The St. Louis Cardinals Rushmore Project
TOWER GROVE — I watched Bob Costas’ interview with Willie Mays and Hank Aaron the other day, and while the whole of the interview is brilliant there was a line from it I couldn’t shake. Costas said if there were a Mt. Rushmore for baseball — and why isn’t there, already? — Mays and Aaron would both be on it. Presumably Babe Ruth would be riding shotgun.
That leaves a fourth, the Teddy Roosevelt spot.
Does Teddy Ballgame fit? Stan the Man? What about Cy Young, Barry Bonds or, from sheer impact on the game, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis or Marvin Miller? For every one you settle on, three more bubble-up as possibilities.
The question has followed me for a few days, creeping in while I’m watching the ALCS. The upstart Tampa Bay Rays’ Rushmore would be … certainly Carl Crawford, definitely Joe Maddon (imagine those Buddy Holly glasses carved out of stone), maybe Evan Longoria or Carlos Pena and what about Danys Baez? I’m working on an all-time 40-man roster from a fusion of Colorado Rockies’ and Arizona Diamondbacks’ histories (more on that later this week), and the Rushmore Question infiltrated that thought process. The Rockies Rushmore: Larry Walker, Todd Helton, Andres Galarraga and Eric Young, for his opening-day homer, or … Ryan Turner, for what he respresented if not how he did.
A Redbird Rushmore? Four Cardinals and Hall of Famers.
The St. Louis Cardinals’ Rushmore …
Well, that’s the purpose for this blog.
Back in May 2004, tied to the departure of Kurt Warner from the Rams, The Post-Dispatch attempted to put together a St. Louis Sports Rushmore. A poll was conducted online. Articles written. An illustration drawn.
The STL Rushmore was: Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Warner and Mark McGwire. That monument might not be as permanent as imagine. Columnist Bernie Miklasz argued that any STL Sports Rushmore must include Bob Pettit. P-D writer Dan O’Neill captured the plight of the project:
The Mount Rushmore theme begs for specificity and direction. As defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, the word “icon,” used in this context, pertains to “one who is the object of great attention and devotion; an idol.” The explanation leaves plenty of room for interpretation.
That is precisely what makes it so fun to throw around.
… Another way to construct the foursome — and create more debate — would be to ask for the four “most popular” players in St. Louis sports history. The answer is a little more subjective, the list not as burdensome. Musial makes every list, unless it excludes icons of Polish descent. You could make a case for Warner, less so for McGwire. Ozzie Smith and Brett Hull, again, are strong.
But names like Willie McGee, Red Schoendienst, Jackie Smith, and Whitey Herzog deserve serious airtime. Why, you might even cast a write-in vote for John Mabry.
Coming up with one for Major League Baseball is a Sisyphean task. I came upon a few sites that have taken polls — Ruth is running away with a spot, of course. It would have to be constructed in stages.
With the blog’s new power of polls, there’s the technology to try and the offseason offers the time to
Four Hall of Famers and the current Franchise Player
experiment. Found a few attempts out there to put a Cardinals Rushmore together. Most, like the P-D’s Rushmore, starts with Musial and the consensus scatters from there. (For example, I mentioned it on the Bird Land@Facebook page and got some excellent suggestions; some surprising omissions, too.)
So, let’s start. Below is a list of 15 people from Cardinals history, and you can select four for a Cardinals Rushmore. The floor is open for additions, too. If, for example, you think Enos Slaughter, Dizzy Dean or Ken Boyer deserve a spot on the cliff’s wall, then make the case in the comments. The poll below isn’t by any means set in, um, stone. There is a good argument to be made for Bing Devine.
If nothing else, this poll will distill the discussion and serve as a good conversation starter …
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
Fantastic list and a great debate topic. I voted for Musial and Gibson, arguably, Dean for his pitching stats, but Gibby’s records are so seemingly untouchable and the fact that they changed the pitching mound because of him gives us an edge. Musial is obvious for his offensive stats, but you want to include Albert for that. No one can touch that he is the first to hit his accomplishments. It’s Stan’s longevity at the top that leaves him still in his own class. My other two votes go for longevity and what they mean to the team. Admittedly I didn’t much about Kissell until his passing and the articles since. But his longevity and the phrase, “Cardinal Way” attributed to him, make him my choice. When a positive style of accountibility is attributed to you, you play an awfully big factor. Lastly I chose Jack. For his reconizability to those all over baseball. His longevity and iconic moments. You can’t think of Ozzie without Jack’s, “Go Crazy” or Broc’s 3000 or Gibby’s No hitter. He is how people saw the Cardinals. The other names mentioned have too many arguements one way or the other. They are not individual enough to stand above the others. Ozzie - defense, Brock base stealing and hits, Herzog’s popularity vs. La Russa’s Numbers. Red’s time factors in too. Not to diminish anyone on the list. They are untouchable in my love of the Birds on the Bat but if I had to take 4 images that would spark the largest memories for the baseball world inside and out of Cards nation, it’s these 4. Though as crazy as it sounds. I think Fredbird would make a good 4th face. Stan, Jack, Gibby and Fred. - Sorry for the book.
Looking over the list Gibson and Musial are clearly on the mount. The tough choices come with the second two.
Hornsby hasn’t gotten much love so far, but it is impossible to argue with his production (even if many clearly found him offensive).
Ozzie is in a class by himself defensively.
