October 20, 1982: "That's a Winner!" In St. Louis

Bruce Sutter (left) hugs Darrell Porter

October 20, 1982: Game 7 of the World Series was played at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. It concludes the "Suds Series": Not only were the teams involved playing in the American cities best known for producing beer, but one was named the Milwaukee Brewers; while the other, the St. Louis Cardinals, was owned by August Anheuser Busch Jr., a.k.a. Gussie Busch, also the owner of Anheuser-Busch Brewing, producers of Budweiser.

For the Cardinals, it was their 17th Pennant, their 13th since entering the National League, but their 1st in 14 years. They were managed by Dorrel Norman Elvert Herzog. "Whitey" Herzog, or "The White Rat," was from near St. Louis, in New Athens, Illinois. He had been a mediocre infielder, and then managed the Kansas City Royals to 3 straight American League Western Division titles, but couldn't get them to the Pennant.

This was his 1st, with a team designed to take advantage of Busch Stadium's artificial turf and deep outfield. His "Whiteyball" was reminiscent of past Cardinal titlists, including the 1934 "Gashouse Gang" and the Billy Southworth teams of the 1940s.

For the Brewers, it was their 1st Pennant ever, coming from 2 games to none down in the AL Championship Series to beat the California Angels, 3-2. It was the 1st Pennant for any Milwaukee team since the 1958 Braves. They were managed by a Milwaukee native, former AL batting champion Harvey Kuenn, and had power hitters like "Stormin'" Gorman Thomas, Cecil Cooper, Don Money and Ben Oglivie, plus contact hitters like former Cardinal catcher Ted Simmons, Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, who was nicknamed "The Ignitor." They were known as "Harvey's Wallbangers."

At first, it looked like a wipeout: The Brewers won Game 1, 10-0. Ted Simmons, the Brewers' catcher, hit a home run against the team with whom he'd built his Hall of Fame credentials. Mike Caldwell, owner of one of the best curveballs of that era, pitched a 3-hit shutout, outpitching Bob Forsch. Molitor became the 1st player ever to get 5 hits in a single World Series game.

And when the Brew Crew jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the 3rd inning in Game 2, with the next 3 games -- if they were all to be necessary -- in Milwaukee, it looked like the Cardinals were in deep trouble.

But the Cards came back, tying the game at 4-4 in the 6th, on a 2-RBI double by Darrell Porter. The Brewers were without their Hall of Fame reliever, Rollie Fingers: The 1981 AL Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner, who'd helped the Oakland Athletics win 3 straight World Series in the 1970s, had a back injury that caused him to miss not just the last month of this season and the entire postseason, but the entire 1983 season.

Pete Ladd was forced to take the closer role, and in the bottom of the 8th, he walked Steve Braun with the bases loaded, and the Cardinals won, 5-4. There would be a relief pitcher ending up in the Hall of Fame who was this game's winning pitcher, but it was Bruce Sutter of the Cardinals, rather than Fingers.

Bill Haller was the home plate umpire. He was retiring, and this was his last time behind the plate. This made him the last home plate umpire to wear the "balloon" chest protector. When he umpired at 1st base in Game 7, it made him the last umpire to wear a tie as part of his uniform.

Each team's ace started Game 3 at Milwaukee County Stadium: Joaquín Andújar for the Cardinals, and former Cardinal Pete Vukovich, the 1982 AL Cy Young winner, for the Brewers. Andújar was backed by 2 home runs and 2 great defensive plays by Willie McGee, who probably should have been awarded the NL's Rookie of the Year. The Cardinals won, 6-3.

The Brewers scored 6 runs in the 7th inning to take Game 4, 7-5. Behind Caldwell and a home run by Yount, they won Game 5, 6-4. The only had to take 1 of the 2 remaining games in St. Louis to win their city's 1st World Championship since 1957.

But the Cardinals, already up 7-0, including a home run by Porter, exploded for 6 runs in the bottom of the 6th, including a home run by Keith Hernandez. They won, 13-1.

Game 7 was played on Hernandez's 29th birthday. As in Game 3, the starters were Andújar and Vuckovich. With 1 out in the bottom of the 6th, the Brewers led, 3-1, with Oglivie having hit a home run. They were 11 outs from the title.

But Vukovich was dealing with a shoulder injury, which would limit him to 14 innings in 1983, missing all of 1984, and retiring after 1986, right before his 34th birthday. He gave up a single to Ozzie Smith, and a double to Lonnie Smith (no relation).

Kuenn pulled him for Bob McClure. Instead of Fingers, the 1970s A's hero who ended up making a difference in this Series was Gene Tenace, who drew a walk to load the bases. Mike Ramsey (no relation to the 1980 Olympic hockey Gold Medalist of the same name) was sent in to pinch-run for Tenace. And then Hernandez singled both Smiths home to tie the game, and George Hendrick singled Ramsey home to give the Cards the lead.

Porter drove in another run in the 8th, and was named the Series' MVP. Sutter came on to close the game out, and did so by striking out the powerful Thomas. The final score was 6-3. On KMOX, the flagship station of their powerful radio network, Cardinal broadcaster Jack Buck said, "Sutter from the belt, to the plate, a swing and a miss! And that's a winner! That's a winner! A World Series winner for the Cardinals!"

This "pitch invasion" did not result in any injuries,

unlike the one in Moscow earlier in the day.

