St Louis Cardinals: Past & Present by Doug Feldmann

St Louis Cardinals: Past & Present by Doug Feldmann (MVP Books, 2009), 144 pages

The St Louis Cardinals are the latest franchise to have a book devoted to them in this impressive series by MVP Books.  Fans of the Red Birds will revel in this eye-catching compilation of great photos and descriptive text that provide a well-rounded history of their storied team.

St Louis Cardinals: Past & Present follows the template laid out in similar tomes produced about the Cubs and the Dodgers, both of which have been reviewed here already.  The decent-sized, hardback book primarily lets the photos take centre stage, but the accompanying text is more than mere page filler.   

The history of the Cardinals is revealed through a wide variety of different sections.  They are a classic franchise due to their long history in a single city (stretching back to the St Louis Brown Stockings that entered the American Association in 1882) and the considerable success they have achieved over the years.  Their ten World Series wins are the most of any National League team; the latest, of course, coming in 2006.

You don’t win so many pennants without having some great players and legendary teams and the Cardinals have certainly had their share of both.  The Gas House Gang of the early 1930s and the 1942 World Champion team receive particular attention, as do the champions of 1967 and 1982. 

As with the books on the Cubs and Dodgers, one of the key features of St Louis Cardinals: Past & Present is the collection of chapters charting the lineage of players at each position throughout the franchise’s history.  First base, for example, has been home to players of the calibre of Johnny Mize, Stan Musial (more often an outfielder), Orlando Cepeda, Keith Hernandez, Mark McGwire and the present incumbent Albert Pujols.  These figures are joined by position players such as Rogers Hornsby, Lou Brock and Ozzie Smith and pitchers like Dizzy Dean and Bob Gibson to form a formidable cast.

Details of their exploits in Cardinal Red are provided throughout the book, with Gibson’s dominance on the mound in the 1967 and 1968 World Series really catching the eye.  Newcomers keen to learn more about the great pitcher could do worse than read Roger Angell’s iconic essay ‘Distance’, available in several collections of his work (‘Game Time’, for example).

Had this book been written five or six years ago, McGwire would undoubtedly have been a more prominent figure.  His fall from grace is not explicitly mentioned and, considering the cloud of uncertainty that still lingers over much of the 1990s and early 2000s (the so-called ‘steroid era’), that is probably for the best.  Even so, it would be wrong to airbrush him (or any other player of the same era) out of baseball history.  Feldmann recognises McGwire’s achievements, but in a noticeably muted tone. 

My favourite part of the previous two books has been the photos of the ballparks and that trend continues here.  Sportsman’s Park (or Busch I) is a little under-represented, but Busch Stadiums II and III get plenty of attention. 

The double-page spread on pages 116 and 177 is fantastic, wonderfully illustrating the way in which the current Busch Stadium gobbled up the previous incarnation.  Page 117 is taken up by two photos, each shot from a similar position inside the two ballparks that reveal how the direction of the field changed.  In Busch II, you are looking out from the first base-line side of the stadium, with the 630-foot Gateway Arch protruding above the enclosed structure beyond the left field.  In Busch III, you are sitting in the upper-deck behind home plate with the Arch situated straight ahead past the open outfield.

The Cardinals don’t come with a particularly iconic ballpark or curse-inflicted tragicomedy story (like the Cubs), nor do they reside in a glamorous, mass media market (like the Dodgers).  What you get with the Cardinals is a pure baseball story, befitting a pure baseball city.  It’s a theme that runs throughout the book and is encapsulated in Feldmann’s comment about the St Louis fans:

“Whether at Sportsman’s Park of one of the Busch Stadiums, the atmosphere felt within the confines of a St. Louis ballpark is different to that felt in other cities’ ballparks, exuding great focus and elation. Cardinals fans have a scholarly appreciation for the game that is mixed with an unbridled enthusiasm.  There are no better fans in baseball, and Cardinals followers know it”.

There is one minor blemish in an otherwise excellent book.  The early deaths of Darrell Porter, Darryl Kile and Josh Hancock are noted alongside the story of Rick Ankiel’s journey from pitching woes to a Major League return as a hitter.  Ankiel’s story is well worth covering, but combining it with the lives of three players being cut tragically short in a chapter titled ‘Hard luck players’ seems inappropriate.

Apart from that, St Louis Cardinals: Past & Present works brilliantly as an enjoyable history of the organization, suitable both for supporters of the Red Birds and for baseball fans keen to learn more about the past of a great baseball franchise.

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