bat emblem on the jersey was again tweaked, making the birds more realistic and changing the position of their tails relative to the bat and this version remained on all Cardinals game jerseys through 1997. In 1971, following the trend in baseball at the time, the Cardinals replaced the traditional flannel front-button shirts and pants with belts with new pullover knit jerseys and beltless elastic waist pants. In 1973,
20698-404: The reorganizations, following the 1877 and 1881 seasons, are such that the 1875–1877 and 1878–1881 Brown Stockings teams are not generally considered to share continuity as a franchise with the current St. Louis Cardinals. For the 1882 season , Chris von der Ahe purchased the team, reorganized it, and made it a founding member of the American Association (AA), a league to rival the NL. 1882
20856-423: The road only while wearing the same red and white cap for home games. In 1998, the "birds on the bat" was updated for the first time in 30 years with more detailed birds and bolder letters. That year, St. Louis introduced a cap featuring a single cardinal bird perched on a bat worn for Sunday home games only. Up until 2020, the alternate "bird" caps were paired with their primary " StL " red batting helmets, but in
21014-477: The script "The Lou" in white trimmed in navy blue instead of either the city or team name. "The Lou" paid homage to rapper Nelly , a St. Louis native who once coined the city's nickname on his 2000 single Country Grammar . Darker red wavy pinstripes were an allusion to the Mississippi River where St. Louis is situated. A red circular patch containing a yellow fleur-de-lis , a navy blue illustration of
21172-688: The season, becoming the Orioles. The Cardinals built Busch Memorial Stadium , or Busch II, in downtown St. Louis, opened it during the 1966 season and played there until 2005. It was built as the multi-purpose stadium home of both the baseball Cardinals and the NFL football Cardinals , who are now the Arizona Cardinals ; the NFL's Rams also played the first four games of their home schedule upon their arrival in St. Louis in 1995. The current Busch Stadium
21330-568: The sport's mid-level markets, they routinely see attendances among the league's highest, and are consistently among the top three in MLB in local television ratings. Through 2024, the Cardinals' all-time win-loss record is 11,285–10,402–152 (.520). Professional baseball began in St. Louis with the inception of the Brown Stockings in the National Association (NA) in 1875 . The NA folded following that season, and
21488-541: The team at the time $ 110 million. Current Cincinnati Reds owners Bob Castellini and brothers Thomas Williams and W. Joseph Williams Jr. each once owned a stake in the Cardinals dating back to the Baur-DeWitt group's purchase of the team. To allow their purchase of the Reds in 2005, the rest of the group bought out Castellini's and the Williams brothers' shares, totaling an estimated 13 percent. At that time,
21646-490: The team gained three new prospects, including Kevin Bass . Minor league player Bill Doran was called up in September. The Astros finished fourth in the west, but new talent was starting to appear. Before the 1983 season , the Astros traded Danny Heep to the Mets for pitcher Mike Scott , a 28-year-old who had struggled with New York. Art Howe sat out the 1983 season with an injury, forcing Phil Garner to third and Ray Knight to first. Doran took over at second, becoming
21804-482: The team to a major-league best 105 wins and take the NL pennant . In 2006 , beset with injuries and inconsistency, they won the World Series , beating Detroit in five games to set an all-time record-low of 83 wins for a World Series winner. In 2009 , the Cardinals reached 10,000 wins, dating to when they first played in the American Association (AA). St. Louis returned to the playoffs in 2011 , first surmounting
21962-463: The team's caps and or sleeves as early as 1899 or 1900 (depending on the source). Those early uniforms usually featured the name "St. Louis" on white home and gray road uniforms which both had cardinal red accents. During an 1899 road trip to Chicago, a girl in the stands remarked, "Oh, isn't that a lovely shade of cardinal." The team, known as the Perfectos at the time, changed its name to Cardinals
22120-404: The team's logo since. In 1962, the Cardinals became the first National League team (and the second in all of Major League Baseball after the Chicago White Sox in 1960) to display players' names on the back of their jerseys. In 1964, while retaining their blue caps for road games, the Cardinals changed their home caps to all red with first a blue, than a white, interlocking " StL ". The next year,
22278-429: The team, so any money spent had to be found or saved somewhere else. Tal Smith returned to the Astros from the New York Yankees to find a team that needed a lot of work and did not have a lot of money. However, there would be some bright spots that would prove to be good investments in the near future. The year started on a sad note. Pitcher Don Wilson was found dead in the passenger seat of his car on January 5, 1975;
22436-555: The top with ten playoff appearances, four NL pennants , two World Series titles and 1,274 regular season wins against 993 losses for a .560 winning percentage, leading the National League and second in MLB only to the New York Yankees . With the addition of Jim Edmonds , Albert Pujols , and Scott Rolen , the Cardinals featured three prominent sluggers and defenders nicknamed "MV3;" Pujols won three MVPs and hit .328 with 445 home runs in his Cardinals career. In 2004 , playoff stalwart Chris Carpenter 's 3.09 ERA and 15 wins helped power
22594-592: The wake of the sign stealing scandal. While in the National League, the Astros held rivalries with the Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals , but since their transition to the American League, have come to hold divisional rivalries with the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers (known as the Lone Star Series ), as well as a recurring postseason rivalry with the New York Yankees . From 1962 through
22752-451: The winners of each "half" season and set up a best-of-five divisional playoff. The Reds won more games than any other team in the National League, but they won neither half of the strike-divided season. The Astros finished 61–49 overall, which would have been third in the division behind the Reds and the Dodgers . Advancing to the playoffs as winners of the second half, Houston beat Los Angeles in their first two playoff games at home, but
