Ghosts of Busch Stadium

Ghosts of Busch Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium -- aka Busch Stadium II -- was home to the MLB St. Louis Cardinals from 1966-2005 and hosted two NFL teams, the Cardinals and Rams.

On Nov. 22, 1959, Stan Musial and his family posed for a picture in their St. Louis home. It was the day after his 39th ...
09/03/2026

On Nov. 22, 1959, Stan Musial and his family posed for a picture in their St. Louis home. It was the day after his 39th birthday.

• Top, holding the poodle the family French poodle, Jacques, Gerry.

• Left: Wife Lillian Labash Musial — Stan married her in 1940

• Center right in suit: Stan himself, the St. Louis Cardinals legend.

• Baby in white dress with bow: Jeanie, 9 months old

• Front and center in polka dots: Janet, 10 years old

• Not pictured: Son Dick, 19, who was at Notre Dame




St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Joe Garagiola signs an autograph for a fan on Old Newsboys Day in 1960. Garagiola (born ...
09/01/2026

St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Joe Garagiola signs an autograph for a fan on Old Newsboys Day in 1960.

Garagiola (born February 12, 1926 in St. Louis) grew up on The Hill with Yogi Berra, caught for 9 seasons in the majors — Cardinals, Pirates, Cubs, Giants — then went right into broadcasting. 

He did Cardinals radio on KMOX from 1955-1962, became a Baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster, wrote the bestseller Baseball Is a Funny Game (1960), and later was best known nationally as co-host of NBC's Today show from 1969-1973 and a longtime NBC baseball voice.





Baseball scribes named Cunningham their ballplayer of the year in ‘59Joseph Cunningham Jr. was signed by the Cardinals a...
08/31/2026

Baseball scribes named Cunningham their ballplayer of the year in ‘59

Joseph Cunningham Jr. was signed by the Cardinals as a 17-year-old amateur free agent in 1949, with his debut delayed by Korean War service. 

1959 was his career year: 345 average placing him second in the NL behind Aaron, an All-Star season where he led the majors with a.453 on-base percentage, and he led the NL in on-base percentage at .453 while batting.345 to finish second to Aaron. 

Known as "Smokey" or "Smoky Joe" and "Jersey Joe," he played seven years with St. Louis (1954, 1956-1961) before stints with the White Sox and Senators, finished with a.291 career average, and later worked in the Cardinals front office.

He passed away in St. Louis in 2021 at 89.




New Birds Flock TogetherIt’s September 1959 and five St. Louis rookies are photographed together as they dream about wha...
08/28/2026

New Birds Flock Together

It’s September 1959 and five St. Louis rookies are photographed together as they dream about what the 1960 season will have in store.

They are, from left to right:

Bob Duliba, pitcher — right-handed reliever, one of the first to throw a split-fingered pitch regularly. Pitched for the Cardinals 1959-60 and again in '62.

Tim McCarver, catcher — the baby of the group, just 17 years old when he was called up on Sept. 10, 1959. He only got 8 at-bats that year, but went on to become a 2x All-Star, 2x World Series champion in 1964 and 1967, and later a Hall of Fame broadcaster.

Duke Carmel, outfielder — big power hitter from the farm system. Played 10 games for St. Louis in '59.

Bob Blaylock, pitcher — 24-year-old righty from Chattanooga. Made 9 appearances for the '59 club.

Tom Hughes, pitcher — 25-year-old right-hander, also up for his first look in September.

The Cardinals were in the middle of a full youth movement after a 71-83 season.




In August 1959, the St. Louis Cardinals named Ken Boyer their first team captain since Red Schoendienst. Just 28, manage...
08/27/2026

In August 1959, the St. Louis Cardinals named Ken Boyer their first team captain since Red Schoendienst.

Just 28, manager Solly Hemus said the slugging Redbird had won the respect of his teammates.

Here the transcript of the article that ran on Aug. 25, 1959:

Ken Boyer, who isn't one of the reasons the Cardinals have skidded so badly, has been appointed captain of the seventh-place Redbirds, the club announced today.

The Cardinals have been without a captain since Red Schoendienst filled the role under Manager Eddie Stanky. Schoendienst's Braves, their league crown tottering, will call at Busch Stadium tonight for an 8 o'clock opener of a three-game series.

Bob (1-2) Gibson, rookie right-hander, will start against third-place Milwaukee, which trails the leading Giants by four games and Los Angeles by half a game. The Braves' starter is no stranger — Warren (16-13) Spahn.

There's an interesting side issue to the Braves-Cardinals series. Joe Cunningham of the Redbirds, batting .345, will try to shave the 18-point margin of the league's leading man, Hank Aaron, who has slumped to .363.

Good Success.

Boyer, who lifted his batting average to.319 over the weekend, has had good success against the defending champions' pitching. He has hit.323 and pounded four of his 23 homers against Milwaukee.

Cardinal Manager Solly Hemus, reviving the captaincy, said that Boyer has become a take-charge guy in a quiet way.

"The ball players look to Ken to lead the club," Hemus said. "The job — paying $500 a year — gives him authority to beef on certain plays."

Hemus also pointed out that he can relay signs to Capt. Boyer on such matters as waiting until a relief pitcher is warmed up enough before bringing him in. That way Solly can spend more time on the bench, less on the field, where run-ins with umpires has caused him to be ejected seven times.

Although Boyer, a native Missourian who broke into the Cardinal chain as a pitcher, is just 28 years old, he is much closer to the pension-age minimum than many of the Cardinals.

"The young kids look to Boy for advice and authority," says Hemus.

