# 1964 St. Louis Cardinals season

The 1964 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 83rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 73rd season in the National League. The Cardinals went 93–69 during the season and finished first in the National League, edging the co-runners-up Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies by one game each on the last day of the regular-season to claim their first NL pennant since 1946. They went on to win the World Series in 7 games over the New York Yankees. This is the first season that the team wore their now famous red cap (but only for home games, beginning the next season, the team would make the red cap permanent for both home and away games).

## Offseason

* October 1, 1963: Ken MacKenzie was traded by the Cardinals to the San Francisco Giants for Jimmie Coker.
* December 6, 1963: Carl Sawatski was released by the Cardinals.

## Regular season
### Exit Musial, enter Brock

The 1963 team went 93–69. It was the best record for St. Louis since the 1949 team won 96 games. The Cardinals finished six games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
1964 saw the Cardinals without the best hitter in franchise history. Stan Musial, whose 3,630 career hits were second on the all-time list and remain fourth today, retired after the 1963 season, at the age of 42, after 22 years in St. Louis. His absence left a hole in the Cardinal lineup and in left field, and as the early weeks of the 1964 season passed, St. Louis hovered at the .500 mark. Cardinals GM Bing Devine, worried about both the team and his own job security, looked for a deal to make before the June 15 trading deadline. He consulted with manager Johnny Keane and they decided that the team needed more speed. Keane and Devine focused on Lou Brock, an outfielder with the Chicago Cubs that the Cardinals had scouted years before and who had struggled since coming to the big leagues.
In June, with the trading deadline near and the Cardinals still around .500, Devine made the call to the Cubs and the deal was done. On June 15, St. Louis traded star pitcher Ernie Broglio, who went 18–8 in 1963 and was having another good year in 1964, to Chicago as part of a six-player deal for Brock. Many people thought the Cubs had gotten the better of the deal, including Chicago sportswriters and many Cardinal players. However, Broglio would have a mediocre half-season for the Cubs and then two more ineffective, injury-riddled years in 1965 and 1966 before disappearing from the big leagues forever. Brock hit .348 for the 1964 Cardinals, and as a Cardinal went on to break the all-time record for stolen bases (since broken by Rickey Henderson), amass over 3000 base hits, and go into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.

### Busch fires Devine

For most of the 1964 season, the Philadelphia Phillies looked like the team to beat. Philadelphia spent almost the entire first half in first or second place, and in July moved in first place seemingly to stay. The Cardinals, on the other hand, spent much of the season mired in the middle of the pack, and sometimes close to the bottom. As late as June 17, the Cardinals were eighth in a ten-team league, although they were only six back of the lead. Lou Brock joined the team and immediately began to hit but St. Louis still could not dent Philadelphia's lead. The Cardinals called up prized prospect Mike Shannon in early July, and still they stagnated. They were seventh as late as July 24. One problem was first baseman Bill White; the Cardinal slugger, one of the few power hitters on the team, was bothered by a sore shoulder and struggling badly.
On August 16, with the Cardinals at 61–54 and 9+1⁄2 games out of first place, an impatient Gussie Busch fired general manager Bing Devine. Devine had been GM of the Cardinals since 1957, but would not be around to see how the team he had built would finish. Busch considered firing Keane as well, but held back out of reluctance to further disrupt the team by firing both the manager and GM during the season. Shortly thereafter, however, Busch met with Leo Durocher and made him a verbal offer to manage the Cardinals in 1965. Word soon got out that Keane was a lame duck.
On August 23, the Cardinals fell 11 games behind Philadelphia, tied for the farthest back they'd been all year, although they'd actually improved to fourth place in the overall standings. The Cardinals reeled off a six-game winning streak immediately after falling 11 back and continued to play well in September, but the Phillies seemed to be too far ahead to catch. On September 20, the Cardinals were tied with Cincinnati for second place, 6+1⁄2 games behind Philadelphia. A Sports Illustrated article described the Cardinal surge as "far too late".

