1.
National League
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Both leagues currently have 15 teams. The two league champions of 1903 arranged to compete against each other in the inaugural World Series, after the 1904 champions failed to reach a similar agreement, the two leagues formalized the World Series as an arrangement between the leagues. National League teams have won 48 of the 112 World Series contested from 1903 to 2016, the 2016 National League champions are the Chicago Cubs. By 1875, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was dangerously weak, additionally, Hulbert had a problem—five of his star players were threatened with expulsion from the NAPBBP because Hulbert had signed them to his club using what were considered questionable means. Hulbert had a vested interest in creating his own league. After recruiting St. Louis privately, four western clubs met in Louisville, Kentucky, Boston Red Stockings, the dominant team in the N. A. Hartford Dark Blues from the N. A. Mutual of New York from the N. A. St. Louis Brown Stockings from the N. A, the only strong club from 1875 excluded in 1876 was a second one in Philadelphia, often called the White Stockings or Phillies. The first game in National League history was played on April 22,1876, at Philadelphias Jefferson Street Grounds, 25th & Jefferson, the new leagues authority was tested after the first season. The National League operated with six clubs during 1877 and 1878, over the next several years, various teams joined and left the struggling league. By 1880, six of the eight members had folded. The two remaining original NL franchises, Boston and Chicago, remain in operation today as the Atlanta Braves, in 1883 the New York Gothams and Philadelphia Phillies began National League play. Both teams remain in the NL today, the Phillies in their original city, the NL encountered its first strong rival organization when the American Association began play in 1882. The A. A. played in cities where the NL did not have teams, offered Sunday games and alcoholic beverages in locales where permitted, the National League and the American Association participated in a version of the World Series seven times during their ten-year coexistence. These contests were less organized than the modern Series, lasting as few as three games and as many as fifteen, with two Series ending in disputed ties, the NL won four times and the A. A. only once, in 1886. Starting with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1887, the National League began to raid the American Association for franchises to replace NL teams that folded and this undercut the stability of the A. A. Other new leagues that rose to compete with the National League were the Union Association, the Union Association was established in 1884 and folded after playing only one season, its league champion St. Louis Maroons joining the NL. The NL suffered many defections of star players to the Players League, the Brooklyn, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York franchises of the NL absorbed their Players League counterparts. The labor strife of 1890 hastened the downfall of the American Association, after the 1891 season, the A. A. disbanded and merged with the NL, which became known legally for the next decade as the National League and American Association
2.
1969 Major League Baseball season
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The 1969 Major League Baseball season was celebrated as the 100th anniversary of professional baseball, honoring the first professional touring baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings. It was the first season of what is now called the Divisional Era, the winners of each division would compete against each other in a League Championship Series, then best-of-five, to determine the pennant winners that would face each other in the World Series. In a year marked by the expansion of the decade, the New York Mets. East Division with a league-best 100–62 record, and sweeping the N. L, West Division Champion Atlanta Braves in three games in the first National League Championship Series, the Miracle Mets became the first expansion team to win a pennant. East Division Champion Orioles, holders of the best record in baseball, West Division Champion Minnesota Twins in three games in the first American League Championship Series. The upstart Mets upset the heavily favored Orioles and won the World Series title in five games, in an effort to counteract a trend of low-scoring games, Major League Baseball adopted two measures during the Baseball Winter Meetings held in December 1968. The strike zone was reduced to the area over home plate between the armpits and the top of the knees of a batter. Also, the height of the mound was reduced from 15 inches to 10 inches. A save became an official MLB statistic to reward relief pitchers who preserve a lead while finishing a game, MLB called for a four-team expansion to take place in 1971 at the 1967 Winter Meetings, the first expansion since 1962. However, there was a complication, influential U. S, the Leagues agreed and moved expansion up to 1969, with the AL putting one of its new franchises in Kansas City. Ewing Kauffman won the bidding for that franchise, naming it the Kansas City Royals, the other AL team was awarded to Seattle. A consortium led by Dewey Soriano and William Daley won the bidding for the Seattle franchise, and named it the Seattle Pilots, a salute to the harbor pilots of the Puget Sound maritime industry. In the NL, one franchise was awarded to San Diego, California, arnholdt Smith, former owner of the AAA Pacific Coast Leagues San Diego Padres, won the bidding for the San Diego franchise, also naming it the Padres. Charles Bronfman, owner of Seagram, won the bidding for the Montreal franchise, naming them the Expos and this was the last NL expansion until the 1993 season. As part of the 1969 expansion, each league was to be split into two divisions of six each, with each league holding a best-of-five League Championship Series to decide the pennant. The AL was divided purely along geographic lines, but when it came to assign divisions in the NL and this alignment also addressed concerns that putting the leagues three strongest clubs—St. Louis, San Francisco, and the Cubs—in the west would result in divisional unequity, the Padres and Expos each finished with 110 losses and at the bottom of their respective divisions. The Royals did better, finishing 69–93 and in fourth in the AL West, the legal fallout of the battle would lead eventually to the expansion for the 1977 season
3.