Since coming up from Houston in 1955 as the third-base replacement for Ray Jablonski, Boyer has ranked among the majors' top men at his position. He hit.264 with 62 runs batted in his freshman year, raised the figures to.306 and 98 in 1956, fell to.265 and 62 in 1957, then rebounded with.307 and 90 RBI's last season.




TOO HOT TO HANDLE. Ken Boyer makes a desperate dive for a shot off the bat of San Francisco's Bob Schmidt in the third i...
08/26/2026

TOO HOT TO HANDLE. Ken Boyer makes a desperate dive for a shot off the bat of San Francisco's Bob Schmidt in the third inning of Sunday's game at Candlestick Park, San Francisco. The ball went through and Schmidt was credited with a double. The Cards won the game, 9-4.

It’s Sunday, June 5, 1960 and the San Francisco Giants are in their second month at Candlestick Park and the St. Louis Cardinals are quickly learning that every play there is a defensive adventure.

While he didn’t come up with the ball on this particular attempt, Boyer impressed at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored to lead the Redbirds to victory. St. Louis collected nine hits to score its nine runs.

Bob Schmidt, the Giants catcher, was 1-for-3 that day and was credited with a double on this knock. 

Playing in California was no vacation for the St. Louis Cardinals the first two years the Dodgers and Giants played on t...
08/25/2026

Playing in California was no vacation for the St. Louis Cardinals the first two years the Dodgers and Giants played on the west coast.

This July 1959 cartoon from the St. Louis Globe-Democrat brings that fact home in black and white.

Overall in 1958, the Redbirds were 11-11 against the Los Angeles Dodgers and 9-13 against the San Francisco Giants. 

Although the Cards were 7-4 against the Dodgers at home, St. Louis was 4-7 in LA. At home the Redbirds were 6-5 against the Giants, but 3-8 in San Francisco for a miserable 7-11 combined road mark.

In 1959, player/manager Solly Hemus’ first season in charge, the Birds were a combined 16-28 - worst in the league vs the coast that year, going 8-14 on the road.

NUMBERS GAME (May 1, 1962)Uniform No. 26 doesn't belong to the Cardinals' Curt Flood (center), but it was appropriate Tu...
08/24/2026

NUMBERS GAME (May 1, 1962)

Uniform No. 26 doesn't belong to the Cardinals' Curt Flood (center), but it was appropriate Tuesday night after the Redbirds' centerfielder extended his batting streak to 26 games against the Houston C**t 45s at Busch Stadium.

Flood, who has hit in all 14 games played this season and the last 12 from 1961, also leads the National League in batting with a .418 average. On the left is Stan Musial, who is second in the league at .396, and on the right is Kenny Boyer, who batted in a run and scored another in a 6-4 victory over Houston. 

Flood, 24 years old at the time of this photo in May 1962, wore number 21, but the club grabbed an unused No. 26 jersey for the gag to mark the streak. 

The Yankees had Mantle and Maris in '61, and when St. Louis traded for Minnie Minoso that winter, the papers tried the u...
08/21/2026

The Yankees had Mantle and Maris in '61, and when St. Louis traded for Minnie Minoso that winter, the papers tried the use the same nickname for Minoso and Cardinals slugger Stan Musial in 1962: the “M&M Boys.”

But they were hardly “boys” at all.

Musial, 41 years old, supposedly was playing his last season — although he reconsidered amid his strongest campaign in years and gave it another go in 1963.

Minoso, the Cuban Comet, was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Cardinals on November 27, 1961. He was 38.

In 135 games that season, Stan the Man collected 143 hits, had a .330 average with a .416 OBP,.508 slugging percentage. He walloped 19 HR, 82 RBI, and 18 doubles to inspire him to play on.

On July 8, 1962 he became the oldest player ever to hit three home runs in a game — 41 years, 229 days old.

1962 was Minoso’s only year in a Cardinals uniform, and it was a tough one. In just 39 games, he had a.196 batting average and a .271 in 108 plate appearances — a far cry from 1960 when he led the AL with 184 hits and batted.311

He was used mostly as a pinch-hitter and spot outfielder behind younger guys like Curt Flood and Bill White.

The Cardinals released Minoso after the season, Washington picked him up April 2, 1963, and he later had those famous comebacks with the White Sox in 1976 and 1980 at age 50+. He finally went into the Hall of Fame in 2022.

This photo was taken at the Polo Grounds in New York only one week into the existence of the Mets who took up residence in the former home of the New York Giants and Yankees before Shea Stadium opened.







Staying on the topic of the trade for Julian Javier in 1960…The second baseman was an immediate hit in St. Louis in more...
08/20/2026

Staying on the topic of the trade for Julian Javier in 1960…

The second baseman was an immediate hit in St. Louis in more ways than one.

The Dominican infielder went 2-for-3 in his debut and never left second base for the next 12 years. 

Fans expected defense and speed, and he delivered — he led the Cardinals in stolen bases every year from 1960 to 1963 and made the Topps 1960 All-Rookie Team despite hitting only.237 that first year. Then his bat came around. That early hot hitting is what this cartoon is celebrating. 

He would go on to become a 2-time All-Star and won two World Series with St. Louis in 1964 and 1967, and he hit.346 in the World Series for his career. 

Bing Devine was the architect. His trades were seen as the key to the team's later success, and the 1963 club famously had four Cardinals infielders start the All-Star Game.

Devine loved athletes who could run, and the press started calling them his greyhounds. 
The other three dogs depicted are:
• Bill White at 1B —.303 with 21 homers in 1964 
• Ken Boyer at 3B — NL MVP in 1964
• Curt Flood in CF —.311 in 1964 and a Gold Glover

Together with Javier and later Lou Brock, they turned St. Louis from a slow, station-to-station club into the fastest team in the National League. That speed was a major factor in winning the pennant in '64.



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