### The "Phillie Phold" and Cardinal comeback

Injuries accumulated for the first-place Phillies as the season wore on. Slugger Frank Thomas broke his thumb. Starting pitcher Ray Culp hurt his elbow and had to go to the bullpen. Starting pitcher Art Mahaffey was slumping badly. Starting pitcher Dennis Bennett was plagued by tendinitis. Philly manager Gene Mauch, in a move that has remained controversial ever since, reacted to his rotation's problems by using star pitchers Jim Bunning and Chris Short on less than normal rest six times down the stretch. Philadelphia lost all six of those games.
Still the Phillies held on to their lead. On September 20, Philadelphia was 90–60 and led the National League by 6+1⁄2 games with only twelve games to go. A pennant seemed assured. The Phillies even started taking applications for World Series tickets. Then came the infamous "Phillie Phold". The Phold started on September 21, when Philadelphia lost 1–0 to Cincinnati with the only run scoring on a steal of home. The Phils were swept in three games by Cincinnati, who crept to within 3+1⁄2 games of first place. Then they were swept in four games by Milwaukee. On the 25th the Braves beat Philly in 12 innings. On the 26th they beat Philly by scoring three in the top of the ninth. On the 27th Milwaukee beat the Phils 14–8, extending their losing streak to seven games and dropping them out of first place for the first time in two months. Philadelphia was one game behind Cincinnati, while the Cardinals, who'd gone 6–1 during Philadelphia's streak, were in third place, 1.5 games back. The Phillies were feeling the pressure and making mistakes on the bases; in one fifteen-game stretch, 10 Phillies were thrown out trying to take an extra base.
St. Louis and Philadelphia met for a crucial three-game series starting in St. Louis on September 28. The Cardinals won the first game 5–1, vaulting past Philly into second place, one game behind the idle Reds, with the Phils 1.5 games back. On the 29th the Cards beat the Phils 4–2 behind a strong start from Sadecki, and Cincinnati lost to visiting Pittsburgh. The Cardinals were in first place for the first time all year, tied with the Reds, with Philly 1.5 games back. On the 30th the Cardinals beat the Phillies again, 8–5, with Curt Simmons beating Bunning. Cincinnati lost to Pittsburgh at home again, and the Cardinals had sole possession of first place. Philadelphia had lost ten in a row and the Cardinals had won eight in a row.
The Cardinals lost 1–0 on October 2 at home to the terrible Mets while the Phillies beat the Reds in Cincinnati to finally snap their losing streak. On the 3rd the Cardinals lost again to the Mets while the Phillies and Reds remained idle. St. Louis and Cincinnati were tied for first place with 92–69 records, while Philadelphia was one game behind at 91–70. On the last day of the season, October 4, the Phillies beat the Reds at Cincinnati again, but the Cardinals beat the visiting Mets 11–5 to win the pennant by one game, with a 93–69 record; if the Cardinals had lost that game, the regular schedule would have ended in a 3-way tie for the pennant. The "Phold" is remembered as one of the worst late-season collapses in baseball history. The Cardinals, having won their first pennant since 1946, would go on to face the mighty Yankees in the World Series.

## Season standings

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 93 | 69 | .574 | — | 48‍–‍33 | 45‍–‍36 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 92 | 70 | .568 | 1 | 46‍–‍35 | 46‍–‍35 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 92 | 70 | .568 | 1 | 47‍–‍34 | 45‍–‍36 |
| San Francisco Giants | 90 | 72 | .556 | 3 | 44‍–‍37 | 46‍–‍35 |
| Milwaukee Braves | 88 | 74 | .543 | 5 | 45‍–‍36 | 43‍–‍38 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 80 | 82 | .494 | 13 | 42‍–‍39 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 80 | 82 | .494 | 13 | 41‍–‍40 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Chicago Cubs | 76 | 86 | .469 | 17 | 40‍–‍41 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Houston Colt .45s | 66 | 96 | .407 | 27 | 41‍–‍40 | 25‍–‍56 |
| New York Mets | 53 | 109 | .327 | 40 | 33‍–‍48 | 20‍–‍61 |

