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The Spirit of St. Louis: A History of the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns – An Oral History of Baseball Heritage and a City's Enduring Passion
No metropolis in America has more pure baseball spirit than St. Louis, Missouri. It's a love affair that began in 1874, when a band of local boosters raised $20,000 to start a professional ball club, and the honeymoon still isn't over. Now Peter Golenbock, the bestselling author and master of baseball oral history, has written another remarkable saga enriched by extensive and incomparable remembrances from the scores of players, managers, and executives who lived it.
These pages capture the voices of Branch Rickey on George Sisler. Rogers Hornsby and his creation of the farm system. Hornsby on Grover Cleveland Alexander -- and Alexander on Hornsby. Dizzy Dean on -- who else? -- Dizzy Dean. And so many others including "The Man" himself, Stan Musial; Eldon Auker, Ellis Clary, Denny Galehouse, and Don Gutteridge on the 1940s Browns; Brooks Lawrence, the second man to cross the Cardinals' color line; Jim Bronsnan, the first man to break the players' "code of silence"; Tommy Herr, Darrell Porter, and Joe McGrane on Whitey Herzog's Cardinals; and Cardinal owner Bill DeWitt, Jr., on the team today.
These pages capture the voices of Branch Rickey on George Sisler. Rogers Hornsby and his creation of the farm system. Hornsby on Grover Cleveland Alexander -- and Alexander on Hornsby. Dizzy Dean on -- who else? -- Dizzy Dean. And so many others including "The Man" himself, Stan Musial; Eldon Auker, Ellis Clary, Denny Galehouse, and Don Gutteridge on the 1940s Browns; Brooks Lawrence, the second man to cross the Cardinals' color line; Jim Bronsnan, the first man to break the players' "code of silence"; Tommy Herr, Darrell Porter, and Joe McGrane on Whitey Herzog's Cardinals; and Cardinal owner Bill DeWitt, Jr., on the team today.
672 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2000
36 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Peter Golenbock
81 books27 followersGolenbock grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, and in 1963 graduated St. Luke's School in New Canaan, Connecticut. His heroes were Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford. One day in the local library he discovered the book, The New York Yankees: An Informal History by Frank Graham ( G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1943) and it made a strong impression on him.''
Golenbock graduated from Dartmouth College in 1967 and the New York University School of Law in 1970.
He was a radio sports talk show host in 1980 on station WOR in New York City. He was the color broadcaster for the St. Petersburg Pelicans of the Senior Professional Baseball League in 1989-90 and has been a frequent guest on many of the top television and radio talk shows including "Biography on A&E," the "Fifty Greatest Athletes and the Dynasties on ESPN," "Good Morning America," "Larry King Live," "ESPN Classic," and the YES network.
Golenbock lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his two basset hounds, Doris and Fred.
Golenbock graduated from Dartmouth College in 1967 and the New York University School of Law in 1970.
He was a radio sports talk show host in 1980 on station WOR in New York City. He was the color broadcaster for the St. Petersburg Pelicans of the Senior Professional Baseball League in 1989-90 and has been a frequent guest on many of the top television and radio talk shows including "Biography on A&E," the "Fifty Greatest Athletes and the Dynasties on ESPN," "Good Morning America," "Larry King Live," "ESPN Classic," and the YES network.
Golenbock lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his two basset hounds, Doris and Fred.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 23, 2025
As someone who generally hates the modern-day St. Louis Cardinals, it is somewhat surprising how much I enjoyed this book. But Bums: An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers is one of my favorite baseball books, so it's no surprise that I found this quite similar oral history equally enjoyable.
My main takeaway from this book is probably one I already knew but never thought about: outside of the New York boroughs, St. Louis probably has the richest Major League Baseball tradition of any city. Starting with the St. Lous Browns just after the Civil War, baseball has been a major facet of the SL entertainment scene. And despite how tiresome it is to hear Chip Caray wax rhapsodic about the intelligence of Busch Stadium fans for applauding a grounder to second that advances a runner to third, I admit that when it comes to baseball history, it's hard to beat St. Louis.
This is a massive book. And it's far too long to go through all the notable facts. But there were some great ones.
- Charles Comiskey was one of the original stars of the 19th century Browns, who played in the American Association.
- The Browns and a few other teams created the AA b/c tee-totaler Al Spalding ran the National League back then, and the Browns were owned by Chris Von der Ahe, a German bar owner, who wanted to sell his product at the games. So the desire to sell beer was fundamental to the creation of this second league.