Busch Memorial Stadium
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Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium II, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 through 2005. It opened four days after the last baseball game was played at Sportsmans Park, the stadium was designed by Sverdrup & Parcel and built by Grün & Bilfinger. Edward Durell Stone designed the roof, a 96-arch Crown of Arches, the Crown echoed the Gateway Arch, which had been completed only a year before Busch Stadium opened. It was one of the first multipurpose cookie-cutter facilities built in the United States and its final event was the sixth game of the 2005 NLCS on October 19. The stadium was demolished by wrecking ball in late 2005 and part of its footprint is occupied by its replacement stadium—the new Busch Stadium. The baseball Cardinals had played at Sportsmans Park since 1920 and they originally were tenants of the St. Louis Browns of the American League. Although the Cardinals had long passed the Browns as St. Louis favorite team. In 1958, Charles Farris, the head of development. Groundbreaking occurred on May 25,1964, and construction took just under two years, the plan also included parking garages, a hotel, and office buildings. A few years later, it became the new home of the Spanish Pavilion from the 1964 New York Worlds Fair. The stadium opened on May 12,1966, one month into the baseball season, however, the Civic Center part was almost never used, and most people called it simply Busch Memorial Stadium. The stadiums grass was replaced with AstroTurf in 1970, in part because St. Louis notoriously hot summers made it difficult to keep the grass alive. The Cardinals retained the traditional dirt skin infield for eight seasons, with artificial turf, the playing conditions at Busch Stadium were among the hottest in baseball, with temperatures well above the local official readings. Anheuser-Busch bought the stadium in 1981 for $53 million and renamed it simply Busch Stadium, following Buschs last 1995 event—the Rams October 22 game prior to the opening of the now-Dome at Americas Center—the Cardinals retrofitted it into a baseball-only stadium. A large section of the upper deck outfield seats was closed, replaced with a scoreboard and flags commemorating the Cardinals retired numbers. The stadiums original natural grass field was restored, and the walls were repainted green from their original blue. Busch Memorial Stadium was originally slated to be imploded like most modern-day stadium demolitions to be able to finish construction on the new stadium in time for the 2006 season. Due to fear of damaging the nearby Metro subway and stadium station, it was decided to tear down the stadium with a ball, piece-by-piece
4.
1966 Major League Baseball season
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The 1966 Major League Baseball season was contested from April to October 1966. The Braves played their season in Atlanta, following their relocation from Milwaukee. Three teams played the 1966 season in new stadiums, on April 12, the Braves ushered in Atlanta Stadium with the Pittsburgh Pirates taking a 3–2 win in 13 innings. One week later, Anaheim Stadium opened with the California Angels losing to the Chicago White Sox, in the World Series the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 0. Williams receives 282 of a possible 302 votes, february 28 – Seeking an unprecedented 3-year $1.05 million to be divided evenly, the Dodgers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale begin a joint holdout. March 8 – The Special Veterans Committee waives Hall of Fame election rules and inducts Casey Stengel, march 17 – Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale escalate their threat of retirement by signing movie contracts. March 30 – Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale end their 32-day holdout, signing for $130,000, April 3 – USC pitcher Tom Seaver signs with the New York Mets. He had been drafted by the Atlanta Braves, but they had signed him to a league contract while he was still in college. This voided Seavers remaining eligibility, and voided the contract, the Mets won a special lottery over Cleveland and Philadelphia to win the right to sign him. April 11 – Emmett Ashford takes the field in Washington to officiate a 5–2 Washington Senators win over the Cleveland Indians and he is the first African-American umpire in Major League history. April 12 – Over 50,000 fans show up at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium to watch the Braves first home game in Atlanta, the Braves fall to the Pittsburgh Pirates 3–2 in 13 innings, however. May 8 – The visiting San Francisco Giants defeat the St. Louis Cardinals, may 14 – The San Francisco Giants Willie Mays hits his then National League record 512th home run – topping another Giant, Mel Ott. The Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6–1 at San Franciscos Candlestick Park, june 7 – The Kansas City Athletics use the second overall pick to draft Arizona State outfielder Reggie Jackson. June 10 – Sonny Siebert of the Cleveland Indians no-hits the Washington Senators 2–0 at Cleveland Stadium, the no-hitter is the first by an Indian since Bob Fellers third career no-hitter, in 1951. July 3 – Atlanta pitcher Tony Cloninger hits two grand slams in a game against the Giants, the first National League player and first pitcher in history to do so and his nine RBI in a game is a record for pitchers. July 12 – At St. July 25 – During his Hall of Fame induction speech and he specifically calls for the induction of Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige. September 22 – The Baltimore Orioles beat the host Kansas City Athletics 6–1 to clinch their first American League pennant since moving to Baltimore, both Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson have two RBIs. Frank Robinson will end the year as the Triple Crown winner and he clinches with a batting average of.316,49 home runs and 122 RBIs
5.