### Record vs. opponents

1964 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MIL | NYM | PHI | PIT | SF | STL |
| Chicago | — | 6–12 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 6–12 |
| Cincinnati | 12–6 | — | 12–6 | 14–4–1 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 10–8 |
| Houston | 7–11 | 6–12 | — | 7–11 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 5–13 | 5–13 | 7–11 | 8–10 |
| Los Angeles | 8–10 | 4–14–1 | 11–7 | — | 8–10 | 15–3–1 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 10–8 |
| Milwaukee | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 10–8 | — | 14–4 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 8–10 |
| New York | 7–11 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 3–15–1 | 4–14 | — | 3–15 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 7–11 |
| Philadelphia | 12-6 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 15–3 | — | 10–8 | 10–8 | 5–13 |
| Pittsburgh | 9–9 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 12–6 | 8–10 | — | 8–10 | 6–12 |
| San Francisco | 9–9 | 11–7 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 10–8 | — | 9–9 |
| St. Louis | 12–6 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 9–9 | — |

## Notable transactions

* April 9, 1964: Gary Kolb and Jimmie Coker were traded by the Cardinals to the Milwaukee Braves for Bob Uecker.
* May 26, 1964: Walt Williams was selected off waivers by the Cardinals from the Houston Colt .45's.
* June 15, 1964: Ernie Broglio, Doug Clemens and Bobby Shantz were traded by the Cardinals to the Chicago Cubs for Lou Brock, Jack Spring, and Paul Toth.
* September 10, 1964: Mike Torrez was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cardinals.

