History of The St. Louis Cardinals - Other Historical Notes

Other Historical Notes

• For much of the last half of the 20th century, the Cardinals' radio flagship was St. Louis powerhouse 1120 KMOX-AM. Over the years such announcers as Harry Caray and Jack Buck (Baseball Hall of Fame honorees), the latter's son Joe Buck, and former Cardinal player Mike Shannon broadcast games over KMOX and its affiliate network.

• Between 1960 and 1987, St. Louis was home to two big-league Cardinals teams, baseball and football. Sports fans and local news coverage got into the habit of saying "the Baseball Cardinals" or "the Football Cardinals" to distinguish the two. Locals also got into the habit of using "Redbirds" to refer specifically to the baseball team. This nickname had been commonly used decades before the football team came to town. As a result, the Football Cardinals became known as the "Gridbirds" or the "Big Red."

• St. Louis-Chicago Cubs rivalry draws sell-outs on a regular basis. The Cubs lead the all time series 1096-1054. The Cardinals lead the National League in pennants won with 18, followed by the Cubs with 16. Head-to-Head Records for St. Louis Cardinals against the listed opponents from 1901 to 2011

• The Cardinals are one of two teams that do not use a third jersey, the other being the New York Yankees.

• The Cardinals are second only to the New York Yankees in the number of World Series championships won. The Cardinals are the only one of the eight oldest National League teams to hold an edge over the Yankees in Series play, 3 to 2.

• Of the eight original National League teams, St. Louis was the last to win a league championship, capturing its first NL pennant in 1926 and going on to defeat the heavily favored New York Yankees in the World Series. In all, the Cardinals have won 18 pennants, tied with the Giants and Dodgers in the NL; only the Yankees in the AL have won more league titles.

• Portions of the romantic comedy Fever Pitch were filmed during Game 4 of the 2004 World Series. Hollywood movie stars Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon were filmed celebrating together on the field of Busch Stadium after the Red Sox victory. A brief shot of the filming could be seen live on the Fox broadcast of the World Series. The last out of this game and the ensuing celebration were also briefly shown in a Season 3 episode of Lost.

• In 2005, the Cardinals played their final season in old Busch Stadium. Beginning in their championship season of 2006, new Busch Stadium became the new home of the baseball Cardinals, making them one of the few teams to open a stadium with a World Series title in its inaugural year. The last was the 1923 New York Yankees.

• The team's 83 victories during the 2006 regular season are the fewest total victories for a team that went on to win the World Series in a non-strike season. The previous record-holder was the 1987 Minnesota Twins, who had 85 wins in the regular season, but defeated the Cardinals for the championship that year. This was in contrast to the previous two years, when they had the most victories in baseball each year but did not win the Series.