- Von der Ahe was stripped of the franchise in the last 1890s. The group that bought the team re-christened them as the Cardinals.
- The Milwaukee Brewers of the AA then moved to SL and became (once again) the American League Browns in 1902.
- Comiskey pioneered modern first base play. Prior to him, first baseman didn't play off the bag, but stood right near it to field throws from other infielders.
- Branch Rickey was originally employed in MLB by the Browns. He was genuinely a genius for the game, spearheading the creation of the minor leagues and pioneering the tradition of taking the team south for spring training. But as in his more famous period with Brooklyn, he was a notorious cheapskate. Of course, he also built the amazing Cardinals teams in the 1930s and early '40s before moving on to the Dodgers.
- Tales of drunkenness and gambling among the players of the early 20th century give one the sense that maybe we were all too hard on Pete Rose. Former hitting star Rogers Hornsby, who eventually managed the Browns in the '30s, would use a clubhouse boy to run across the street and make bets for him during games, both on horses and on other MLB games. He was quietly fired.
- Bill Veeck owned the Browns near the end of their existence and employed midget Eddie Gaedel to pinch hit in the 1951 season. This led to a great remembrance by Bill DeWitt, Jr., who later owned the Cardinals, and whose father once owned the Browns prior to Veeck. Young Bill had his own custom Browns uniform in a child's size: "And so my father came to me one day, and he said, 'Bill is going to have a midget come to the plate and pinch-hit in a game, and we don't have a uniform to fit him, cause he's kind of small, and your uniform is a pretty close fit. So we need to borrow it.' So I said, 'Great.'"
- Veeck also employed the "Grandstand Manager's Night" that season, where the team would ask the crowd questions like "Should the Browns steal?" and the fans would have flip-cards that said "yes" or "no".
- Harry Caray was the long-time voice of the Cardinals before moving on to Chicago. Towards the end of his time, he was partners with Jack Buck, who eventually replaced Caray as top dog. Caray was an incredible showman and a great PR man, but is described throughout as a "company man". He liked to hang out with owner Gussie Busch and get shitfaced with him. Caray calls Busch a great "booze and broads" guy. Caray was notoriously critical of players (Ken Boyer is referenced a few times) and wasn't well-liked by them. He was basically known as a notorious ass-kisser. Later, of course, he became the lovable character of Harry Caray with the Cubs, but his early reputation was more two-fold: a legitimately great broadcaster whom many considered the equal of Mel Allen or Red Barber at the time; and a something of an ass-kissing dick.
- Cards pitcher Jim Brosnan wrote a behind-the-scenes book about the 1960 season called "The Long Season", which predated Jim Bouton's more famous "Ball Four". Would be a good one to read.
- Somewhat ironically for a city like St. Lous, which is still considered to be quite "southern", the early 1960s Cardinals were a model of racial harmony, attested to by none other than outfielder Curt Flood: "There we were, including the volatile Cepeda, the impossible Maris, and the impenetrable Gibson -- three celebrated noncandidates for togethness. There we were -- Latina, black, liberal whites and redeemed peckerwoods -- the best team in the game and the most exultant. A beautiful little foretaste of what life will be like when Americans finally unshackle themselves."
- Though Golenbock defends him, catcher Joe Garagiola comes off as a bit of a racist, both for his controversial spiking of Jackie Robinson during a game in 1950, and for other issues that came up during the early years of integration. I always kinda considered Garagiola to be a putz.
- Rich Folkers, who pitched for the Cardinals in the early 1970s, had a memorable quote about the game. "That's baseball, the only game where you have to get the last out. No time is going to run out on you, like the other sports. In baseball there is no time limit. You can't have the clock run out and say 'Geez, it's the sixth inning and we've played three hours, sorry, the game is over, we win, 2-1. Bases loaded, no outs. Bye. See ya. You can't walk off the field. You have to play until the last out.'"
This is a wonderful book. It was great to read about the fabulous Cardinals teams of the 1930s and 1940s; the impeccable hitting of Stan Musial; the dominant, Bob Gibson-led teams of the '60s who played in 3 Series in 5 seasons; and into the 1980s -- the '82 team that broke my 1o-year-old heart by beating my Brewers in the World Series, and the '85 team led by Vince Coleman, Tom Herr, Willie McGee and Jack Clark, who blew a 3-1 Series lead to the Royals and lost Game 6 on a blown call by Don Denkinger that would be clearly and obviously overturned today.