## Game log

Past Games Legend :
| Cardinals Win (#bfb) | Cardinals Loss (#fbb) | Game Postponed (#bbb) | Clinched Playoff Berth (#039) |
| Bold denotes a Cardinals pitcher ||||
1964 St. Louis Cardinals Game Log (93–69) :
April: (8–6)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 14@ Dodgers0–4Koufax (1–0)Broglio (0–1)50,4510–1
2April 15@ Dodgers6–2Gibson (1–0)Drysdale (0–1)28,0251–1
3April 16@ Giants2–0Simmons (1–0)Hendley (0–1)9,8752–1
4April 17@ Giants4–5 (10)Shaw (1–0)Shantz (0–1)19,5242–2
5April 18@ Giants3–2Broglio (1–1)Bolin (0–1)23,4833–2
6April 19@ Colt .45s6–1Gibson (2–0)Nottebart (0–1)12,9134–2
7April 20@ Colt .45s1–7Farrell (1–0)Sadecki (0–1)7,4414–3
8April 22Dodgers7–6Simmons (2–0)Koufax (1–2)Craig (1)31,4105–3
9April 23Dodgers5–7Perranoski (1–0)Taylor (0–1)10,2765–4
10April 24Colt .45s3–2 (11)Burdette (1–0)Woodeshick (0–1)6,7896–4
11April 25Colt .45s2–4Farrell (2–0)Shantz (0–2)Woodeshick (2)11,7966–5
12April 26Colt .45s4–6Owens (1–1)Simmons (2–1)Woodeshick (3)9,7006–6
13April 28Mets8–0Broglio (2–1)Jackson (1–3)3,4717–6
14April 29Mets4–3 (11)Shantz (1–2)Bearnarth (0–3)3,8448–6 :
May: (17–14)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
15May 1Pirates6–2Craig (1–0)Law (0–1)14,7019–6
16May 2Pirates4–5Sisk (1–1)Simmons (2–2)Bork (1)12,5349–7
17May 3Pirates8–12Schwall (2–1)Sadecki (0–2)Face (2)11,0519–8
18May 4Phillies9–2Craig (2–0)Dennis Bennett (2–2)7,43710–8
19May 5Phillies2–1Washburn (1–0)Bunning (3–1)Taylor (1)10,44311–8
20May 6@ Pirates0–1Friend (3–0)Sadecki (0–3)8,65911–9
21May 7@ Pirates4–2Simmons (3–2)Veale (1–3)Craig (2)7,21912–9
22May 8@ Mets4–5Bearnarth (1–3)Shantz (1–3)32,38612–10
23May 9@ Mets5–1Gibson (3–0)Cisco (0–2)16,75713–10
24May 10@ Mets1–4Stallard (2–4)Craig (2–1)–13–11
25May 10@ Mets10–1Washburn (2–0)Hinsley (0–1)Taylor (2)30,77614–11
26May 11@ Phillies3–2Sadecki (1–3)Culp (1–3)11,20015–11
27May 12@ Phillies4–2Simmons (4–2)Mahaffey (2–2)Craig (3)14,41216–11
—May 13@ PhilliesPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 10
28May 14@ Phillies2–3Bunning (4–1)Broglio (2–2)Roebuck (4)16,62616–12
29May 15Braves10–6Craig (3–1)Tiefenauer (1–3)22,40017–12
30May 16Braves6–5Sadecki (2–3)Sadowski (2–3)Taylor (3)13,56418–12
31May 17Braves7–3Simmons (5–2)Fischer (4–2)–19–12
32May 17Braves2–4Cloninger (3–2)Washburn (2–1)28,59419–13
33May 19Cubs4–7Ellsworth (3–4)Broglio (2–3)8,54119–14
34May 20Cubs1–0Gibson (4–0)Jackson (5–3)8,61220–14
35May 21Cubs10–3Sadecki (3–3)Hobbie (0–2)7,87721–14
36May 22@ Braves6–1Simmons (6–2)Cloninger (3–3)20,48922–14
37May 23@ Braves4–8Hoeft (1–0)Craig (3–2)10,56722–15
38May 24@ Braves4–7Spahn (4–3)Sadecki (3–4)Sadowski (1)–22–16
39May 24@ Braves0–10Lemaster (5–2)Broglio (2–4)26,08422–17
—May 26GiantsPostponed (rain); Makeup: June 18
40May 27Giants1–2Marichal (7–1)Gibson (4–1)14,78622–18
41May 28Giants1–2Hendley (4–3)Simmons (6–3)Bolin (1)14,09222–19
42May 29Reds4–3Sadecki (4–4)O'Toole (3–2)10,21923–19
43May 30Reds7–1Broglio (3–4)Ellis (3–2)11,05124–19
44May 31Reds0–6Purkey (3–3)Washburn (2–2)–24–20
45May 31Reds2–1Gibson (5–1)Tsitouris (1–3)20,24025–20 :
June: (11–18)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
46June 2@ Cubs2–5Jackson (7–4)Simmons (6–4)5,12925–21
47June 3@ Cubs7–5Sadecki (5–4)Buhl (5–3)Craig (4)6,71826–21
48June 4@ Cubs1–2Ellsworth (7–4)Gibson (5–2)8,01926–22
49June 5@ Reds4–5Jay (2–2)Craig (3–3)10,69226–23
50June 6@ Reds0–3Tsitouris (2–3)Washburn (2–3)Ellis (1)17,38626–24
51June 7@ Reds6–11Nuxhall (5–3)Simmons (6–5)Jay (1)12,92526–25
—June 8@ GiantsPostponed (rain); Makeup: June 10
52June 9@ Giants1–0Sadecki (6–4)Marichal (8–2)14,34827–25
53June 10@ Giants0–3Hendley (5–4)Gibson (5–3)Perry (1)–27–26
54June 10@ Giants2–1Hobbie (1–3)Herbel (3–2)16,68428–26
55June 11@ Dodgers0–5Drysdale (8–5)Washburn (2–4)29,27228–27
