Ten greatest Cub-Cardinal games of all time

Later this week, the Cubs and Cardinals face off for the first time all season. This is probably the most storied and famous baseball rival in the Midwest. After all, these are the two oldest Midwest teams and as an added bonus they both have sizable fan bases.

In honor of this traditional rivalry, I did some wandering over at Retrosheet to look up the best games in history. A few notes looking at what determines if a game makes my list:

Retrosheet doesn’t have boxscores for all baseball history, so thus seasons currently without the full Retrosheet treatment are less likely to have games appear on this countdown. Thus some deserving games won’t make it, but this is the best I can do.

Also, I will prioritize games that took place during pennant races in which both teams were involved. This is really key because unlike baseball’s other storied rivalries (Yankees-Red Sox or Dodgers-Giants), the Cubs and Cards rarely clash for the pennant against each other. The Cubs are mostly to blame for this, because, well, they usually suck. That said, in the early 20th Century the Cubs were great and the Cards sucked. The 1920s and 1930s were the only pronounced time when both were serious contenders, hence you’ll see a lot more of those games. (Also, it turns out there were an unusually large number of spectacular games between the teams then.)

Oh, and as veteran readers of my top-10 lists should already expect, this list has more than 10 games. Folks, I come across a lot of fun games when looking up this stuff, so I’ll tie games together.

Let’s get to it: Here are the 10 greatest games Cub-Cardinal games — all 15 of them:

No. 10: Wartime pennant push

Sept. 1, 1945: Cardinals 3, Cubs 2. The Cubs entered this game in first place, with the Cardinals, who had claimed the previous three consecutive pennants, in second place. The day before St. Louis won the first contest in the three-game series at Sportsman’s Park to pull just 2.5 games behind Chicago. This was the first of eight September meetings between the rivals, so the race was easily within reach to whoever got the better of the other.

This began as a definite pitchers’ duel, with only one run scored in the first six innings, and the game tied 1-1 in the middle of the eighth. Then a mini-flurry of late-inning scoring added to the drama as the Cards and Cubs took turns pushing a run in all of the remaining half-innings. The Cards managed to send the home crowd of nearly 20,000 happy when they scored the winning run with no outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Chicago still led the NL, but only by a game and a half. A fourth straight pennant was for the taking. They never got any closer, but at the time that was not clear.

No. 9 (Tie): Baseball for axe-murderers

April 16, 1955: Cardinals 12, Cubs 11 (14). April 22, 1980: Cubs 16, Cardinals 12. These are the two of the greatest slugfests in Cubs-Cardinals history. The 1955 contest was a back-and-forth that saw the Cardinals blow 2-0, and 6-4. Not to be outdone, the Cubs lost 4-2, and 9-6.

The best part is that when the Cubs scored a pair of runs in the top of the 12th, the Cards came right back and tied it up when Wally Post homered off of Chicago reliever Bubba Church. That was St. Louis’ only homer, but the Cubs had a half-dozen – all with none on.

The 1980 game frankly wasn’t as good overall, but has one key element in its favor: it ended in the coolest way possible, a walk-off grand slam. Actually, the big blast from the bat of backup backstop Barry Foote capped an impressive comeback, as the Cubs trailed 12-6 at one point.

No. 8: Random great game

June 21, 1927: Cardinals 6, Cubs 5 (13). Last year I wrote a column for THT called “Random great game” about a fun Cub-Cardinal 1990 game featuring multiple comebacks I watched as a kid. This was a similar game, only better.

In the 1990 game, the Cubs twice entered the bottom of the frame needing to score a run to avoid losing. Both times they did. In this 1927 game, the Cardinal thrice needed a run – and they did it every time.

They trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the ninth, 4-3 in the 12th, and 5-4 in the 14th. They scored once in each of the first two moments to keep the game going, and twice in the 14th to end it with a win.

There was a pennant race going on (both teams ended the day tied for second place, 2.5 games behind the eventual pennant-winning Pirates), but it’s mostly here because it must’ve been such a fun game to watch.

A Hardball Times Update
Goodbye for now.

No. 7 (tie): Sometimes, a five-run lead in the ninth isn’t enough

Aug. 29, 1930. Cubs 9, Cardinals 8 (13). July 28, 2002: Cardinals 10, Cubs 9. The Cardinal clubhouse could not have been a fun place to be after this one. The Cardinals were in second place with a month left to play, trailing the defending pennant winning Cubs by 5.5 games. However, fresh off an inspiring win the day before (stay tuned, it’ll show up later on the list), the Cards were looking to close in.