Golenbock has his blind spots -- he claims that the proposed players strike over Robinson's entry into the league in 1947, which (according to Roger Kahn) was either led by or fortified by the Cardinals, was never really a thing. And, unfortunately, he ends the book with an embarrassing paean to Mark McGwire and the home run races of the late '90s. I remember that time well, was in attendance for more than one of the late September games involving both McGwire and Sammy Sosa; the entire country of baseball fans was caught up in it, for which there is no shame. But Golenbock embarrassingly lionizes McGwire as an amazing human, eating up and regurgitating all his PR-minded quotes and donations to charity. The last chapter of the book is, in fact, entitled "God".
It's a rough ending to a great book, and it doesn't detract from the rest of it. The Cardinals play the Cubs tonight in the first of four at the latest Busch Stadium. I'll be rooting for them.
My main takeaway from this book is probably one I already knew but never thought about: outside of the New York boroughs, St. Louis probably has the richest Major League Baseball tradition of any city. Starting with the St. Lous Browns just after the Civil War, baseball has been a major facet of the SL entertainment scene. And despite how tiresome it is to hear Chip Caray wax rhapsodic about the intelligence of Busch Stadium fans for applauding a grounder to second that advances a runner to third, I admit that when it comes to baseball history, it's hard to beat St. Louis.
This is a massive book. And it's far too long to go through all the notable facts. But there were some great ones.
- Charles Comiskey was one of the original stars of the 19th century Browns, who played in the American Association.
- The Browns and a few other teams created the AA b/c tee-totaler Al Spalding ran the National League back then, and the Browns were owned by Chris Von der Ahe, a German bar owner, who wanted to sell his product at the games. So the desire to sell beer was fundamental to the creation of this second league.
- Von der Ahe was stripped of the franchise in the last 1890s. The group that bought the team re-christened them as the Cardinals.
- The Milwaukee Brewers of the AA then moved to SL and became (once again) the American League Browns in 1902.
- Comiskey pioneered modern first base play. Prior to him, first baseman didn't play off the bag, but stood right near it to field throws from other infielders.
- Branch Rickey was originally employed in MLB by the Browns. He was genuinely a genius for the game, spearheading the creation of the minor leagues and pioneering the tradition of taking the team south for spring training. But as in his more famous period with Brooklyn, he was a notorious cheapskate. Of course, he also built the amazing Cardinals teams in the 1930s and early '40s before moving on to the Dodgers.
- Tales of drunkenness and gambling among the players of the early 20th century give one the sense that maybe we were all too hard on Pete Rose. Former hitting star Rogers Hornsby, who eventually managed the Browns in the '30s, would use a clubhouse boy to run across the street and make bets for him during games, both on horses and on other MLB games. He was quietly fired.
- Bill Veeck owned the Browns near the end of their existence and employed midget Eddie Gaedel to pinch hit in the 1951 season. This led to a great remembrance by Bill DeWitt, Jr., who later owned the Cardinals, and whose father once owned the Browns prior to Veeck. Young Bill had his own custom Browns uniform in a child's size: "And so my father came to me one day, and he said, 'Bill is going to have a midget come to the plate and pinch-hit in a game, and we don't have a uniform to fit him, cause he's kind of small, and your uniform is a pretty close fit. So we need to borrow it.' So I said, 'Great.'"
- Veeck also employed the "Grandstand Manager's Night" that season, where the team would ask the crowd questions like "Should the Browns steal?" and the fans would have flip-cards that said "yes" or "no".
- Harry Caray was the long-time voice of the Cardinals before moving on to Chicago. Towards the end of his time, he was partners with Jack Buck, who eventually replaced Caray as top dog. Caray was an incredible showman and a great PR man, but is described throughout as a "company man". He liked to hang out with owner Gussie Busch and get shitfaced with him. Caray calls Busch a great "booze and broads" guy. Caray was notoriously critical of players (Ken Boyer is referenced a few times) and wasn't well-liked by them. He was basically known as a notorious ass-kisser. Later, of course, he became the lovable character of Harry Caray with the Cubs, but his early reputation was more two-fold: a legitimately great broadcaster whom many considered the equal of Mel Allen or Red Barber at the time; and a something of an ass-kissing dick.
- Cards pitcher Jim Brosnan wrote a behind-the-scenes book about the 1960 season called "The Long Season", which predated Jim Bouton's more famous "Ball Four". Would be a good one to read.