Pre 2006 and Whitey was clearly the top of the managerial heap, but it is hard to argue with the sustained success of LaRussa lead team. He is probably the #1 guy now.
Red deserves credit as well both for being a quality manager and a good player, though I am not sure that the combined contribution adds up to placing him ahead of the others.
And if Albert keeps this up, he will guarantee himself place #3 on the list.
Heck, I will go offensive:
Hornsby and Pujols.
God love Pujols, but he’s got another ten years to go before he’s among the elite of the organization. TLR is the winningest manager in the organization’s history - do we not choose a player and include him? Gussie Busch kept the team here when we might have been in Milwaukee. Where is Dean? Hornsby? Schoendienst has done it all and a HOFer. Ozzie is still the Wizard. The top two - without question - are Stan and Gibby.
When I look at old pictures of the Cardinal legacy, there are a few people that just capture what it means to be a Cardinal fan and a baseball fan in St. Louis. I picked Stan the Man: the greatest Cardinal, one of the best of all time, and probably the most underrated. Bob Gibson: our best pitcher ever and again, one of the best ever. Jack Buck: the Cardinals are lucky because as the names change and the seasons go by, we had certain things that provide continuity from era to era, and Jack Buck calling a game is one of those things we could all reminisce about. And my final pick Gussie Busch: not a player, not an announcer, but his impact on the Cardinals is undeniable. Had A-B not bought the team back in the 1950’s, there’s a good chance Bill Veeck would have run them out of town, and we’d be a Browns town. Mr. Busch’s ownership of the team brought about the run of success and stability the team has seen over the last fifty years and made the Cardinals as much a symbol of St. Louis as the Clydesdales and the Arch.
I don’t see how Hornsby cannot be on the cliff. His numbers are simply astounding. He always seems to be forgotten amongst talk of the greatest Cardinals but he is #2 behind Stan on my list.
Tough choices! I would limit the list to former players in the hall of fame. That leaves Brock, Gibson, Hornsby, Musial, Schoendienst, & Smith. To pare down to four, I think the choice becomes those who had the most impact on the record books. On this basis I would choose Brock, Gibson, Musial and Hornsby.
I decided the four greatest icons would be the first four people who immediately come to my mind when I think of the St. Louis Cardinals. And Red actually came to me first, because the day after “ol’ Abner Doubleday” invented baseball, I believe Red took second base. I’m 47 years old and have never known the Cardinals without Red. And my mom used to tell me about seeing him play when she was young. Next came Jack Buck, for many of the reasons why Red did…they both have transcended decades upon decades as members of the Cardinals family.
Then came Bob Gibson, followed by Stan Musial, mainly because I was three when Stan retired but grew up watching Bob Gibson’s incredible presence on the mound. It’s not fair to include Pujols in the conversation yet. If he’s still playing…and for the Cardinals…in 10 years and generating the same ridiculous numbers, then he truly could become the greatest Cardinal ever. But that’s a discussion to be had in 2018.
Musial and Gibson. Obviously. I think Ozzie gets it next, as his major competition (Pujols) is still relatively young and it is not set in stone necessarily that Pujols will remain healthy, productive, or a franchise player. My controversial choice is TLR. I realize that the fact that he has the most wins as a Cardinals’ manager ignores the qualitative aspect of the role (is it fair to Red?), but TLR has done a lot of good for this team besides winning. First, I’d point to Dave Duncan, who I’d like to see acknowledged on this list. Duncan’s work has allowed us to keep a moderate pitching payroll while still competing with teams that sign the big-money veterans. TLR is also largely credited as bringing McGwire to St. Louis, which (like him or not) is largely responsible for the post-lockout comeback for MLB and the Cardinals. Many other good reasons for TLR, although I acknowledge that he still has many detractors and would be a controversial pick.
I went with 4 whom had the most impact upon the franchise over the course of Cardinal history…Musial, Gibson, Buck, & Kissell. My reasoning for each:
Musial…there isn’t a list related to Cardinal history that doesn’t start here. Stan is Cardinal baseball.
Gibson…if you’re in the conversation for greatest pitcher of all-time then good enough for me. When I think about Cardinal history this is the second name that comes to mind.
Buck…significant contribution to the development of Cardinal Nation. How many millions of fans did Jack have hanging on his every word before cable tv came along? Thanks to the wide reach of KMOX, and the talented play-by-play of this all-timer, Cardinal Nation continued to develop and maintained a fan base commonly described as the best in baseball.
Kissell…yes, others have contributed to eras of Cardinal baseball in more impactful ways (i.e. Ozzie & Willie, Albert, Lou), but none have consistently contributed through all eras like Kissell did…with the possible exception of Red…who I know deserves to be on this moutainside as well.
That’s my take - the four plus honorable mention for the Redhead. My mountainside would display the group most responsible for crafting what Cardinal baseball has become today…a place described as baseball heaven with baseball fans commonly regarded as the best there are.
I voted for Musial, Gibson, Pujols and Buck on the grounds that the players came up as Cardinals and played their whole career as Cardinals…(assuming of course Pujols does). I voted for Buck on the grounds of his long broadcast career as a Cardinal Broadcaster and that during that long career he called all their names over the air. It was a simple list for me to make given their was no other player or manager that I was aware of that spent their entire career with the same team he came up with. Given the bar graph that tallies the votes, it would appear others may have made their choice similar to the way I made mine.