Rogers Hornsby hits a 20th century high .424 (1924): Rogers Hornsby’s numbers were ridiculous. He hit .400 over a five year span during the twenties. He hit .400 three times during that stretch with a high of .424 and that was not even his best year!
Grover Alexander strikes out Tony Lazzeri (October 10, 1926 Game 7 World Series): Grover Cleveland Alexander celebrated his Game 6 World Series victory with a drinking binge. Supposedly, he was drinking out of a flask throughout Game 7 when called upon to save the Cardinals. Starter Jesse Haines loaded the bases with two out in the seventh. Alexander trudged in, but refused to warm up lest he allow the Yanks know his true condition. New York sent rookie second baseman, and future Hall of Famer, Tony Lazzeri to bat. Alexander struck out the rookie saving the game for the Cardinals. He pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and got the first two out in the 9th when he walked Babe Ruth. With Bob Meusel at the plate, Ruth decided to steal second. He was gunned down and St. Louis claimed the World Series.
Cards upset the A’s (1931): St. Louis won 101 games in 1931. Despite this, the “Gashouse Gang” were decisive underdogs in the World Series. Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics won the 1929 and 1930 World Series titles and 107 regular season games in 1931. The two sides battled to a seventh game. St. Louis won the game 4-2 clinching the championship.
Whitey Kurowski’s World Series clinching home run (October 5, 1942 Game 5 World Series): Whitey Kurowski’s homer is often forgotten. In 1942, the Cardinals led the Yankees 3 games to 1 in the World Series. The two teams entered the 9th inning of Game 5 tied at 2. With one out, Kurowski slammed a two-run homer to provide the series winning margin.
Enos Slaughter’s Mad Dash (October 15, 1946 Game 7 World Series): The Red Sox and Cardinals went to the bottom of the 8th inning of Game 7 of the World Series tied 3-3. From Mel Allen’s recreated broadcast: "Enos Slaughter is on first base with two away. Harry Walker at bat. Bob Klinger on the mound. He takes the stretch. Here's the pitch... there goes Slaughter. The ball is swung on, there's a line drive going into left-center field. It's in there for a base hit. Culberson fumbles the ball momentarily and Slaughter charges around second, heads for third. Pesky goes into short left field to take the relay from Culberson... And here comes Enos Slaughter rounding third, he's going to try for home. Here comes the throw and it is not in time. Slaughter scores!" Boston failed to score in the 9th. Neither team returned to the Fall Classic until the sixties.
Gibson wins Game 7 (1964 and 1967): Bob Gibson cemented his reputation as an ace with a pair of Game 7 victories. In 1964, the underdog Cardinals defeated the mighty Yankees. Three years later, Gibson bested the “Impossible Dream” Red Sox. The following year, he added to his legend with a game for the ages.
Bob Gibson strikes out 17 Tigers (October 2, 1968 Game 1 World Series): Bob Gibson dominated the Detroit Tigers like few pitchers have ever dominated. He struck out 17 batters en route to a 4-0 victory. Gibson allowed five hits in outdueling 31 game winner Denny McLain. Al Kaline and Norm Cash each struck out three times. Gibson nailed Willie Horton, Jim Northrup, and Bill Freehan twice each. The Cardinal righty returned to defeat Detroit 10-1 in Game 4, but the Tigers finally beat the ace in Game 7 breaking the air of invincibility.
Keith Hernandez 2-run single sparks Game 7 win (October 20, 1982 Game 7 World Series): Milwaukee led St. Louis 3-1 in the bottom of the 6th inning with Cy Young Winner Pete Vuckovich on the hill. St. Louis put two on with one out in the frame when the Brewers went to the pen. Rollie Fingers was unavailable and Bob McClure entered the game instead. Keith Hernandez lined a two-run single tying the score. George Hendrick followed with the game winning hit. The Cards tacked on two additional runs for good measure. Four years later, Hernandez repeated his feat tying Game 7 of the 1986 World Series for the Mets with a two-run single.
Go Crazy Folks! (October 14, 1985 Game 5 NLCS): The switch hitting Ozzie Smith never homered left handed. Then, he met Los Angeles Dodgers relief ace Tom Niedenfuer. In the bottom of the 9th inning, Smith homered for the victory and a 3-2 series lead for the Cardinals. The homer is also known for the great call by Cards announcer Jack Buck.
Should have pitched to Van Slyke (October 16, 1985 Game 6 NLCS): The Dodgers led the Cardinals 4-3 in the 9th inning of Game 6 of the 1985 NLCS. They hoped to force a seventh game. With two on, Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda agonized over whether to walk slugger Jack Clark and pitch to Andy Van Slyke. He chose to pitch to Clark and Niedenfuer coughed up another game winning home run. St. Louis went to the World Series.