56June 12@ Dodgers0–3Koufax (8–4)Broglio (3–5)44,47628–28
57June 13@ Dodgers2–3Moeller (4–5)Sadecki (6–5)Perranoski (4)29,19928–29
58June 14@ Colt .45s1–4Farrell (10–1)Gibson (5–4)15,34128–30
59June 15@ Colt .45s3–9Owens (2–4)Hobbie (1–4)8,58428–31
60June 16@ Colt .45s7–1Simmons (7–5)Bruce (6–3)12,38329–31
61June 17@ Colt .45s2–1Washburn (3–4)Johnson (5–6)Taylor (4)10,77730–31
62June 18Giants7–6Sadecki (7–5)Marichal (8–3)Taylor (5)14,87631–31
63June 19Giants3–1Gibson (6–4)Herbel (4–3)Taylor (6)24,53332–31
64June 20Giants3–14Hendley (6–4)Hobbie (1–5)Duffalo (1)20,64632–32
65June 21Giants3–7Sanford (5–7)Simmons (7–6)Perry (2)25,84832–33
66June 23Colt .45s5–4Taylor (1–1)Larsen (0–2)Cuellar (1)9,67933–33
67June 24Colt. 45s5–7Owens (3–4)Sadecki (7–6)Woodeshick (15)8,62133–34
68June 25Colt .45s4–2Craig (4–3)Bruce (7–4)Hobbie (1)6,84234–34
69June 26Phillies5–6Roebuck (2–2)Taylor (1–2)18,48434–35
70June 27Phillies9–4Simmons (8–6)Wise (1–1)12,38835–35
71June 28Phillies0–5Short (6–4)Cuellar (0–1)–35–36
72June 28Phillies8–2Sadecki (8–6)Culp (4–6)27,80536–36
73June 29Braves4–7Tiefenauer (3–4)Gibson (6–5)11,33636–37
74June 30Braves4–5Sadowski (3–6)Craig (4–4)Tiefenauer (6)7,48436–38 :
July: (17–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
75July 1@ Braves6–1Simmons (9–6)Fischer (6–5)13,60837–38
76July 2@ Braves4–3Sadecki (9–6)Spahn (5–8)Humphreys (1)6,86338–38
77July 3@ Reds1–4Tsitouris (5–5)Gibson (6–6)11,97538–39
78July 4@ Reds2–3O'Toole (6–4)Cuellar (0–2)McCool (3)21,32038–40
79July 5@ Reds3–1Craig (5–4)Jay (4–5)11,85439–40
35th All-Star Game in Queens, New York City, New York
80July 9@ Mets3–4Jackson (5–10)Simmons (9–7)13,80439–41
81July 10@ Mets3–1Gibson (7–6)Fisher (5–8)33,63440–41
82July 11@ Mets11–4Sadecki (10–6)Stallard (5–11)Taylor (7)19,47541–41
—July 12@ PiratesPostponed (rain); Makeup: July 13
—July 12@ PiratesPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 24
83July 13@ Pirates5–4 (12)Taylor (2–2)Sisk (1–4)–42–41
84July 13@ Pirates12–5Cuellar (1–2)Law (7–8)Washburn (1)14,77343–41
85July 14Dodgers8–7Taylor (3–2)Perranoski (4–5)24,81744–41
86July 15Dodgers3–13L. Miller (1–1)Gibson (7–7)Perranoski (7)17,30444–42
87July 16Dodgers2–10Moeller (5–7)Sadecki (10–7)B. Miller (3)15,78044–43
88July 17Mets9–8Cuellar (2–2)Stallard (5–13)Gibson (1)10,75945–43
89July 18Mets15–7Taylor (4–2)Wakefield (2–3)Sadecki (1)9,42446–43
90July 19Mets2–3Fisher (6–9)Simmons (9–8)–46–44
91July 19Mets7–6Gibson (8–7)Hunter (0–1)18,37747–44
92July 21Pirates4–8Gibbon (7–3)Sadecki (10–8)Bork (2)11,80547–45
93July 22Pirates2–13Veale (11–6)Craig (5–5)11,08947–46
94July 23Pirates5–8Blass (4–6)Cuellar (2–3)Face (3)7,89347–47
95July 24@ Phillies1–9Short (9–5)Gibson (8–8)22,62847–48
96July 25@ Phillies10–9Simmons (10–8)Dennis Bennett (9–8)Cuellar (2)10,94848–48
97July 26@ Phillies6–1Richardson (1–0)Boozer (1–1)–49–48
98July 26@ Phillies4–1Sadecki (11–8)Mahaffey (9–5)28,11850–48
99July 28@ Cubs12–7 (10)Taylor (5–2)Jackson (13–9)Cuellar (3)16,05251–48
100July 29@ Cubs9–1Simmons (11–8)L. Burdette (7–3)16,78152–48
101July 30@ Cubs5–2Sadecki (12–8)Ellsworth (12–12)Craig (5)11,17353–48
102July 31Reds6–7Tsitouris (7–7)Richardson (1–1)Purkey (1)22,13653–49 :
August: (18–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
103August 1Reds5–6Jay (6–8)Gibson (8–9)Ellis (6)13,05753–50
104August 2Reds5–4Cuellar (3–3)McCool (3–2)Taylor (8)14,01054–50
105August 4Cubs0–4L. Burdette (8–4)Sadecki (12–9)12,72354–51
106August 5Cubs4–2Richardson (2–1)Buhl (12–8)Humphreys (2)11,61455–51
107August 6Cubs5–3Gibson (9–9)Ellsworth (12–13)Schultz (1)8,25856–51
108August 7Colt .45s4–0Simmons (12–8)Brown (2–10)14,34457–51
109August 8Colt .45s3–4Nottebart (5–8)Taylor (5–3)Owens (3)14,84257–52
110August 9Colt .45s8–2Sadecki (13–9)Bruce (11–7)19,65858–52