- Somewhat ironically for a city like St. Lous, which is still considered to be quite "southern", the early 1960s Cardinals were a model of racial harmony, attested to by none other than outfielder Curt Flood: "There we were, including the volatile Cepeda, the impossible Maris, and the impenetrable Gibson -- three celebrated noncandidates for togethness. There we were -- Latina, black, liberal whites and redeemed peckerwoods -- the best team in the game and the most exultant. A beautiful little foretaste of what life will be like when Americans finally unshackle themselves."
- Though Golenbock defends him, catcher Joe Garagiola comes off as a bit of a racist, both for his controversial spiking of Jackie Robinson during a game in 1950, and for other issues that came up during the early years of integration. I always kinda considered Garagiola to be a putz.
- Rich Folkers, who pitched for the Cardinals in the early 1970s, had a memorable quote about the game. "That's baseball, the only game where you have to get the last out. No time is going to run out on you, like the other sports. In baseball there is no time limit. You can't have the clock run out and say 'Geez, it's the sixth inning and we've played three hours, sorry, the game is over, we win, 2-1. Bases loaded, no outs. Bye. See ya. You can't walk off the field. You have to play until the last out.'"
This is a wonderful book. It was great to read about the fabulous Cardinals teams of the 1930s and 1940s; the impeccable hitting of Stan Musial; the dominant, Bob Gibson-led teams of the '60s who played in 3 Series in 5 seasons; and into the 1980s -- the '82 team that broke my 1o-year-old heart by beating my Brewers in the World Series, and the '85 team led by Vince Coleman, Tom Herr, Willie McGee and Jack Clark, who blew a 3-1 Series lead to the Royals and lost Game 6 on a blown call by Don Denkinger that would be clearly and obviously overturned today.
Golenbock has his blind spots -- he claims that the proposed players strike over Robinson's entry into the league in 1947, which (according to Roger Kahn) was either led by or fortified by the Cardinals, was never really a thing. And, unfortunately, he ends the book with an embarrassing paean to Mark McGwire and the home run races of the late '90s. I remember that time well, was in attendance for more than one of the late September games involving both McGwire and Sammy Sosa; the entire country of baseball fans was caught up in it, for which there is no shame. But Golenbock embarrassingly lionizes McGwire as an amazing human, eating up and regurgitating all his PR-minded quotes and donations to charity. The last chapter of the book is, in fact, entitled "God".
It's a rough ending to a great book, and it doesn't detract from the rest of it. The Cardinals play the Cubs tonight in the first of four at the latest Busch Stadium. I'll be rooting for them.
June 3, 2022
This is a story of baseball, the spirit of a city and the men who played and/or made the professional baseball teams of St. Louis, Missouri. Here is the story of St. Louis baseball from 1874 to 2000. It is the story of the players – Rogers Hornsby, Dizzy Dean, Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Curt Flood, Darrell Porter, Mark McGuire (just to name a few.) This is also the story of those who ran the clubs and managed the players – Charlie Comiskey, Branch Rickey, Bill Veek, Red Schoendienst, Whitey Herzog and a host of others. Let us not forget the announcers Harry Caray and Jack Buck.
This volume has it all.
Every St. Louis Cardinal fan, every student of baseball and its history, will enjoy this story.
For one who routed on the World Champion 1964 Cardinals and watched the Sammy Sosa / Mark McGuire home run battle, this was a most pleasurable journey down memory lane.
This volume has it all.
Every St. Louis Cardinal fan, every student of baseball and its history, will enjoy this story.
For one who routed on the World Champion 1964 Cardinals and watched the Sammy Sosa / Mark McGuire home run battle, this was a most pleasurable journey down memory lane.
October 26, 2025
Peter Golenbock has a well tested system that works well - he weaves quotes and oral history into a very readable narrative account.
I appreciated that he included both the history of the St. Louis Browns and the St. Louis Cardinals in his history of St. Louis big league baseball.
One unfortunate aspect of this book is that it was written in 2000. The final chapter, titled "God," glorifies Mark McGwire's tenure in St. Louis. Golenbock lays it on thick, especially extolling McGwire's integrity - while briefly discussing McGwire's multiple affairs that destroyed his marriage. It's tough to read knowing that the steroid revelations are lurking at the time of the publishing of the book.
Most of the book up to that point, though, is an entertaining read that tells the history of big league baseball in St. Louis.
I appreciated that he included both the history of the St. Louis Browns and the St. Louis Cardinals in his history of St. Louis big league baseball.
