The St. Louis Cardinals are a Major League Baseball team based in Saint Louis, Missouri. They are in the Central Division of the National League. They are the defending champions of the National League.

Founded: 1882 in the American Association. Moved to National League in 1892.
Formerly known as: St. Louis Brown Stockings (1882), St. Louis Browns (1883-1898), St. Louis Perfectos (1899). Name became "Cardinals" in 1900.
Home ballpark: Busch Stadium (II) (1966-2005), Busch Stadum (III) with BP Village -(Also to be known as "Busch Stadium") from 2006 on
Uniform colors: Cardinal red, White, and Navy blue
Logo design: One or two cardinals perched on a baseball bat.
Mascot: Fredbird, an anthropomorphized Northern Cardinal
Wild Card titles won (1): 2001*
Division titles won (7): 1982, 1985, 1987, 1996, 2000, 2001*, 2002, 2004
American Association pennants won (4): 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888
National League pennants won (16): 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1982, 1985, 1987, 2004
World Series championships won (9): 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982. The Cardinals (with the Oakland Athletics) are second only to the New York Yankees in the number of World Series championships won.

* In 2001, the Cardinals finished the season with a record of 93-69. The Houston Astros, in the same division as the Cardinals finished with the same record. Since the two teams finished tied in the standings, the league went to a tie breaker to determine who would be the division champion and who would be the National League Wild-Card winner. Since Houston won the season series against the Cardinals, Houston was declared the division champion and St. Louis received a wild card berth. Many St. Louisians were unhappy with this decision and refer to the 2001 Cardinals as "co-division champions," along with Houston.

Franchise history

Early Years

The team was formed as part of the American Association in 1882 where they enjoyed a four-year dynasty under flamboyant owner Chris von der Ahe. Initially they were known as the "Brown Stockings", which was quickly shortened to "Browns". The Browns squared off against the National League's Chicago White Stockings twice in the early version of the World Series. The Series of 1885 ended in dispute and with no resolution. St. Louis won the 1886 Series outright. The vigorous Chicago-St. Louis rivalry continues to this day.

During the mid-1880s, the National League also had a St. Louis entry, the Maroons, which had come in from the Union Association. The Maroons had the misfortune of arriving at the time when the Browns were in their glory, and they soon folded.

The Browns joined the National League in 1892 following the bankruptcy of the American Association. They were briefly called the Perfectos in 1899 before settling on their present name, a name reportedly inspired by switching their uniform colors from brown to red.

The Cardinals languished for some 40 years after their mid-1880s triumphs, while their crosstown rivals, the American League's version of the Browns, were competitive, though not victorious. The Cardinals became the Browns' tenants in 1920. By the mid-1920s, the Cardinals began to turn their fortunes around, and soon they would become the city's favorite team once again.

1930s and 1940s

Highlights from Cardinal history include the 1930s era "Gas House Gang" featuring Dizzy Dean, Joe Medwick, Pepper Martin, and Enos Slaughter. In 1934, Dean and his younger brother, Paul, combined to win 49 games - still a single season record for brothers. Dizzy, whose real name was Jerome Herman Dean, won 30 of them, with Paul (nicknamed "Daffy") contributing 19 wins. Dean's country humor made him a popular favorite, particularly in the rural south and midwest where Cardinals fans were numerous.

In the 1940s, the Cardinals dominated the National League. The 1942 "St. Louis Swifties" won 106 games, the most in franchise history, and are widely regarded as among the greatest baseball teams of all time. In 1943 and again in 1944 they posted the second best records in team history at 105-49. The 1944 World Series was particularly memorable as they met their crosstown rivals, the St. Louis Browns, in the "trolley car Series". The Cardinals beat the Browns 4 games to 2 to win the 1944 World Series. Outfielder Stan "The Man" Musial led the ’44 team. Known to loyal fans as "Ol' Number 6", Musial spent 23 years in a Cardinal uniform. In 1968, a statue of Musial was constructed outside Busch Stadium.

In 1947, the Cardinals (who were effectively the South's only major league team until the 1960s) gained notoriety by attempting to boycott games against the Brooklyn Dodgers to protest the Dodgers' signing of a black player, Jackie Robinson. The alleged ringleader of the boycott was Enos Slaughter. National League president Ford Frick threatened to ban any players who boycotted any games, and the boycott never happened. The Cardinals did not sign a black regular until Curt Flood in 1958.

1960s

The 1960s brought three National League pennants to St. Louis. Hall of Famers such as Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton, and Orlando Cepeda led the "Redbirds" to World Series titles in 1964 over the Yankees and in 1967 over the Boston Red Sox. The Cards then lost to the Detroit Tigers in a closely contested 7 game affair in 1968, the last series before baseball adopted a divisional format.