Early on, it looked like yesterday’s momentum would carry them through the day. They jumped out to a 5-0 lead early, and that’s how the score stood when the bottom of the ninth rolled in. At that point, the Cubs – so helpless through the first eight innings – rattled off five runs before making three outs. Ouch.

No matter, St. Louis scored three times in the 11th to put the game away. Then the Cubs came back with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Double-ouch. Then the Cubs scored another run two innings later to seal the game. Triple-ouch.

The stunned Cards went on to lose the next day’s contest 16-4 to Chicago. They ended the series 7.5 games out with only a month to play. For a lot of teams, that would’ve ended their season. The Cards just shook it right off and played lights out baseball, winning 21 of their next 24 and clinching the pennant.

The 2002 game was much more straightforward, and with no pennant race story in the background. The bottom of the ninth featured an even more impressive comeback, though, as St. Louis won it outright in regulation. Heck, the Cubs never even got the second out, let alone third. Who knows how many runs the Redbirds could’ve scored before making three outs?

No. 6 (tie): The biggest comebacks (that I know of)

June 24, 1922: Cubs 10, Cardinals 9. July 3, 1925: Cardinals 10, Cubs 8 (10). In both games, a team led by seven runs, only to end up losing the game. St. Louis was up 7-0 after the fourth inning in 1922. An inning-and-a-half later, the Cubs were on top to stay.

Three years later, the Cubs jumped out to an even earlier 7-0 lead, taking only three innings to build their seemingly impregnable position. The Cards didn’t tie the game 7-7 until the eighth and didn’t got ahead until extra frames.

It’s possible, even likely, that there have been bigger comebacks in the series, but either A) Retrosheet doesn’t have their boxscores yet, or B) I missed them.

No. 5 (tie): Chicago postseason dreams

Sept. 25, 1935: Cubs 1, Cardinals 0. Sept. 9, 1989: Cubs 3, Cardinals 2 (10). On Sept. 2, 1935, the Cubs were 79-52, in third place in the National League. They were only 2.5 games behind the first-place (and defending world-champion) Cardinals, but it would clearly take a major pennant push to get them into the World Series.

Well, the Cubs began a pennant push that could safely be called major. In fact, when the Cubs and Cardinals faced off on that day in the first of a five-game season-ending series against the Cards, they hadn’t lost since Sept. 2. Their record stood at 97-52, with a three-game lead over the Cards.

St. Louis could still claim the pennant by torching Chicago in the series, but Chicago just needed a win this day to wrap up the title. A Phil Cavaretta homer provided Chicago’s only run, but that’s all the Cubs needed as Cub pitcher Lon Warneke hurled a gem, allowing exactly two hits and facing only 28 batters. There have been better pitching performances in Cubs-Cardinals history, but none came in such a high-stakes game.

The 1989 contest was actually a bit more dramatic. The Cardinals entered the game trailing the front-running Cubs by only a half-game. Whoever won that day would be in first place. The Cubs led most of the day, 1-0, but St. Louis pushed across a pair in the sixth to take the lead. St. Louis threatened to extend their lead in the top of the eighth, but couldn’t capitalize. Instead, the Cubs tied it in the bottom of the frame and won it in extra innings.

This didn’t end the 1989 division race, but the Cards fell apart right after it, and didn’t win another game for almost a week. Actually, this game marked the effective end of Whiteyball. The Cards, winners of three of the previous seven NL pennants, got off to a terrible start in 1990, and Whitey Herzog resigned as manager. The team didn’t return to glory until Tony LaRussa arrived.

No. 4: The only nine-inning no-hitter

May 15, 1960: Cubs 4, Cardinals 0. This really wasn’t a great game, but a great performance. But my, what a performance! Don Cardwell not only tossed a no-hitter, but he only walked one batter, Alex Grammas, who made it on with one out in the first inning. The next 26 went down in order.

In my previous lists I’ve ranked no-hitters fairly low, because the games themselves aren’t that good. That said, I’m probably just over thinking myself when I do that. Would you rather watch a no-hitter or a back-and-forth game? Yeah, I’d generally go with the no-hitter, too.

I should note King Cole threw a no-hitter for the Cubs against St. Louis in 1910, but the game ended after seven innings.

No. 3 (Tie): Best pitchers duels

April 13, 1950: Cardinals 1, Cubs 0 (13). Oct. 1, 1920: Cubs 2, Cardinals 1 (17). The 1950 game is the longest 1-0 game in Cubs-Cardinals history. (Well, that I know of – Retrosheet doesn’t have extra-inning info for all baseball history.) It’s also the only game listed for which there’s no Retrosheet boxscore available, so I don’t have much else to say about it.