One unfortunate aspect of this book is that it was written in 2000. The final chapter, titled "God," glorifies Mark McGwire's tenure in St. Louis. Golenbock lays it on thick, especially extolling McGwire's integrity - while briefly discussing McGwire's multiple affairs that destroyed his marriage. It's tough to read knowing that the steroid revelations are lurking at the time of the publishing of the book.
Most of the book up to that point, though, is an entertaining read that tells the history of big league baseball in St. Louis.
November 7, 2025
A compelling history of an iconic baseball team
There are a few major league teams that are iconic. The Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Reds, Mets,Phillies, And Braves are .all Marquee teams. So are the St Louis Cardinals. This book is a great read and interesting book about the Cardinals. The Tigers and Orioles are also Marquee teams. I wish that Mr. Golenbock would do a book about my beloved San Francisco Giants. I have been reading his books since the Bronx Zoo that he did with Sparky Lyle back in1978
There are a few major league teams that are iconic. The Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Reds, Mets,Phillies, And Braves are .all Marquee teams. So are the St Louis Cardinals. This book is a great read and interesting book about the Cardinals. The Tigers and Orioles are also Marquee teams. I wish that Mr. Golenbock would do a book about my beloved San Francisco Giants. I have been reading his books since the Bronx Zoo that he did with Sparky Lyle back in1978
December 8, 2024
Must Read For Cardinal Fans
I’m seventy years old and have been a St. Louis Cardinal fan since a young boy four or five years old. Mr. Golenbock not only brought back many childhood memories, but also Cardinal facts that I learned through the years. I know of no fans more devoted to their team than those who wear Cardinal Red!!
I’m seventy years old and have been a St. Louis Cardinal fan since a young boy four or five years old. Mr. Golenbock not only brought back many childhood memories, but also Cardinal facts that I learned through the years. I know of no fans more devoted to their team than those who wear Cardinal Red!!
January 27, 2025
Great Book, except for McGwire
This book is an excellent history of the Browns and the Cardinals.
Unfortunately, it was written before the fact of McGwire’s steroid use came to light. The concluding section, concerning McGwire and Sosa, and the author’s unknowing reverential treatment make me sick.
This book is an excellent history of the Browns and the Cardinals.
Unfortunately, it was written before the fact of McGwire’s steroid use came to light. The concluding section, concerning McGwire and Sosa, and the author’s unknowing reverential treatment make me sick.
September 8, 2018
Very interesting if you are a baseball fan, and really interesting if you are a Cardinal fan, as I am. Especially found the early history of the Cards and the Browns fun to read.
September 1, 2024
Another great oral history. He is very thorough. I have enjoyed every one of his books, regardless of topic and will try to read all of them before I am done.
March 31, 2012
Good to check out, if you can find it. It's not just a history of the St. Louis Cardinals, but also their American League counterparts, the St. Louis Browns. While the Cardinals had the big stars, from Hornsby to Dean to Musial to Gibson, the Browns were a much more humble rival. George Sisler's name comes to mind, but not too many others. Later the Browns moved to Baltimore where glory finally awaited the franchise.
Interesting how the two teams played post-season "town titles" for many years, sort of like a consolation World Series. Surprisingly those events were big draws back in the 20's and 30's especially. Then in 1944, for the first and only time, the Cardinals and Browns played in the World Series.
Interesting how the two teams played post-season "town titles" for many years, sort of like a consolation World Series. Surprisingly those events were big draws back in the 20's and 30's especially. Then in 1944, for the first and only time, the Cardinals and Browns played in the World Series.
March 14, 2012
I'm thoroughly enjoying learning about the history of St. Louis baseball teams-both the Cardinals and the Browns.
Something I didn't know: Charlie Comiskey was a star player for the St.Louis Brown Stockings (who became the Cardinals)and finished his career as a player with Cincinatti. He went on to own the Chicago White Sox-his reputation heavily tarnished by the 1919 Black Sox Scandal-and Comiskey Park is named for him.
Something I didn't know: Charlie Comiskey was a star player for the St.Louis Brown Stockings (who became the Cardinals)and finished his career as a player with Cincinatti. He went on to own the Chicago White Sox-his reputation heavily tarnished by the 1919 Black Sox Scandal-and Comiskey Park is named for him.
May 21, 2018
If you're a baseball fan, especially from St. Louis, this is a comprehensive history of America's game in the best baseball town in the country.
August 15, 2014
Love learning anything Cardinal.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews