1934 St. Louis Cardinals season

Major League Baseball season March 2026 November 2013 St. Louis Cardinals 1934 World Series champions National League champions National League Sportsman's Park St. Louis, Missouri 95–58 (.621) 1st Sam Breadon Branch Rickey Frankie Frisch KMOX(France Laux)KWK(Bob Thomas, Ray Schmidt) The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 53rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 43rd season in the National League. The Cardinals went 95–58 during the season and finished first in the National League. St. Louis won 18 of their last 23 games to overtake the New York Giants the last two days of the season. In the World Series, they defeated the Detroit Tigers in seven games, winning the last 11–0. Offseason December 15, 1933: Ray Pepper was purchased from the Cardinals by the St. Louis Browns.Ray Pepper at Baseball-Reference Regular season Pitcher Dizzy Dean won the MVP Award this year, with 30 wins, 195 strikeouts, and a 2.66 ERA. He was also named the Associated Press Athlete of the Year.Associated Press Athlete of the Year (male) NNDB https://www.nndb.com/honors/906/000166408/ 2025-03-22 The Gashouse Gang The Gashouse Gang was a nickname applied to the Cardinals team of 1934. The Cardinals, by most accounts, earned this nickname from the team's generally very shabby appearance and rough-and-tumble tactics. An opponent once stated that the Cardinals players usually went into the field in unwashed, dirty, and smelly uniforms, which alone spread horror among their rivals. According to one account, scrappy shortstop Leo Durocher coined the term. He and his teammates were speaking derisively of the American League, and the consensus was that the Redbirds – should they prevail in the National League race – would handle whoever won the AL pennant. "Why, they wouldn't even let us in that league over there", Durocher, who had played for the New York Yankees, observed. "They think we're just a bunch of gashousers." The phrase "gas house" referred to plants that manufactured town gas for lighting and cooking from coal, which were common fixtures in US cities prior to the widespread use of natural gas. The plants were noted for their foul smell and were typically located near railroad yards in the poorest neighborhood in the city. Led by playing manager Frankie Frisch and the hard-nosed Durocher, as well as stars like Joe Medwick, Ripper Collins, Pepper Martin, Bill DeLancey and brothers Dizzy and Paul Dean, the '34 Cardinals won 95 games, the NL pennant, and the World Series in seven games over the Detroit Tigers. The team featured five regulars who hit at least .300, a 30-game winner in Dizzy Dean (the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in a single season, and the last pitcher in Major League Baseball to do so until Denny McLain accomplished the feat for the 1968 Detroit Tigers), and four All-Stars, including player-manager Frisch. Not among the All-Stars was Collins, the first baseman who led the team in 16 offensive categories, with stats like a .333 batting average, a .615 slugging percentage, 35 home runs, and 128 runs batted in. Season standings St. Louis Cardinals Record vs. opponents STL Notable transactions May 4, 1934: Francis Healy was purchased by the Cardinals from the New York Giants.Francis Healy at Baseball Reference Roster 1934 St. Louis Cardinals Roster Pitchers 15 Tex Carleton 17 Dizzy Dean 21 Daffy Dean 20 Burleigh Grimes 16 Jesse Haines 22 Bill Hallahan 27 Clarence Heise 31 Jim Lindsey 28 Jim Mooney 31 Flint Rhem 19 Dazzy Vance 18 Bill Walker 19 Jim Winford Catchers  8 Spud Davis  9 Bill DeLancey 27 Francis Healy Infielders 12 Ripper Collins 11 Pat Crawford  2 Leo Durocher  3 Frankie Frisch  1 Pepper Martin 14 Burgess Whitehead Outfielders  4 Kiddo Davis  4 Chick Fullis  7 Joe Medwick 10 Buster Mills 24 Gene Moore  5 Ernie Orsatti  6 Jack Rothrock Other batters 29 Lew Riggs 31 Red Worthington Manager  3 Frankie Frisch Coaches 25 Mike González 26 Buzzy Wares 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 C Spud Davis 107 347 104 .300 9 65 1B Ripper Collins baseball 154 600 200 .333 35 128 2B Frankie Frisch 140 550 168 .305 3 75 3B Pepper Martin 110 454 131 .289 5 49 SS Leo Durocher 146 500 130 .260 3 70 OF Jack Rothrock 154 647 184 .284 11 72 OF Joe Medwick 149 620 198 .319 18 106 OF Ernie Orsatti 105 337 101 .300 0 31 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 Burgess Whitehead 100 332 92 .277 1 24 Bill DeLancey Bill DeLancey 93 253 80 .316 13 40 Chick Fullis 69 199 52 .261 0 26 Buster Mills 29 72 17 .236 1 8 Pat Crawford Pat Crawford (baseball) 61 70 19 .271 0 16 Kiddo Davis 16 33 10 .303 1 4 Gene Moore Gene Moore (outfielder) 9 18 5 .278 0 1 Francis Healy Francis Healy (baseball) 15 13 4 .308 0 1 Lew Riggs 2 1 0 .000 0 0 Red Worthington 1 1 0 .000 0 0 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 Dizzy Dean 50 311.2 30 7 2.66 195 Tex Carleton 40 240.2 16 11 4.26 103 Paul Dean Paul Dean (baseball) 39 233.1 19 11 3.43 150 Bill Hallahan 32 162.2 8 12 4.26 70 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 Bill Walker Bill Walker (baseball) 24 153.0 12 4 3.12 76 Flint Rhem 5 15.2 1 0 4.60 6 Jim Winford 5 12.2 0 2 7.82 3 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 Jesse Haines 37 4 4 1 3.50 17 Jim Mooney Jim Mooney (baseball) 32 2 4 1 5.47 27 Dazzy Vance 19 1 1 1 3.66 33 Jim Lindsey Jim Lindsey (baseball) 11 0 1 1 6.43 7 Burleigh Grimes 4 2 1 0 3.52 1 Pepper Martin 1 0 0 0 4.50 0 Clarence Heise 1 0 0 0 4.50 1 1934 World Series 1934 World Series In the World Series, the Cards and Tigers split the first two games in Detroit, and the Tigers took two of the next three in St. Louis. St. Louis proceeded to win the next two, including an 11–0 embarrassment of the Tigers in Detroit to win the Series. The stars for the Cardinals were Medwick, who had a .379 batting average with one of St. Louis' two home runs and a series-high five RBI, and the Dean brothers, who combined for all four of the teams wins with 28 strikeouts and a minuscule 1.43 earned run average. NL St. Louis Cardinals (4) vs. AL Detroit Tigers (3) GameScoreDateLocationAttendance1 Cardinals – 8, Tigers – 3 October 3Navin Field 42,5052 Cardinals – 2, Tigers – 3 (12 innings)October 4Navin Field 43,4513 Tigers – 1, Cardinals – 4 October 5Sportsman's Park 37,0734 Tigers – 10, Cardinals – 4 October 6Sportsman's Park 37,4925 Tigers – 3, Cardinals – 1 October 7Sportsman's Park 38,5366 Cardinals – 4, Tigers – 3 October 8Navin Field 44,5517 Cardinals – 11, Tigers – 0 October 9Navin Field 40,902 League leaders Ripper Collins #1 in NL in home runs (35) #1 in NL in slugging percentage (.615) #2 in NL in runs batted in (128) #3 in NL in hits (200) #3 in NL in runs scored (116) Dizzy Dean #1 in MLB in wins (30) #1 in MLB in strikeouts (195) #1 in MLB in shutouts (7) #2 in NL in earned run average (2.66) Paul Dean #2 in NL in shutouts (5) #3 in NL in strikeouts (150) Pepper Martin #1 in NL in stolen bases (23) Farm system Minor League Baseball AA Columbus Red Birds American Association Ray Blades AA Rochester Red Wings International League Specs Toporcer A Elmira Red Wings New York–Pennsylvania League Ira Smith and Joe Mathes A Houston Buffaloes Texas League Carey Selph B Springfield Red Birds Central League Joe Mathes B Greensboro Patriots Piedmont League Bob Rice C Huntington Red Birds Middle Atlantic League Eddie Dyer C Paris Pirates/Lufkin Lumbermen West Dixie League Wayne Windle C Springfield Red Wings Western Association Mike Ryba D Martinsville Manufacturers Bi-State League Jimmie Sanders D Beatrice Blues Nebraska State League Sonny Brookhaus D Lincoln Links Nebraska State League Cy Lingle and Pug Griffin D Norfolk Elkhorns Nebraska State League Joe McDermott D Sioux Falls Canaries Nebraska State League Rex Stucker and Ralph Brandon D Greensburg Trojans Pennsylvania State Association Clay Hopper LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Columbus, Springfield (Western Assn.), Lincoln, Greensburg Central League folded, June 10, 1934; Paris franchise transferred to Lufkin and renamed, June 27Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007 References 2 External links 1934 St. Louis Cardinals team page at Baseball-Reference.com 1934 St. Louis Cardinals team page at Baseball-Almanac.com Category:St. Louis Cardinals seasons Saint Louis Cardinals season Category:National League champion seasons Category:World Series champion seasons St Louis Cardinals