1980s

After a less-than-successful 1970s, new Cardinal manager Whitey Herzog revived the winning tradition at Busch Stadium. Herzog's brand of baseball, known in St. Louis as "Whiteyball", featured speed on the base paths, sparkling defense, and unconventional roster moves. In his 11 years as Cardinal manager, Herzog won three National League pennants, and a 1982 World Series title. The 1980s era Cardinals included stars Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee (who won two batting titles in a Cardinal uniform), John Tudor, Tom Herr, Jack Clark, Bruce Sutter, Keith Hernandez, Terry Pendleton, and Joaquín Andujar.

The 1985 World Series, christened the "I-70 Series" because it featured in-state rival Kansas City, is perhaps the most controversial in Cardinal history. Game 6 of that series featured "The Call". In the 9th inning, umpire Don Denkinger called Royals batter Jorge Orta safe at first base - a call later refuted by instant replay. The Cardinals, leading 1-0 at the time of the play and needing that victory to clinch the title, went on to lose Game 6 and ultimately Game 7 by the score of 11-0 the following night.

The Cardinals again won the National League in 1987, losing to Minnesota 4 games to 3 in the World Series.

1990s and beyond

The Cards reached the playoffs 1996, but the Atlanta Braves defeated them for the National League pennant.

Mark McGwire Mark McGwire broke the single-season home run record while playing with St. Louis in 1998

In 1998 Cardinals' first baseman Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs battled to set the record for most home runs in one season. McGwire broke Roger Maris's 37 year-old record of 61 on September 8 with a low line drive over Busch Stadium's left field fence. McGwire went on to finish with 70, a record that stood until Barry Bonds hit 73 in 2001.

In 2000, the Cardinals lost to the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series. In 2001, the Cardinals advanced to the post-season as a "Wild Card" team after posting the second-best record in the National League, but losing the division to the Houston Astros. The eventual World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Cardinals in a five-game playoff series.

In 2001, the Cardinals finished the season with a 93-69 record. The Houston Astros, also in the National League Central, finished with an identical record. Since the two teams finished tied in the standings, the league went to a tie breaker to determine the division champion. Since Houston won the season series against the Cardinals, Houston was declared the division champion and St. Louis received a wild card berth. Many St. Louisians were unhappy with this decision and refer to the 2001 Cardinals as "co-division champions," along with Houston.

In 2002, the Cardinals won the Central Division and this time defeated the Diamondbacks 3 games to none to reach the NLCS, but lost 4 games to 1 to the San Francisco Giants. The year was also marred with tragedy for the Cardinal family. On June 18, beloved broadcaster Jack Buck passed away at the age of 77. Just ten months earlier, Buck stirred emotions when he addressed the crowd at Busch Stadium when Major League Baseball resumed after the September 11th terrorist attacks. The biggest shock of all came just four days after Buck's passing when ace pitcher Darryl Kile died suddenly of heart failure while in Chicago for a series against the Cubs.

In 2004, St. Louis posted the best record in the National League, tallying their most wins since the 1940s and earning home advantage for the NLDS and NLCS. In the Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cardinals rolled, winning the series 3-1. Facing off against rival Houston in the NLCS, the Cards took a 2-0 lead, then lost three straight in Houston. Coming home for Game 6, the Cardinals took a 4-3 lead into the 9th inning, but blew it. Jim Edmonds hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 12th to win the game. The next night, Albert Pujols helped St. Louis win Game 7 to clinch the series, and was named MVP. The Cardinals then played the Boston Red Sox in the 2004 World Series, the third time the teams have faced each other in the Fall Classic. However, the spirit and zest of the Cardinals seemed to elude them in this championship series, as the Red Sox retained a leading position through the entire series.

The Cardinals also had the misfortune of meeting a Red Sox team that had just made baseball history by taking 4 straight against their arch-rivals, the New York Yankees after losing the first 3 in their ALCS matchup, and the BoSox had major momentum. As TV announcer (and former Cardinal) Tim McCarver said, "They are playing with a world of confidence". And the Cardinals apparently were not. The best demonstration of St. Louis' troubles in the Series: Pujols, Scott Rolen, and Jim Edmonds, the normally fearsome 3-4-5 hitters for the Cards, were a dismal 6-for-45 with 1 RBI. The Cardinals were unceremoniously swept by the Sox in four games, with the Sox winning their first World Series championship since 1918 and burying the so-called "Curse of the Bambino." Ironically the last out of the World Series came off of the bat of Edgar Renteria, wearing the number three jersey, the same number worn by Babe Ruth, a.k.a. "The Bambino".

Other historical notes

For much of the last half of the 20th century, the legendary broadcaster, Jack Buck, was the voice of the Cardinals, calling play-by-play on St. Louis' KMOX radio. His son Joe Buck took over for Jack as the radio and television announcer for the Cardinals in 1991.

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 St. Louis Baseball Cardinals" or "the St. Louis 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.