1966 St. Louis Cardinals season

The 1966 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 85th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 75th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 83–79 during the season and finished sixth in the National League, 12 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

This article is about the Major League Baseball team. For the National Football League team, see 1966 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season.

1966 St. Louis Cardinals
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record83–79 (.512)
League place6th
Other information
Owner(s)August "Gussie" Busch
General manager(s)Bob Howsam
Manager(s)Red Schoendienst
Local televisionKSD-TV
Local radioKMOX
(Harry Caray, Jack Buck, Jerry Gross)
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Offseason

Regular season

This season marked the final time the Cardinals played in Sportsman's Park/Busch Stadium I, as they played their final home game at that ballpark on May 8, losing to the San Francisco Giants, 10–5. Busch sought to replace the increasingly inadequate Busch Stadium (formerly Sportsman's Park) with a modern facility in a better location. The result was a new multi-purpose, $25 million concrete stadium, also named for Busch's father – Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch II.

The Cardinals moved into Busch II four days later, and defeated the Atlanta Braves, 4–3 in 12 innings. On July 12, the Cardinals hosted the 1966 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at their new stadium, in 105 degree heat and humidity, with the NL defeating the AL, 2–1 in ten innings. Busch Memorial Stadium was where the Cardinals would play baseball until the end of 2005.

Later derided as a facsimile of the bland, cookie-cutter "multi-purpose stadia" built in multiple locations of the United States during the 1960s and 1970s, Busch Memorial achieved a measure of popularity among St. Louis fans in a way that its cousins in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati did not, perhaps due in part to the success of the teams which played there, and perhaps also due to the distinctive roof arches added by architect Edward Durrell Stone — unique touches meant to echo the city's new iconic monument (completed at nearly the same time), the Gateway Arch.

Pitcher Bob Gibson and outfielder Curt Flood won Gold Gloves this year.

Season standings
National League W L Pct. GB Home Road
Los Angeles Dodgers 9567 0.586 — 53–28 42–39
San Francisco Giants 9368 0.578 1½ 47–34 46–34
Pittsburgh Pirates 9270 0.568 3 46–35 46–35
Philadelphia Phillies 8775 0.537 8 48–33 39–42
Atlanta Braves 8577 0.525 10 43–38 42–39
St. Louis Cardinals 8379 0.512 12 43–38 40–41
Cincinnati Reds 7684 0.475 18 46–33 30–51
Houston Astros 7290 0.444 23 45–36 27–54
New York Mets 6695 0.410 28½ 32–49 34–46
Chicago Cubs 59103 0.364 36 32–49 27–54

Record vs. opponents
1966 National League Records

Sources:
Team ATL CHC CIN HOU LAD NYM PHI PIT SF STL
Atlanta —7–1110–814–4–17–1114–411–77–118–107–11
Chicago 11–7—6–125–138–108–105–136–126–124–14
Cincinnati 8–1012–6—4–146–1210–710–88–107–1011–7
Houston 4–14–113–514–4—7–117–117–114–146–1210–8
Los Angeles 11–710–812–611–7—12–611–79–99–910–8
New York 4–1410–87–1011–76–12—7–115–139–97–11
Philadelphia 7-1113–58–1011–77–1111–7—10–810–810–8
Pittsburgh 11–712–610–814–49–913–58–10—7–118–10
San Francisco 10–812–610–712–69–99–98–1011–7—12–6
St. Louis 11–714–47–118–108–1011–78–1010–86–12—

Notable transactions

Roster
1966 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

  •  3 Joe Schultz

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
3BCharley Smith116391104.2661043

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Bob Gibson35280.121122.44225
Al Jackson36232.213152.5190

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Nelson Briles491544153.21100

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Ron Piché201324.2621
Dennis Aust90116.527

Awards and records
  • Tim McCarver, National League leader, Triples, (13). McCarver became the second catcher in the history of the National League to lead the league in triples.[7]

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Tulsa Oilers Pacific Coast League Charlie Metro
AA Arkansas Travelers Texas League Vern Rapp
A St. Petersburg Cardinals Florida State League Sparky Anderson
A Cedar Rapids Cardinals Midwest League Ron Plaza
A Rock Hill Cardinals Western Carolinas League Jack Krol
A-Short Season Eugene Emeralds Northwest League Hugh Luby
Rookie GCL Cardinals Gulf Coast League George Kissell

Eugene affiliation shared with Philadelphia Phillies[8]

References
  1. Charley Smith page at Baseball Reference
  2. Dick Groat page at Baseball Reference
  3. Nate Colbert page at Baseball Reference
  4. Jimy Williams page at Baseball Reference
  5. Willie Montañez page at Baseball Reference
  6. Orlando Cepeda page at Baseball Reference
  7. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.96, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  8. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
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