The 1920 game was fun. Only one Cubs-Cardinals game (that I have extra-inning info for anyway) has ever gone longer than its 17 innings. And, because it was 1920, both starting pitchers went the distance. Added bonus: both are Hall of Famers – the extremely deserving Pete Alexander won his 27th game of the year, and the bad joke of a VC selection Jesse Haines was not only the hard-luck loser, but picked up his 20th loss of the season.

If it’s any consolation, Haines’ Game Score of 97 ties the record for highest known Game Score in a Cubs-Cardinals game. (It’s tied with then-Cardinal Ernie Broglio, who picked up a 97 in a shutout on July 15, 1960.) Pete Alexander’s Game Score of 94 is the second-best by a Cubs pitcher against St. Louis. The best? A score of 96 on Sept. 25, 1920 by Frank Castillo. Yeah, that’s right – Frank Castillo.

No. 2: The greatest Cubs-Cardinals game in memory

June 23, 1984. Cubs 12, Cardinals 11 (11). Yup, it’s the Sandberg game.

This was back when NBC’s Game of the Week really meant something, and this GotW immediately established Sandberg across the nation as a star as he hit game-tying homers off of Bruce Sutter in the ninth and 10th innings. (My how the game has changed: Bruce Sutter faced 15 batters and threw 3.1 innings.)

The Cardinals jumped out to an early 7-1 lead, and were cruising along up 9-3 when the Cubs scored fifth in the bottom of the sixth. Then Sandberg tied it twice in a row with a solo shot in the ninth and a two-run shot in the tenth. He had nothing to do with the final rally though. Leon Durham walked, stole second and advanced to third on a catcher error. St. Louis then intentionally walked the bases loaded, only to have a pinch-hit single send in Dawson. This game had an impressive comeback, a multitude of late-inning heroics, the signature moment for a Hall of Famer. Yeah, it’s a great game – but not quite the greatest of them all.

No. 1: The greatest Cubs-Cardinals game in history, Cardinals 8, Cubs 7 (20)

Aug. 28, 1930: Cardinals 8, Cubs 7 (20). I’ll admit, part of the fun in doing a column like this to reach back and find some game no one’s ever heard of and arguing on behalf of its brilliance. So perhaps that biases me a bit toward putting this up at No. 1.

Perhaps, but I really don’t think so. This is a game unlike any other. First off, it’s the longest Cubs-Cardinals game ever. None other topped 17 innings. Second, it came in one of those brief spells where both teams were serious pennant contenders. In contrast, during the Sandberg game, the Cubs may have been on their way to the title, but the Cards were in midst of their second straight .500ish season.

In 1930, the Cubs were defending NL champs and in first place when the game happened. The Cardinals would eventually win the pennant this year. The two teams combined for eight of the ten NL pennants from 1926-35, and this was right in the middle of that stretch. A keen eye will have already noticed that this game took place the day before game No. 7 on this list.

Last, but certainly not least, this really was a spectacular game. St. Louis pounced out to an early 5-0 lead, only to see a late Cubs rally tie it back up. The game then featured some impressive extra-inning heroics, as the Cards went up 7-5 in the 15th, only to see the Cubs tie it up in the bottom of the frame.

Last but not least, this game also featured possibly the greatest relief performance in any Cubs-Cardinals game, as St. Louis hurler Syl Johnson tossed the last 12 innings, allowing only two runs on nine hits and one walk, while fanning nine. Game Scores aren’t supposed to be applied to relievers, but Johnson’s line would give him a score of 84.

If this game happened in current times, I think it would be an easy No. 1. Since the article is on the best Cubs-Cardinals games in all history, not just within the scope of lived memory, it belongs at No. 1 despite its obscurity.

Final thoughts

I’m sure there are some great ones I missed. That’s fine. While the most enjoyable part of this process is researching all the great games the teams have played, the second best part is hearing people bring up their choices for games I passed over or just plain missed. Feel free to submit your choices in the comments.

References & Resources
This article would not be possible without the wonder and glory that is Retrosheet.


22 Comments
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Jeff
13 years ago

Thanks – this is a cool read.  I’m not sure if any of these games would make the list individually, but the late season 5 game series in September 2003 (http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/2003-schedule-scores.shtml) was an intense 4 days of baseball.

vinnie
13 years ago

Chris,
  You mean Wally Moon, not Wally Post.