111August 10Giants2–1Gibson (10–9)Herbel (10–7)Schultz (2)18,77959–52
112August 11Giants3–6Hendley (10–7)Simmons (12–9)Pierce (4)21,07559–53
113August 12Giants6–4Craig (6–5)Shaw (7–5)Schultz (3)17,67660–53
114August 14@ Dodgers4–3Sadecki (14–9)Drysdale (13–12)Cuellar (4)33,83561–53
115August 15@ Dodgers3–4Moeller (7–11)Gibson (10–10)Perranoski (9)22,21861–54
116August 16@ Dodgers0–3Koufax (19–5)Richardson (2–2)–61–55
117August 16@ Dodgers4–0Simmons (13–9)L. Miller (2–4)38,07262–55
118August 17@ Colt .45s3–1Cuellar (4–3)Brown (2–12)Schultz (4)8,05363–55
119August 18@ Colt .45s5–2Sadecki (15–9)Larsen (1–6)Schultz (5)8,61764–55
120August 19@ Colt .45s7–8 (10)Owens (6–7)Schultz (0–1)8,14964–56
121August 21@ Giants6–5Taylor (6–3)Duffalo (2–1)Schultz (6)19,64465–56
122August 22@ Giants2–4Bolin (5–5)Craig (6–6)22,91065–57
123August 23@ Giants2–3 (10)O'Dell (6–6)Schultz (0–2)28,71265–58
124August 24Pirates5–1Gibson (11–10)Friend (10–14)10,88166–58
125August 25Pirates7–6 (13)Taylor (7–3)McBean (7–2)8,66467–58
126August 26Pirates4–2Cuellar (5–3)Bork (2–1)9,66268–58
127August 28Dodgers5–3Sadecki (16–9)Ortega (6–6)20,18069–58
128August 29Dodgers4–1Gibson (12–10)Reed (1–3)20,00170–58
129August 30Dodgers5–1Simmons (14–9)L. Miller (2–6)24,76671–58
130August 31Dodgers3–12Drysdale (15–13)Cuellar (5–4)16,38771–59 :
September: (21–8)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
131September 1Braves5–4Taylor (8–3)Lemaster (13–10)8,07972–59
132September 2Braves6–2Gibson (13–10)Fischer (10–9)8,36973–59
133September 3Braves0–7Blasingame (4–4)Craig (6–7)8,22173–60
134September 4Cubs8–5Richardson (3–2)Elston (2–5)10,22074–60
135September 5Cubs5–8Jackson (18–10)Cuellar (5–5)McDaniel (11)12,18574–61
136September 6Cubs5–4 (11)Humphreys (1–0)McDaniel (1–7)16,16175–61
137September 7Reds3–2Gibson (14–10)Henry (2–2)–76–61
138September 7Reds3–2Schultz (1–2)Nuxhall (8–8)22,18777–61
139September 9@ Phillies10–5 (11)Humphreys (2–0)Baldschun (6–7)25,33978–61
140September 10@ Phillies0–3Short (16–7)Sadecki (16–10)14,55278–62
141September 11@ Cubs5–0Gibson (15–10)Broglio (7–12)2,24079–62
142September 12@ Cubs2–3Buhl (13–11)Craig (6–8)8,33079–63
143September 13@ Cubs15–2Simmons (15–9)Ellsworth (14–15)Washburn (2)11,60680–63
—September 14@ BravesPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 15
144September 15@ Braves11–6Sadecki (17–10)Cloninger (16–13)Schultz (7)–81–63
145September 15@ Braves3–1Gibson (16–10)Blasingame (5–5)5,84382–63
146September 16@ Braves2–3Lemaster (15–11)Taylor (8–4)Tiefenauer (12)3,01982–64
—September 18@ RedsPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 19
147September 19@ Reds5–7Ellis (9–3)Gibson (16–11)–82–65
148September 19@ Reds2–0Sadecki (18–10)McCool (5–3)Schultz (8)13,22183–65
149September 20@ Reds6–9Ellis (10–3)Schultz (1–3)11,54483–66
150September 22@ Mets2–1Simmons (16–9)Stallard (10–19)10,44384–66
151September 23@ Mets1–2Cisco (6–17)Craig (6–9)Hunter (5)3,94184–67
152September 24@ Pirates4–2Gibson (17–11)Wood (0–1)–85–67
153September 24@ Pirates4–0Sadecki (19–10)Butters (1–2)2,84686–67
154September 25@ Pirates5–3Richardson (4–2)Cardwell (1–1)Schultz (9)3,69487–67
155September 26@ Pirates6–3Simmons (17–9)Veale (18–12)Schultz (10)4,08588–67
156September 27@ Pirates5–0Craig (7–9)Law (12–13)Schultz (11)19,28789–67
157September 28Phillies5–1Gibson (18–11)Short (17–9)Schultz (12)24,14690–67
158September 29Phillies4–2Sadecki (20–10)Dennis Bennett (12–14)Schultz (13)27,43391–67
159September 30Phillies8–5Simmons (18–9)Bunning (18–8)Richardson (1)29,92092–67 :
October: (1–2)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
160October 2Mets0–1Jackson (11–16)Gibson (18–12)19,01992–68
161October 3Mets5–15Parsons (1–2)Sadecki (20–11)18,65092–69
162October 4 Mets11–5Gibson (19–12)Cisco (6–19)Schultz (14)30,14693–69 :