22910-432: The years but has appeared on the team's caps every year since. The first appearance of the "STL" in 1940 coincided with the introduction of navy blue as a uniform color. From 1940 until 1955, the team wore navy blue caps with red bills and a red interlocking " StL " while the jerseys featured both cardinal red and navy blue accents. In 1951, the "birds on the bat" logo was changed to feature a yellow baseball bat. In 1956,
23068-492: The years. The Cardinals and Cubs have played each other once in the postseason, 2015 National League Division Series , which the Cubs won 3–1. The Cardinals have an interleague and intrastate rivalry with the Kansas City Royals , dubbed the "Show-Me Series" after the nickname of the team's home state, Missouri ; or the "I–70 Series" after the interstate highway that connects the cities. The teams first met in
23226-402: Was Sportsman's Park from 1882 to 1892 when they played in the American Association and were known as the Browns. In 1893 , the Browns moved to a new ballpark five blocks northwest of Sportsman's Park which would serve as their home from 1893 to 1920. The new park was originally called New Sportsman's Park but became more commonly referred to as Robison Field . Midway through the 1920 season,
23384-447: Was a key reason for the Astros' success in 1976. Bob Watson continued to show consistency and led the club with a .313 average and 102 RBI. José Cruz became Houston's everyday left fielder and hit .303 with 28 stolen bases. 1976 saw the end of Larry Dierker 's playing career as an Astro, but before it was all over he would throw a no-hitter and win the 1,000th game in the Astrodome. The Astros finished in third place again in 1977 with
23542-604: Was constructed partly atop the site of Busch Memorial Stadium. The Cardinals home field in spring training is Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida . They share the complex, which opened in 1998, with the Miami Marlins . Before moving to Jupiter, the Cardinals hosted spring training at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, Florida from 1937 to 1997. The Cardinals have exceeded the attendance total of 3 million every season from 2004 to 2019. Every season from 2013 to 2019,
23700-452: Was far worse than even the expansion Colt .45's and would remain the worst record in franchise history until 2011 . It was the worst record in baseball and manager Preston Gómez was fired late in the season and replaced by Bill Virdon . The Astros played .500 ball under Virdon in the last 34 games of the season. With Virdon as the manager the Astros improved greatly in 1976 finishing in third place with an 80–82 record. A healthy César Cedeño
23858-412: Was high not because of the team's accomplishments, but because people came from miles around to see the Astrodome. Just as the excitement was settling down over the Astrodome, the 1966 season found something new to put the domed stadium in the spotlight once again – the field. Grass would not grow in the new park, since the roof panels had been painted to reduce the glare that was causing players on both
24016-403: Was just starting to use it when he came to the Astros. Niekro won six games, saved four games and had an ERA of 3.07. Acquiring José Cruz from the Cardinals was another big win. Cruz became a fixture in the Astros' outfield for several years and would eventually have his number 25 retired. Despite high expectations, 1975 was among the Astros' worst in franchise history. Their record of 64–97
24174-440: Was one of the best Houston ever had, with the fastball of Ryan, the knuckleball of Joe Niekro and the terrifying 6 ft 8 in frame of J. R. Richard . Teams felt lucky to face Ken Forsch , who was a double-digit winner in the previous two seasons. Richard became the first Astros pitcher to start an All-Star game. Three days later, Richard was told to rest his arm after a medical examination and on July 30 he collapsed during
24332-414: Was one of the most successful decades in franchise history with 960 wins and 580 losses for a winning percentage higher than any other Major League team at .623. With Billy Southworth managing, they won the World Series in 1942 and 1944 (in the only all-St. Louis series against the Browns ), and won 105 or more games each in 1942 , 1943 , and 1944 . Southworth's managerial winning percentage (.642)
24490-473: Was second to only Sandy Koufax for career no-hit wins. Wilson's no-hitter lit the Astros' fire after a miserable month of April, and six days later the team tied a major league record by turning seven double plays in a game. By May's end, the Astros had put together a ten-game winning streak. The Houston infield tandem of Menke and Joe Morgan continued to improve, providing power at the plate and great defense. Morgan had 15 homers and stole 49 bases while Menke led
24648-428: Was sent to the Braves and Rusty Staub was traded to the expansion Montreal Expos , in exchange for outfielder Jesús Alou and first baseman Donn Clendenon . However, Clendenon refused to report to Houston, electing to retire and take job with a pen manufacturing company. The Astros asked Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to void the trade, but he refused. Instead, he awarded Jack Billingham and a left-handed relief pitcher to
24806-494: Was so different from what other teams wore that the Astros wore it both at home and on the road until 1980. Besides the bright new uniforms there were some other changes. Lee May was traded to Baltimore for much talked about rookie second baseman Rob Andrews and utility player Enos Cabell . In Baltimore, Cabell was stuck behind third baseman Brooks Robinson , but he took advantage of his opportunity in Houston and became their everyday third baseman. Cabell would go on to become
24964-413: Was up by 19 points compared to the season before. The team looked good, but the Astros' ERA was up. Larry Dierker and Wilson had winning records, but the pitching staff as a whole had an off season. Houston finished in fourth place in 1970. The fashion trends of the 1970s had started taking root in baseball. Long hair and loud colors were starting to appear on team uniforms, including the Astros'. In 1971
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