1960s Timeline

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Jan 12

Stan Musial Talks Conditioning

Jan. 12, 1963 - Stan Musial (pictured with Vin Scully), 42, who says his conditioning program has added five years to his playing career, is busy getting ready for spring training. “We’re due at training camp March 1, and about 10 days later we start the exhibition season,” said Stan. “That doesn’t give you time to get into condition if you’re out of shape.” Musial worked out today with teammates Red Schoendienst and Bill White. Cardinals General Manager Bing Devine, watching

Jan 5

Baseball Star Rogers Hornsby is Dead

Jan. 5, 1963 - Baseball great Rogers Hornsby died this morning of a heart attack at the age of 66. Hornsby was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1942. The man known as “The Rajah” was hired and fired as manager by five major league clubs. He was considered by many as the greatest right-handed hitter in baseball history with a lifetime batting average of .358. He batted over .400 in successive years — a modern record of .424 in 1924 with the St. Louis Cardinals and .403 in

Jan 3

Musial Signs 22nd Contract with Cardinals

Jan. 3, 1963 - A genial and humble Stan (The Man) Musial signed his 22nd contract to play with the St. Louis Cardinals. Musial broke a series of major league records last season, a factor which proved to the 42-year-old outfielder that he was good for another year in baseball. The amount for which Musial signed was believed to be around the $70,000 he received last year. He said, “I think this will be my last year, and I’ll try to end up with a good year.” Musial made a stron

Nov 19, 2022

Pirates Trade Groat and Olivo to Cardinals for Cardwell and Gotay

Nov. 19, 1962 - The Pittsburgh Pirates, making the first of several anticipated trades, sent their seasoned shortstop, Dick Groat (pictured second from right), and a left-handed reliever, Diomedes Olivo, to the St. Louis Cardinals today in a straight trade for a right-handed pitcher, Don Cardwell, and an infielder, Julio Gotay. The Pirate general manager, Joe L. Brown, said, “It will not end our attempts to make other deals of the same caliber.” The trade appeared to be one o

Nov 19, 2022

Browns Top Cardinals as Brown and Ryan Shine

Nov. 19, 1962 - Jim Brown scored 4 touchdowns and Frank Ryan had his greatest passing day as the Browns defeated the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday, 38-14. Brown gained 85 yards in 19 runs, and Ryan completed 13 of 21 passes for 241 yards. Cleveland outgained the Cardinals by only 2 yards but built their 24-point margin as the St. Louis club lost the ball twice on the 2-yard line after long drives. Gary Collins, a punter who had seen little active service this year, was Ryan’s

Sep 30, 2022

Dodgers Lose, Will Face Giants in Three-Game Playoff

Sept. 30, 1962 - Unable to halt one of the most amazing crackups by a front-runner in major league history, the Dodgers today plunged the National League pennant race into its fourth playoff series in 17 years. Minutes after the scoreboard in Los Angeles revealed that Willie Mays’s homer in San Francisco had resulted in a victory over Houston, Gene Oliver of the Cardinals belted a homer that jarred a gathering of 42,325 into stunned silence. The blow, coming in the top of the

Sep 27, 2022

Cards Top Giants in Big Jolt to S.F. Pennant Hopes

Sept. 27, 1962 - Gene Oliver’s 3-run homer capped an early St. Louis Cardinal outburst today that stood up for a 7-4 victory over San Francisco. The defeat was a big jolt to the Giants’ pennant hopes. Stan Musial hit 5 singles in 5 trips for the Cards and raised his batting average to .333. Willie Mays killed a Giant rally in the sixth inning with a rare mental error (pictured). It happened in the sixth after he had doubled home a run and moved to third on an infield out. Orl

Sep 26, 2022

Dodgers Annihilate Colts, 13-1, Hondo Leads Attack

Sept. 26, 1962 - The Los Angeles Dodgers, faced with the prospect of having their league lead cut to one game if they lost, today unleashed their biggest bombardment in a month. With Frank Howard (pictured) leading the attack, the Dodgers crushed the Houston Colts, 13-1. The Giants had whittled the Dodger lead to a game and a half earlier in the day by beating the Cardinals, but tonight’s victory restored the Los Angeles lead to two games with only four contests remaining. Th

Sep 23, 2022

Maury Wills Breaks Cobb Record

Sept. 23, 1962 - Maury Wills of the Los Angeles Dodgers stole two bases today (Nos. 96 and 97) and broke Ty Cobb’s season record which has held since 1915, but the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the league leaders, 12-2. Wills went one ahead of Ty Cobb’s modern stolen base mark in the seventh inning. After reaching base on a single, he stole second easily. The throw, high over the bag, was not held. He tied Cobb in the third after reaching base on a hit. With a St. Louis crowd

Sep 22, 2022

Dodgers Top Cards, Now Lead Giants by Four Games

Sept. 22, 1962 - A 3-run homer by Tommy Davis (pictured) enabled the Dodgers to defeat the Cardinals, 4-1, today in St. Louis. The Cards outhit the Dodgers, 12-6, but left 14 men on base. The victory increased the Dodgers’ league lead to four games over the Giants, who lost to Houston. The Dodgers pounced on a Cardinal rookie right-hander, Ray Washburn, for all of their runs and four of their six hits in the fourth inning. Maury Wills opened the inning with a walk and went to