## 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 | Tim McCarver | 143 | 465 | 134 | .288 | 9 | 52 |
| 1B | Bill White | 160 | 631 | 191 | .303 | 21 | 102 |
| 2B | Julián Javier | 155 | 535 | 129 | .241 | 12 | 65 |
| 3B | Ken Boyer | 162 | 628 | 185 | .295 | 24 | 119 |
| SS | Dick Groat | 161 | 636 | 186 | .292 | 1 | 70 |
| LF | Lou Brock | 103 | 419 | 146 | .348 | 12 | 44 |
| CF | Curt Flood | 162 | 679 | 211 | .311 | 5 | 46 |
| RF | Mike Shannon | 88 | 253 | 66 | .261 | 9 | 43 |

#### 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 |
| Charlie James | 88 | 233 | 52 | .223 | 5 | 17 |
| Carl Warwick | 88 | 158 | 41 | .259 | 3 | 15 |
| Bob Skinner | 55 | 118 | 32 | .271 | 1 | 16 |
| Bob Uecker | 40 | 106 | 21 | .198 | 1 | 6 |
| Johnny Lewis | 40 | 94 | 22 | .234 | 2 | 7 |
| Doug Clemens | 33 | 78 | 16 | .205 | 1 | 9 |
| Phil Gagliano | 40 | 58 | 15 | .259 | 1 | 9 |
| Jeoff Long | 28 | 43 | 10 | .233 | 1 | 4 |
| Jerry Buchek | 35 | 30 | 6 | .200 | 0 | 1 |
| Dal Maxvill | 37 | 26 | 6 | .231 | 0 | 4 |
| Ed Spiezio | 12 | 12 | 4 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Morgan | 3 | 3 | 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 |
| Bob Gibson | 40 | 287.1 | 19 | 12 | 3.01 | 245 |
| Curt Simmons | 34 | 244.0 | 18 | 9 | 3.43 | 104 |
| Ray Sadecki | 37 | 220.0 | 20 | 11 | 3.68 | 119 |
| Ernie Broglio | 11 | 69.1 | 3 | 5 | 3.50 | 36 |

