The High Court

Deep Thinkers Only...

A Farewell to Busch Stadium

 

The Best of Busch

By:  THE POWDERED WIG

September 19, 2005

 

Construction on the New Busch Stadium to the left of the current

Busch Stadium can be seen in this aerial shot taken from atop the

Gateway Arch.

Photographer: David K. Staub

Photo courtesy www.wikipedia.org

 

THE POWDERED WIG

September 19, 2005

 

In mid-August, I made my final trip to see the St. Louis Cardinals play at Busch Stadium (the High Court can’t afford to send me to cover the playoffs) and the nostalgia of Busch’s farewell season was palpable.  Buy a scorecard and you find the career leaders for several categories in Busch Stadium’s history.  Watch the video board between innings and you will see highlights of the greatest moments and players of the last 40 years in Cardinal history.  Take a walk up the ramps to the upper concourse and you will see the ongoing construction of the new Busch Stadium.  Everywhere you look, you are reminded that we will never walk this way again.  What a ride it has been!

 

Growing up as a Cardinal fan in the 80’s, there have been plenty of great moments to recall from Busch Stadium.  My personal Top 5 list includes…

 

1) Game 7, 1982 World Series –  Bruce Sutter fans Gorman Thomas to clinch the Series

2) Game 5, 1985 NLCS – Go crazy, folks, go crazy!  The Cardinals win by a score of 3-2 on a home run by The Wizard!

3) September 8, 1998 – Big Mac passes Roger Maris for the single season HR record with 62.

4) Game 7, 1987 NLCS – Danny Cox shuts out the Giants and Jose Oquendo blows it open with a 3-run HR in the 2nd inning.

5) September 17, 2001 – Baseball returns after the terror attacks of 9/11 with a rousing welcome by the legendary Jack Buck.

 

And while I look forward to the memories 2005 might have in store and to the new memories to be created in the new park, let’s pause and take a look back at the best of Busch Stadium, 1966-2004.

 

***Stats are through 2004***

Statistical data is courtesy www.baseball-reference.com

 

Best Teams

RANK

YEAR

WINS

LOSSES

RESULT

1

1967

101

60

World Series Champs

2

2004

105

57

N.L. Champs

3

1982

92

70

World Series Champs

4

1985

101

61

N.L. Champs

5

1967

95

67

N.L. Champs

 

Best Managers

RANK

MANAGER

WINS

LOSSES

NOTES

1

Whitey Herzog

822

728

 3 Div. Titles, 3 N.L. Titles, 1 W.S. Title

2

Tony LaRussa

794

663

 5 Div. Titles, 1 N.L Title

3

Red Schoendienst

961

874

 2 N.L. Titles, 1 W.S. Title

4

Joe Torre

351

354

 

 

Best Defensive Players

POS.

PLAYER

GOLD GLOVES

P

Bob Gibson

 (8) 1966-73

C

 Tom Pagnozzi

(3) 1991-92, 1994

1B

 Keith Hernandez

(5) 1978-82

2B

Fernando Vina

(2) 2001-02

3B

Scott Rolen

(3) 2002-04

SS

Ozzie Smith

(11) 1982-92

OF

Jim Edmonds

(5) 2000-04

OF

Willie McGee

(3) 1983, 1985-86

OF

Curt Flood

(4) 1966-69

 

Best Offensive Players (Silver Sluggers became an award in 1980)

POS.

PLAYER

NOTABLE CAREER STATS

P

Bob Gibson 

 .206 avg, 24 HR, 144 RBI

C

 Ted Simmons

 .285 avg, 248 HR, 1389 RBI 

1B

Albert Pujols

 .334 avg, 199 HR, 612 RBI – 3 NL Silver Slugger Awards

2B

Tom Herr 

 .271 avg, 188 SB, 574 RBI

3B

 Joe Torre

 .297 avg, 252 HR, 1185 RBI – 1971 NL MVP, 1971 NL Batting Champ.

SS

 Edgar Renteria

 .288 avg, 246 SB, 646 RBI – 3 NL Silver Slugger Awards

OF

 Lou Brock

 .293 avg, 893 SB, 900 RBI, 3023 Hits

OF

 Willie McGee

 .295 avg, 352 SB, 856 RBI - 1985 NL MVP, ’85,’90 NL Batting Champ.

OF

 Jim Edmonds

 .291 avg, 329 HR, 991 RBI

 

 

All-60’s Team (1966-1969)

POS.

PLAYER

P

Bob Gibson

C

Tim McCarver

1B

Orlando Cepeda

2B

Julian Javier

3B

Mike Shannon

SS

Dal Maxvill

OF

Lou Brock

OF

Curt Flood

OF

Roger Maris

 

All-70’s Team (1970-1979)

POS.

PLAYER

P

Bob Forsch

C

Ted Simmons

1B

Keith Hernandez

2B

Ted Sizemore

3B

Joe Torre

SS

Garry Templeton

OF

Lou Brock

OF

Jerry Mumphrey

OF

Reggie Smith

 

All-80’s Team (1980-1989)

POS.

PLAYER

P

Joaquin Andujar

C

Darrell Porter

1B

Jack Clark

2B

Tom Herr

3B

Terry Pendleton

SS

Ozzie Smith

OF

Vince Coleman

OF

Willie McGee

OF

George Hendrick

 

All-90’s Team (1990-1999)

POS.

PLAYER

P

Bob Tewksbury

C

Tom Pagnozzi

1B

Mark McGwire

2B

Jose Oquendo

3B

Todd Zeile

SS

Ozzie Smith

OF

Bernard Gilkey

OF

Ray Lankford

OF

Brian Jordan

 

All-00’s Team (2000-2004)

POS.

PLAYER

P

Matt Morris

C

Mike Matheny

1B

Albert Pujols

2B

Fernando Vina

3B

Scott Rolen

SS

Edgar Renteria

OF

J.D. Drew

OF

Reggie Sanders

OF

Jim Edmonds

 

The Chief Justice and The Powdered Wig grew up as fans of the St. Louis Cardinals. Living some three and a half hours from St. Louis, each trip to Busch Stadium to see the Redbirds in person was a treasured event.  Several of those trips were taken together, and at a moment’s notice each of them can provide details of every game watched in the shadow of the Gateway Arch.  Join The Wig as he pays to tribute to some of Busch’s greatest moments and greatest players.  If you have special memories of the stadium you would like to share with The High Court, feel free to do so at powderedwig@thehighcourtofsports.com.  And if you enjoy The Wig’s work on Busch, check out The Chief Justice’s Hall of Fame case for Ken Boyer and Ron Santo.