Gilbert
13 years ago

“The best? A score of 96 on Sept. 25, 1920 by Frank Castillo. Yeah, that’s right – Frank Castillo.”

Very impressive feat by the Cub righthander 48 years before he was born.  He must have been made of antimoyer.

(For the record it must be 9/25/95)

Chris J.
13 years ago

Jeff – that was a great series.

Vinnie – good catch. 

Gilbert – Another good catch.  And you’re right – it was the 9/25/95 game.

Kahuna Tuna
13 years ago

Fun note about Don Cardwell’s no-hitter:  It was Cardwell’s first start after the Cubs acquired him from Philadelphia.  Cardwell had a good 1961 and a so-so 1962 for the Cubs, then, via trades to the Cardinals and then the Pirates, enabled the Cards to land Dick Groat, who helped turn them into solid pennant contenders for the first time since the late ‘40s.  Needless to say, that’s probably not the result that the Cubs were hoping to achieve.

Some other high-scoring Cubs-Cardinals games include single-game scores of 15-11 Cubs (8/29/22), 17-13 Cardinals (7/12/31), 23-13 Cubs (4/17/54), 16-11 Cubs (7/28/63), and 16-12 Cubs (4/22/80).  The three-game series of July 3 and 4, 1928, in St. Louis, must have been great fun, too:  a 13-5 Cubs win on the 3rd, followed by a July 4 doubleheader split, 11-6 Cardinals and 16-9 Cubs — 60 runs in three games!  And St. Louis did score 26 against the Cubs in one 1894 game, back when they were still known as the Browns.  However, from thumbing through the Retrosheet game logs, I get the impression that the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry over the years has featured relatively few knock-down, drag-out, waive-half-the-pitching-staff slugfests.  This series has included a whole lot of good pitching performances.

Matt S.
13 years ago

What a great idea! It’s nice to read something about a rivalry OTHER than BOS-NYY.

Anyway, how about 09/02/2003? This was the second game of what was a FIVE game series at Wrigley Field. It was the first game of a doubleheader that day.

The Cubs started the series 2 1/2 games out of first place. They proceeded to take four of five and this was what started their run to the playoffs (before the notable Florida series loss).

This game in particular was a 15-inning thriller which ended on a Sammy Sosa 2-run homer.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN200309021.shtml

Matt S.
13 years ago

Sorry, should have read Jeff’s comment! But that game specifically stood out to me.

To redeem myself, here’s one more:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN200407190.shtml

This was a crazy game I was at where Edmonds gawked at a HR he hit off of Zambrano and the big righty yelled at him as he rounded the bases. Then late in the game Z got the last crescendo after hitting Edmonds (who was a villain in Chicago at the time) for the second time in the game. Z was ejected and the Cards won the game but it was very memorable.

Kirk
13 years ago

Chris, I would like to nominate another game.  On July 25, 1967, the Cardinals were at home against the Cubs and the teams were tied for first place.  The Cardinals, who went on to win the World Series that year, were struggling to hang on after losing Bob Gibson to a broken leg a week earlier.  The Cardinals got to the Cubs starter early but then were shut down by an outstanding long relief performance from Bob Shaw.  The Cubs chipped away in the bottom of the ninth with two out and runners at first and second, Ted Savage, a speedster and former Cardinal on first, tried to score from first on a routine single to center.  He was thrown out on a bang bang play at the plate on a perfect throw by Bob Tolan to Orlando Cepeda the relay man and then on to Tim McCarver for the out.  Busch Stadium went wild (I was a 15 year old kid in the center field bleachers).  The tough win brought the Cardinals out of a slump, launched them on a 6 game win streak, and they went on to win the NL by 10 games.

  http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1967/B07250SLN1967.htm

StL Dan
13 years ago

CARDS > cubs

Daniel Evensen
13 years ago

I’m proud to say that I own video copies of that 1980 grand slam game, as well as the 1984 Sandberg game and bits and pieces of a great 1998 regular season game (this one: http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1998/B08190CHN1998.htm). When I was little, WGN rebroadcast that 1989 game, and I recorded parts of the 8th inning, but didn’t get much more, unfortunately. I’d sure like to see it, though.

I’ve been doing some ProQuest research in my spare time. If you want, I can find the Chicago Tribune article for that 1930 (#1) game.