#### 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 |
| Roger Craig | 39 | 166.0 | 7 | 9 | 3.25 | 84 |
| Ray Washburn | 15 | 60.0 | 3 | 4 | 4.05 | 28 |
| Gordie Richardson | 19 | 47.0 | 4 | 2 | 2.30 | 28 |
| Glen Hobbie | 13 | 44.1 | 1 | 2 | 4.26 | 18 |
| Bobby Shantz | 16 | 17.1 | 1 | 3 | 3.12 | 12 |
| Lew Burdette | 8 | 10.0 | 1 | 0 | 1.80 | 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 |
| Barney Schultz | 30 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 1.64 | 29 |
| Ron Taylor | 63 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 4.62 | 69 |
| Mike Cuellar | 32 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4.50 | 56 |
| Bob Humphreys | 28 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2.53 | 36 |
| Harry Fanok | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.87 | 10 |
| Dave Bakenhaster | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 0 |
| Jack Spring | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Dave Dowling | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |

## 1964 World Series

Playing in their first Series in eighteen years, and one that resembled a rematch of the two franchises' first encounter in 1926, the upstart "Redbirds" took on the veteran New York Yankees, featuring Ken Boyer's younger brother Clete, also an All-Star third baseman. Ken Boyer's stunning grand slam home run in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium, along with Gibson's overpowering pitching, was a key in a 4 games to 3 win by the Cardinals – their seventh World Series championship. This marked the end of the Yankee dynasty that saw 15 pennants in 18 seasons from 1947 to 1964. The Cardinals are the only one of the original eight National League teams to hold an overall World Series edge against the Yankees, 3 Series to 2.
Before the regular season had ended, both the owners of the Cardinals and the Yankees had decided to replace their managers, Keane and Yogi Berra, after the season – regardless of outcome. When these two teams happened to meet in the World Series, this plan received a great deal of attention.
NL St. Louis Cardinals (4) vs. AL New York Yankees (3) :
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance | Time of Game |
| 1 | Yankees – 5, Cardinals – 9 | October 7 | Busch Stadium | 30,805 | 2:42 |
| 2 | Yankees – 8, Cardinals – 3 | October 8 | Busch Stadium | 30,805 | 2:29 |
| 3 | Cardinals – 1, Yankees – 2 | October 10 | Yankee Stadium | 67,101 | 2:16 |
| 4 | Cardinals – 4, Yankees – 3 | October 11 | Yankee Stadium | 66,312 | 2:18 |
| 5 | Cardinals – 5, Yankees – 2 | October 12 | Yankee Stadium | 65,633 | 2:37 |
| 6 | Yankees – 8, Cardinals – 3 | October 14 | Busch Stadium | 30,805 | 2:37 |
| 7 | Yankees – 5, Cardinals – 7 | October 15 | Busch Stadium | 30,346 | 2:40 |
Thirty years later, David Halberstam would chronicle the 1964 Cardinals and their World Series opponents the 1964 Yankees in the book October 1964.

## After the season

Gussie Busch changed his mind about Durocher and attempted to rehire his Series-winning manager, but Keane, angry at the way Busch had treated him and Devine, quit and became manager of the Yankees. Red Schoendienst took over as manager and led the team to two pennants and a championship in 1967 on his way to twelve seasons at the helm. The Sporting News named Bing Devine Baseball Executive of the Year a few months after he was fired and Keane Manager of the Year.

## Awards and honors

* Ken Boyer, National League MVP Award
* Bob Gibson, Babe Ruth Award
* Bob Gibson, World Series Most Valuable Player Award
* Gold Glove Awards
** Curt Flood, outfield
** Bobby Shantz, pitcher
** Bill White, first base

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Jacksonville Suns | International League | Harry Walker |
| AA | Tulsa Oilers | Texas League | Grover Resinger |
| A | Raleigh Cardinals | Carolina League | George Kissell |
| A | Winnipeg Goldeyes | Northern League | Ron Plaza |
| A | Rock Hill Cardinals | Western Carolinas League | Hal Smith |
| Rookie | SRL Cardinals | Sarasota Rookie League | Fred Koenig |