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1954 St. Louis Cardinals Season
The 1954 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 73rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 63rd season in the National League. The Cardinals went 72–82 during the season and finished sixth in the National League. Offseason * December 1, 1953: 1953 minor league draft **Brooks Lawrence was drafted by the Cardinals from the Cincinnati Reds. * December 1, 1953: Sonny Senerchia was drafted by the Cardinals from the Pittsburgh Pirates. * January 26, 1954: Dick Sisler, Eddie Erautt and $100,000 were traded by the Cardinals to the San Diego Padres for Tom Alston. Regular season In his first four major league games, first baseman Joe Cunningham became the first Cardinals player to hit at least two home runs. On April 6, 2016, Jeremy Hazelbaker matched him for this feat. Outfielder Wally Moon won the Rookie of the Year Award this year, batting .304, with 12 home runs and 76 RBIs. Along the way, on April 13 Moon hit a home run in his first major league at-bat. During the se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sportsman's Park
Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri. All but one of these were located on the same piece of land, at the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street, on the north side of the city. History Sportsman's Park was the home field of both the St. Louis Browns of the American League, and the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League from 1920 to 1953, when the Browns relocated to Baltimore and were rebranded as the Orioles. The physical street address was 2911 North Grand Boulevard. The ballpark (by then known as Busch Stadium, but still commonly called Sportsman's Park) was also the home to professional football: in , it hosted St. Louis' first NFL team, the All-Stars, and later hosted the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League from 1960 (following the team's relocation from Chicago) until 1965, with Busch Memorial Stadium opening its doors in 1966. 1881 structure Baseball was pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Alston
Thomas Edison Alston (January 31, 1926 – December 30, 1993) was a Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1954 to 1957, the first African-American to do so. A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, he stood 6'5" () and weighed . Alston was acquired by St. Louis via a trade with the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League, where he played in 180 games in 1953, on January 26, 1954, after team president Gussie Busch told manager Eddie Stanky to find a black player. Not only did Busch think excluding blacks from baseball was morally wrong, his company Anheuser–Busch, which had bought the team a year earlier to keep them from moving to Milwaukee, sold more beer to African-Americans than any other brewery, leading him to fear the effect of a boycott. Busch was, however, somewhat disappointed by Alston. When he reported to the Cardinals, the team learned he was two years older than the Padres had claimed. Busch demanded they return $20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Beard (baseball)
Ralph William Beard (February 11, 1929 – February 10, 2003) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher whose ten-season (1947–56) pro career included 13 games pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. Beard, a native of Cincinnati, attended the University of Cincinnati. He stood tall and weighed . Beard's 13 big-league appearances included ten starting pitcher assignments, as he took a regular turn in the Cardinals' rotation during late July and August of the 1954 season. Although he lost all four decisions, he made a memorable start on July 22, 1954, against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium. He went 12 innings and allowed only one earned run and eight hits (including a home run by Preston Ward for the Pirates' earned run), but left the game for a pinch hitter with the score tied 2–2. He was relieved by Gerry Staley, who hurled two perfect frames and St. Louis won, 3–2, in 14 innings. As a starter, Beard gave up 29 r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located on Chicago's North Side. The Cubs are one of two major league teams based in Chicago; the other, the Chicago White Sox, is a member of the American League (AL) Central division. The Cubs, first known as the White Stockings, were a founding member of the NL in 1876, becoming the Chicago Cubs in 1903. Throughout the club's history, the Cubs have played in a total of 11 World Series. The 1906 Cubs won 116 games, finishing 116–36 and posting a modern-era record winning percentage of , before losing the World Series to the Chicago White Sox ("The Hitless Wonders") by four games to two. The Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first major league team to play in three consecutive World Series, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Bilko
Stephen Thomas Bilko (November 13, 1928 – March 7, 1978) was an American professional baseball player known for his home run hitting as a minor leaguer during the 1950s. He was 20 years old when he broke into Major League Baseball on September 22, 1949, with the St. Louis Cardinals. Bilko threw and batted right-handed; he was listed as tall, and , and was nicknamed "Stout Steve" during his career because of his ample girth. Nat Hiken, creator of ''The Phil Silvers Show'', supposedly took the name of the character Sgt. Bilko from the ballplayer, whose long-ball heroics for one of Los Angeles' two minor-league teams of the mid-1950s made him a local celebrity. Biography Bilko was born in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, in coal mining country, and made his debut with the Allentown Cardinals in 1945 at the age of 16 during the final year of World War II. A first baseman, Bilko enjoyed his greatest fame with the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League from 1955–1957, when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mel Wright