Sep 21, 2022

Cards Demolish Dodgers, 11-2

Sept. 21, 1962 - Maury Wills (pictured) of Los Angeles stole his 95th base tonight, but the Cardinals crushed the Dodgers, 11-2, in St. Louis. Charlie James hit a grand-slam homer off Sandy Koufax, as the Redbirds backed Curt Simmons with four-run and seven-run innings. Koufax, who had been sidelined more than two months with a circulatory ailment in his left hand, failed to last one full inning, walking four. When he reached the dugout after having been relieved by Ed Roebuc

Sep 19, 2022

Giants Top Cards, Remain 3 and 1/2 Back

Sept. 19, 1962 - A 3-run homer by Willie Mays led the Giants to their first victory in 7 games, a 7-4 decision over the Cardinals in St. Louis today. The victory enabled the Giants to stay three-and-a-half games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and extended the Cardinals’ losing streak to eight games. Mays’ drive, his 45th homer, marked a 5-run 3rd inning in which the Giants overcame a 4-2 Cardinal lead. Following Mays’ blast, Tom Haller hit his second home run of the game with

Aug 18, 2022

Stan Musial Honored at Polo Grounds

Aug. 18, 1962 - Stanley Frank Musial, who, his roommate Red Schoendienst says, never snores or even smokes in bed, learned once again tonight that a nice guy with no bad habits and a .333 career batting average can finish first. In a ceremony in which he was repeatedly accused of being great, Musial was honored at the Polo Grounds before the second game of the day-night doubleheader matching the Mets and the Cardinals. In the long baseball history of a city whose teams had pl

Aug 16, 2022

Mets to Honor Stan Musial

Aug. 16, 1962 - Stan Musial will be honored tomorrow night at the Polo Grounds before the game between the Cardinals and the Mets. A crowd of 30,000 is expected. The 41-year-old Musial has made a legion of friends on and off the diamond during his 21 seasons in the National League. Many of them will be present to pay homage to the star tomorrow night. Others, including President Kennedy, will send congratulatory messages or gifts. According to legend, Musial was dubbed “Stan

Jul 28, 2022

Mets Drop Cards in St. Louis, 9-8

July 28, 1962 - The Mets won their second game in a little over 24 hours today. Gene Woodling struck the critical blow, a pinch-hit, 2-run homer, as Casey Stengel’s men whipped the Cardinals in St. Louis, 9-8, before 17,179 irritated fans at Busch Stadium. It was a nice present for Stengel, whose 73rd birthday was celebrated after the game at a party conducted by the Mets’ front office. Actually, Casey’s birthday is Monday, but that is an open date for all but All-Star player

Jul 25, 2022

Musial Sets National League RBI Record in Losing Effort

July 25, 1962 - Stan Musial set a National League career record of 1,862 runs batted in with a 2-run homer today, but Don Drysdale gained his 18th victory of the season as the Dodgers beat the Cardinals, 5-2, in St. Louis. Musial had shared the RBI record with Mel Ott of the Giants. Musial’s blast, his 14th homer of the season, bounced off a light tower about 85 feet above the playing field. Drysdale, who has lost only four games, enabled the league-leading Dodgers to stay on

Jul 24, 2022

Mays the Difference as Giants Top Colts, 3-1

July 24, 1962 - Willie Mays hit two home runs and scored a third run after he was hit by a pitch as the San Francisco Giants scored a 3-1 victory over the Houston Colts today. The Giants moved within 1 game of the league-leading Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost to St. Louis, 3-2. Mays leads the majors in homers with 31. Dick Farrell served the homers to Mays in the first and fourth and hit the Giants centerfielder with a pitch in the sixth. He and Mays had words after the incide

Jul 23, 2022

League-Leading Dodgers Dominate Cardinals, 9-2

July 23, 1962 - The league-leading Los Angeles Dodgers scored 3 runs in the second inning, added 5 in the fourth, and went on to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-2, today. Johnny Podres (lower right) scattered nine hits in picking up his sixth victory of the year. He has lost seven. Los Angeles also collected four hits off four pitchers. Frank Howard hit his 17th home run of the season in the second inning with a man on for the Dodgers. Maury Wills hit a three-run homer, his

Jul 22, 2022

Cards Top Colts as Gibson Dominates

July 22, 1962 - Bob Gibson scattered 7 Houston Colt hits for a 3-1 St. Louis Cardinal victory today. The triumph was No. 13 for Gibson, although he had help from Lindy McDaniel with 2 out in the ninth. St. Louis got all three runs in the second on successive doubles by Ken Boyer and Charlie James, then a walk and singles by Gibson and Julian Javier. The Cardinals remain in fifth place behind the Reds, Pirates, Giants, and the league-leading Dodgers. #MLB #baseball #OTD #1960s

Jul 18, 2022

Cards Top Cubs, 2-1, on Bob Gibson’s 3-hitter

July 18, 1962 - Bob Gibson pitched his third successive 3-hitter and struck out 12 in out-dueling Carl Koonce tonight as the St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Chicago Cubs, 2-1. It was Gibson’s 12th victory against 6 defeats. All runs were scored in the fourth inning. After Billy Williams of the Cubs hit his 17th home run, the Cardinals scored on a bases-loaded double by Ken Boyer. Gibson, who had lost twice to Koonce, walked one. Besides the homer, he allowed a single by Ron