The 1965 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 84th season in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

and its 74th season in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. The Cardinals went 80–81 during the season and finished seventh in the National League, 16½ games behind the eventual

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

champion

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. It was also the last full season for the original Busch Stadium.

Offseason

* October 15, 1964: Pedro Borbón was signed as an amateur free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals. * November 30, 1964:

Chris Krug Everett Ben "Chris" Krug (born December 25, 1939) is a former Major League Baseball catcher. Krug was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent in 1958. Krug played in parts of three major league seasons, two (1965 and 1966) with ...

was drafted from the Cardinals by the

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 ...

in the 1964 minor league draft. * December 7, 1964:

Gordie Richardson Gordon Clark Richardson (born July 19, 1939) is an American former professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher who played in the major leagues from 1964–66 for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets. He stood tall and weighed as an ...

and Johnny Lewis were traded by the Cardinals to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

for

Tracy Stallard Evan Tracy Stallard (August 31, 1937 – December 6, 2017) was an American professional baseball player, a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1960 to 1966. He played with the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. ...

. * March 1, 1965:

Willie Montañez Guillermo Montañez Naranjo (born April 1, 1948) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California Angels (), Philadelphia Phillies (–, ), San Francisco Giants (–), A ...

was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cardinals.

Regular season

The mid-1960s saw changes both on the field and off – all while retaining the core of a remarkable successful franchise and its renewed popularity in St. Louis. Schoendienst's replacement of Keane had been preceded a few weeks earlier by general manager Bing Devine's firing, the redemption of the final pennant drive having come too late to assuage owner August Busch's dwindling patience. Devine was replaced by Bob Howsam, who made a number of moves to shore up a talented but aging team which struggled through the 1965 campaign, finishing mired in 7th place at 80–81. A capable GM if not Devine's equal, Howsam made some moves that worked – and some that did not. Howsam traded aging veterans Bill White, Dick Groat, and utility catcher

Bob Uecker Robert George Uecker ( ; born January 26, 1934) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and current sportscaster, comedian, and actor. Facetiously dubbed "Mr. Baseball" by TV talk show host Johnny Carson, Uecker has served as a ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in return for

Pat Corrales Patrick Corrales (born March 20, 1941) is an American former professional baseball catcher, manager, and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1964 to 1973, primarily for the Cincinnati Reds as well as the Philadelphia Phillies, S ...

Art Mahaffey Arthur Mahaffey Jr. (born June 4, 1938) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–) and St. Louis Cardinals (). He batted and threw right-handed. In ...

, and

Alex Johnson Alexander Johnson (December 7, 1942 – February 28, 2015) was an American professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB), from to , for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, California An ...

. Popular third baseman

Ken Boyer Kenton Lloyd "Ken" Boyer (May 20, 1931 – September 7, 1982) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman, coach and manager who played with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers for 15 ...

was dispatched to the Mets in exchange for pitcher

Al Jackson Alvin Neill Jackson (December 26, 1935 – August 19, 2019), affectionately referred to as "Little" Al Jackson, was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1959 to 1969. His 43 wins with the New York Mets were the franchi ...

. Finally, pitcher

Ray Sadecki Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

was traded to the Giants for first baseman

Orlando Cepeda Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes (; born September 17, 1937), nicknamed "the Baby Bull" and "Peruchin", is a Puerto Rican former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for six teams from 1958 to 1974, primarily the San Francisco Giants. A ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. The latter moves worked better than the former, but the Cardinals still finished in 6th place in 1966, resulting in Howsam's replacement by none other than Cardinals legend

Stan Musial Stanley Frank Musial (; born Stanislaw Franciszek Musial; November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013), nicknamed "Stan the Man", was an American baseball outfielder and first baseman. Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most consis ...

. Musial's most notable move was to acquire Yankees' star Roger Maris. Pitcher

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ( ...

, first baseman Bill White, and outfielder Curt Flood won

Gold Gloves The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

this year.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Opening Day starters

Lou Brock Louis Clark Brock (June 18, 1939September 6, 2020) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent most of it as a left fielder for the St. Louis Car ...

* Curt Flood * Dick Groat *

Julián Javier Manuel Julián (Liranzo) Javier (born August 9, 1936), better known as Julián Javier oo-lee-AN hah-vee-ER is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. Called ''Hoolie'' by his teammates, he was also nicknamed "The Phantom" by Tim McCarver ...

Bob Purkey Robert Thomas Purkey (July 14, 1929 – March 16, 2008) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball known for his use of the knuckleball. From 1954 through 1966, Purkey played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds / Redle ...

Dave Ricketts David William Ricketts (July 12, 1935 – July 13, 2008) was an American catcher and coach in Major League Baseball who played parts of six seasons (, , –) with the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. Ricketts was a reserve catcher on ...

* Bob Skinner * Bill White

Notable transactions

* June 8, 1965:

Rich Hacker Richard Warren Hacker (October 6, 1947 – April 22, 2020) was a Major League Baseball player, base coach and scout. Hacker played 16 games for the Montreal Expos in the 1971 season as a shortstop. He had a .121 batting average, with four hits in ...

was drafted by the Cardinals in the 39th round of the

1965 Major League Baseball Draft The 1965 Major League Baseball Draft is the first year in which a draft took place for Major League Baseball. It was held on June 8–9 in New York City. In Major League Baseball's first Free Agent Amateur Draft, the Kansas City Athletics selec ...

, but did not sign.

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Awards and honors

League leaders

, National League leader, stolen bases, 63

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rock HillJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

External links

1965 St. Louis Cardinals at Baseball Reference1965 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals seasons Saint Louis Cardinals season St Louis