Melvin James Wright Jr. (May 11, 1928 – May 16, 1983) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher, pitching coach and scout. A native of Manila, Arkansas, who attended Ouachita Baptist University, Wright threw and batted right-handed and was measured during his playing days at tall and . Wright was a longtime associate of former MLB center fielder and manager Bill Virdon. Originally signed by the New York Yankees in 1950, Wright was traded with Virdon to the St. Louis Cardinals on April 11, 1954, in a multiplayer transaction that sent eventual Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Enos Slaughter to the Yanks. But while Virdon enjoyed a decade-plus-long Major League playing tenure, Wright spent most of his pitching career at the Triple-A minor league level. In 543 minor league games, he won 85 games, losing 61 with an earned run average of 3.01. Wright appeared in 58 games with the Cardinals (1954–55) and Chicago Cubs (1960–61), winning two of six decisions, surrenderin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Virdon
William Charles Virdon (June 9, 1931 – November 23, 2021) was an American professional baseball outfielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Virdon played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 through 1965 and in 1968. He served as a coach for the Pirates and Houston Astros, and managed the Pirates, Astros, New York Yankees, and Montreal Expos. After playing in the minors for the Yankees organization, Virdon was traded to the Cardinals, and he made his MLB debut in 1955. That year, Virdon won the National League Rookie of the Year Award. He slumped at the beginning of the 1956 season, and was traded to the Pirates, where he spent the remainder of his playing career. A premier defensive outfielder during his playing days as a center fielder for the Cardinals and Pirates, Virdon led a strong defensive team to the 1960 World Series championship. In 1962, Virdon won a Gold Glove Award. Following the 1965 season, he retired due to h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. They are one of two major league clubs based in New York City, the other is the National League (NL)'s New York Mets. The team was founded in when Frank J. Farrell, Frank Farrell and William Stephen Devery, Bill Devery purchased the franchise rights to the defunct Baltimore Orioles (no relation to the current Baltimore Orioles, team of the same name) after it ceased operations and used them to establish the New York Highlanders. The Highlanders were officially renamed the New York Yankees in . The team is owned by Yankee Global Enterprises, a limited liability company that is controlled by the family of the late George Steinbrenner, who purchased the team in 1973. Brian Cashman is the team's general manage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enos Slaughter
Enos Bradsher Slaughter (April 27, 1916 – August 12, 2002), nicknamed "Country", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He played for 19 seasons on four major league teams from 1938 to 1942 and 1946 to 1959. He is noted primarily for his playing for the St. Louis Cardinals and famously scored the winning run in Game 7 of the 1946 World Series for the Cardinals. A ten-time All-Star, he has been elected to both the National Baseball Hall of Fame and St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame. Early life Slaughter was born in Roxboro, North Carolina, where he earned the nickname "Country". In 1935, scout Billy Southworth signed him for the St. Louis Cardinals.Russo, p. 36 Career Minor leagues The Martinsville Manufacturers were Slaughter's first professional team, in 1935. When Slaughter was a minor leaguer in Columbus, Georgia, he went running towards the dugout from his position in the outfield, slowed down near the infield, and began walking the rest of the way. Man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MLB Rookie Of The Year Award
In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The award was established in 1940 by the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA, which selected an annual winner from 1940 through 1946. The award became national in 1947; Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers' second baseman, won the inaugural award. One award was presented for all of MLB in 1947 and 1948; since 1949, the honor has been given to one player each in the NL and AL. Originally, the award was known as the J. Louis Comiskey Memorial Award, named after the Chicago White Sox owner of the 1930s. The award was renamed the Jackie Robinson Award in July 1987, 40 years after Robinson broke the baseball color line. Seventeen players have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame—Robinson, six AL players, and ten others from the NL. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wally Moon
Wallace Wade MoonSteve Springer"Dodgers' Moon found success in Coliseum" ''Los Angeles Times'', March 23, 2008. (April 3, 1930 – February 9, 2018) was an American professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball. Moon played his 12-year career in the major leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals (1954–1958) and Los Angeles Dodgers (1959–1965). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Moon was the 1954 National League Rookie of the Year. He was an All-Star for two seasons and a Gold Glove winner one season. Moon batted .295 or more for seven seasons. He led the National League in triples in 1959 and in fielding percentage as a left fielder in 1960 and 1961. Moon was a three-time World Series champion with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1959, 1963, and 1965. Youth Moon was named after Wallace Wade, a former college football coach at the University of Alabama and Duke University. From a family of educators, he earned a master's degree in administrative education fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeremy Hazelbaker
Jeremy Philip Hazelbaker (born August 14, 1987) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks, and in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for the Kia Tigers. Professional career Boston Red Sox Hazelbaker was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2009 MLB Draft out of Ball State University. He opened 2009 with the Low-A Lowell Spinners, before being promoted to the Single-A Greenville Drive (2009–10), High-A Salem Red Sox (2011), Double-A Portland Sea Dogs (2011–12), and Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox (2012). He batted a combined .259/.345/.434 line with 49 home runs and 157 stolen bases in 409 games. Hazelbaker returned to Pawtucket in 2013. He posted a .257/.313/3.74 line with 11 home runs and 54 RBI in 121 games, including 62 runs scored, 37 stolen bases, and 26 extra bases. Los Angeles Dodgers On October 23, 2013, Hazelbaker was traded to the Los Angel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_-_Houston_Astros_-_1976.jpg "Click for more on -> Bill Virdon")
