Baseball Magic and Mayhem in St. Louis: The 1926 Cardinals, World Series Champions

In 1926, after 38 years of frustration, the St. Louis Cardinals won their first championship. Led by the mercurial trio of owner Sam Breadon, general manager Branch Rickey, and player-manager Rogers Hornsby, St. Louis survived a frenetic race to claim the National League pennant and then toppled the mighty New York Yankees in a classic World Series showdown.

This work provides the most in-depth account, a play-by-play of sorts, of that dramatic season. The young redbirds floundered at the start but two crucial, in-season acquisitions--veteran outfielder Billy Southworth and the legendary but alcohol-ravaged pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander, who was discarded by the Cubs--provided the spark that catapulted the Cardinals to baseball’s mountaintop. Within months, the fans’ unbridled joy gave way to shocked dismay as long-simmering tensions between the team’s leaders led to the trade of manager and star player Rogers Hornsby to the New York Giants. Despite this stunning development, the groundwork was laid to make the Cardinals one of the most storied franchises in major league baseball.

Kevin J. Abing is currently a freelance writer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.