This was also the only World Series ever broadcast by Dick Enberg, and the 11th and last for Tony Kubek, both on NBC. (Enberg had been a regular announcer for the team then known as the California Angels, while Kubek had previously been a star shortstop for the New York Yankees.)

The Cardinals won their 9th World Series, a total surpassed only by the Yankees. Since then, if you combine their Philadelphia and Oakland titles, it has been matched by the Athletics, although the Cards have now made it 11.

As far as I know, Hernandez is the only player ever to appear on the winning side of a World Series-winning game on his birthday.

Porter had been a member of the Kansas City Royals team that lost the 1980 World Series. Ironically, he would be a member of the Cardinal team that lost to the Royals in the 1985 World Series.

The next season, Herzog, also the Cardinals' general manager, had had enough of Hernandez's ego and cocaine use, and traded him to the New York Mets. This turned out to be a great move for the Mets, and a bad one for the Cards. They won the Pennant in 1985 and 1987, but lost the World Series each time; while Hernandez cleaned up his act, and led the Mets to win the 1986 World Series.

The Cardinals didn't make the Playoffs again until 1996, blowing a 3-1 NLCS lead to the Atlanta Braves. In 2004, they won the Pennant, but got swept in the World Series by the Boston Red Sox. In Game 3, pitcher Jeff Suppan, not used to running the bases, made a blunder at 3rd base. It probably didn't matter as far as determining the outcome, but someone noticed that Suppan wore Number 37, which had been Hernandez's number with the Cardinals.

That, and the team's inability to win a Series since 1982 led to talk of a "curse" on the team, "The Curse of Keith Hernandez." But such talk ended when they won the 2006 World Series, ending the "drought" at 24 years.

The Brewers should have been so lucky: After their 1982 Pennant, they have never won another. In 1998, the Brewers moved to the National League, into its Central Division, where they play the Cardinals several times a season. In 2008, they won the NL Wild Card, but lost the NL Division Series to the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2011, they won the Division and got to the NLCS, but lost to the Cardinals, who won another World Series. From 2018 to 2021, they made 4 straight postseasons, including winning the NL Central in 2018 and 2021, but failed to win the Pennant, losing the 2018 NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7.

UPDATE: The Cardinals have a team Hall of Fame. From their 1982 World Champions, they have inducted team owner August "Gussie" Busch, coach Albert "Red" Schoendienst, scout George Kissell, broadcasters Jack Buck and Mike Shannon, manager and general manager Whitey Herzog; 1st baseman Keith Hernandez, 2nd baseman Tom Herr, shortstop Ozzie Smith, center fielder Willie McGee; and pitchers Bob Forsch and Bruce Sutter.

From their 1985 World Champions: Busch, Schoendienst, Kissell, Buck, Shannon, Herzog, Herr, Smith, McGee, Forsch; left fielder Vince Coleman, pitcher John Tudor, and former pitcher turned broadcaster Al Hrabosky. From their 1987 Pennant: All of those, plus 2nd baseman José Oquendo.

After losing the 1987 World Series, the Cardinals had some near-misses. In 1996, they blew a 3-1 lead in the National League Championship Series to the Atlanta Braves. In 2000, they lost the NCLS to the New York Mets. In 2001, they lost the NL Division Series to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2002, they lost the NLCS to the San Francisco Giants. In 2004, they won the Pennant, but were swept in the World Series by the Boston Red Sox, who not only ended an 86-year title drought (by means both fair and not), but avenged Series defeats to the Cardinals in 1946 and 1967. In 2005, the Cardinals lost the NCLS to the Houston Astros, who thus won their 1st Pennant in team history. Finally, in 2006, the Cardinals won another World Series.

Elected to the Cardinals Hall of Fame from this period, but not the one before or the one after, have been 1st baseman Mark McGwire, center fielder Ray Laknford, shortstop Édgar Rentería and pitcher Matt Morris.

Busch, Herzog, Schoendienst, Kissell, Buck, Shannon, Adamie, Hernandez, Herr, Smith, McGee, Porter, Forsch, Sutter, 3rd baseman Terry Pendleton, left fielders Bernard Gilkey and Kerry Robinson, right fielder Andy Van Slyke, catchers Tim Pagnozzi and Mike Matheny; pitchers Mark Littell, Danny Cox, Todd Worrell, Ricky Horton, Lee Smith, Alan Benes, his brother Andy Benes, and Rick Ankiel; and coach Lee Thomas were elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Busch, Schoendienst, Kissell, Buck, Shannon, Herzog, Sutter, Hernandez, Herr, Smith, Van Slyke, Cox, Worrell, Gilkey, Smith, Lankford, 2nd baseman Ken Oberkfell, 3rd baseman Gary Gaetti (after having been on the opposite side of the 1987 World Series, with the Minnesota Twins) were elected to the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.

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October 20, 1982 was a Wednesday. This was also the day of the Luzhniki Stadium disaster, at a soccer game in Moscow. I have a separate entry for that event.

It was midweek for American football. The NBA regular season wouldn't start for another 9 days. There were 8 games played in the new National Hockey League season:

* The New Jersey Devils, having debuted on October 5, lost to the Los Angeles Kings, 7-4 at The Forum in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California.

* The New York Rangers beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-5 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Montreal Canadiens and the Washington Capitals played to a tie, 3-3 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Minnesota North Stars, 5-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-0 at the Chicago Stadium.

* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Hartford Whalers, 4-2 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.