Matt
13 years ago

July 20, 2004.  Go ahead and redo the list after checking that one.

dat cubfan daver
13 years ago

Great article. I like how you included mostly historical games that many contemporary fans probably don’t know about. Having said that, it seems like one of the Aug. 2003 games should be in there. Also, from a pure marketing standpoint, you probably should’ve held off on running this piece until this weekend when the 2010 Cubs and Cards face off. Still, very cool.

Nick
13 years ago

Not sure if I still have the scorecard, but I recently found my ticket stub for the Sandberg game.

Incidentally, Willie McGee also hit for the cycle in that game.

Scarf
13 years ago

Another great, recent Cards/Cubs game: July 5 2008, when I was part of what was then the biggest crowd ever at Busch III for a game that essentially no one saw, because it was on Fox at the same time as Empire/Nation and you know the drill.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN200807050.shtml

I still remember the guys next to 19-year-old me sneaking me cereal malt beverages, a Cubs fan throwing a ball onto the field (and this was on the third-base line) after Ankiel’s home run and then being form-tackled by a cop right before four sturdy-looking gents in “WRIGLEY FIELD AND A CACTUS—SPOT THE DIFFERENCE” shirts were about to beat him up, and that same converted pitcher hitting a single off Wood to win it, which at the same time marked the end of his incredible start to that season.

John Ingham
13 years ago

Well, I will grant that all these things are matters of choice and not everyone will agree.  However,I can’t agree about the Cardwell no-hitter.  To me, Sam Jones no-hitter on May 12, 1955 was far more significant.  It was, first of all, the first by an African American, and, second, Jones (who was notoriously wild as well as having a great curve ball)walked the bases full in the ninth, and then struck out the side.  It was, if not the first, certainly one of the first Cub no-hitters and the first after WWII.

Mr. White Stockings
13 years ago

I’m surprised to see that there was no mention of any of the games from the 1880s when these two franchises met in back to back (1885 & 1886) World’s Championship series. I’m just wondering if the author took into account the importance of the National League v. American Association rivalry that was prevalent during that era. In addition, this is perhaps the genesis for the St.Louis-Chicago Rivalry. It would have been nice to include a game or two (perhaps the clincher) between Anson’s Chicago White Stockings (Cubs) and Comiskey’s St. Louis Brown Stockings (Cardinals).

niusteve
13 years ago

The one memory I have of Cubs-Cards battles that has not been mentioned is some of the great Jenkins-Gibson match-ups. Don’t have any of the details at hand, but at least one of their pitching duels should have made the list, no?

Robert
13 years ago

May not fit the category of one of the greatest, but the game following Darryl Kile’s death will live in my memory as the most somber baseball game I have seen and probably ever will see.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN200206230.shtml

Karl
13 years ago

I agree with Matt S. about the Sept. 2, 2003. This game was a critical turning point in the season and seeded the late season surge from 3rd to 1st, at the Cardinals’ expense.

JoePepitone
13 years ago

Regarding John Ingham’s comment: Sam Jones’ 1955 no-hitter was vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates, not the Cards.  Not really relevant in an article about the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry.

Kahuna Tuna
13 years ago

Regarding Gibson vs. Jenkins, I’d nominate this September 23, 1970 game, in which Gibson outdueled Jenkins 2-1 to drop the Cubs two games out of the NL East lead with a week left in the season.

Strangely enough, that’s the only game later than August 4 where those two great pitchers went head to head against each other.  The Cubs won six of the nine Gibson-Jenkins matchups, and Gibson really had to work for the three victories he got:  1-0 on June 20, 1968; the 2-1 win linked above; and 1-0 on May 31, 1972.

Jenkins and the Cubs beat Gibson and the Cardinals on June 3, 1967; April 20, 1968; August 4, 1968; June 29, 1969; July 4, 1969; and April 6, 1971 (Opening Day).

JWP
13 years ago

Matt,

I second and third the July 20, 2004 game.  Also happened the day after the 7/19/2004 Zambrano/Edmonds game another commenter mentioned.

The “Pujols Game” deserves its due tied with the “Sandberg Game” in 2nd place, although both deserve their own entries.

More impressive than Pujols’ 3 home runs (I admit at least one was a BS Wrigley windblown basket-shot), is 115-pound So Taguchi (SO!  TAGUCHI!!) hitting one out of the park onto Waveland Ave.  And LaTroy Hawkins’ uber-meltdown is a capsule of all the Cubs’ baseball of the last 15-20 years….

Last thought, I was at the Sandberg game with my parents on a 3-day Cardinals charter-bus trip to Chicago.  A discouraging sweep with McGee the only highlight.  But I saw history….

JWP