St. Louis
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St. Louis is an independent city and major U. S. port in the state of Missouri, built along the western bank of the Mississippi River, on the border with Illinois. Prior to European settlement, the area was a regional center of Native American Mississippian culture. The city of St. Louis was founded in 1764 by French fur traders Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, in 1764, following Frances defeat in the Seven Years War, the area was ceded to Spain and retroceded back to France in 1800. In 1803, the United States acquired the territory as part of the Louisiana Purchase, during the 19th century, St. Louis developed as a major port on the Mississippi River. In the 1870 Census, St. Louis was ranked as the 4th-largest city in the United States and it separated from St. Louis County in 1877, becoming an independent city and limiting its own political boundaries. In 1904, it hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and the Summer Olympics, the economy of metro St. Louis relies on service, manufacturing, trade, transportation of goods, and tourism. This city has become known for its growing medical, pharmaceutical. St. Louis has 2 professional sports teams, the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball, the city is commonly identified with the 630-foot tall Gateway Arch in Downtown St. Louis. The area that would become St. Louis was a center of the Native American Mississippian culture and their major regional center was at Cahokia Mounds, active from 900 AD to 1500 AD. Due to numerous major earthworks within St. Louis boundaries, the city was nicknamed as the Mound City and these mounds were mostly demolished during the citys development. Historic Native American tribes in the area included the Siouan-speaking Osage people, whose territory extended west, European exploration of the area was first recorded in 1673, when French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette traveled through the Mississippi River valley. Five years later, La Salle claimed the region for France as part of La Louisiane. The earliest European settlements in the area were built in Illinois Country on the east side of the Mississippi River during the 1690s and early 1700s at Cahokia, Kaskaskia, migrants from the French villages on the opposite side of the Mississippi River founded Ste. In early 1764, after France lost the 7 Years War, Pierre Laclède, the early French families built the citys economy on the fur trade with the Osage, as well as with more distant tribes along the Missouri River. The Chouteau brothers gained a monopoly from Spain on the fur trade with Santa Fe, French colonists used African slaves as domestic servants and workers in the city. In 1780 during the American Revolutionary War, St. Louis was attacked by British forces, mostly Native American allies, the founding of St. Louis began in 1763. Pierre Laclede led an expedition to set up a fur-trading post farther up the Mississippi River, before then, Laclede had been a very successful merchant. For this reason, he and his trading partner Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent were offered monopolies for six years of the fur trading in that area
6.
Anheuser-Busch
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Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC /ˈænhaɪzər ˈbʊʃ/ is a brewing company founded and based in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev which also has its North American headquarters in St. Louis, the original Anheuser-Busch InBev was formed through successive mergers of three international brewing groups, Interbrew from Belgium, AmBev from Brazil and Anheuser-Busch. Hence, since 2008, Anheuser-Busch has been a division of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, Anheuser-Busch InBev is the largest beer producer in the world. In 1852, German American brewer and saloon operator George Schneider opened the Bavarian Brewery on Carondelet Avenue between Dorcas and Lynch streets in South St. Louis. In 1860, the brewery was purchased on the brink of bankruptcy by William DOench, a local pharmacist, and Eberhard Anheuser, DOench was the silent partner in the business until 1869, when he sold his half-interest in the company. From 1860 to 1875, the brewery was known as E, Anheuser & Co. and from 1875 to 1879 as the E. Adolphus Busch, a wholesaler who had immigrated to St. Louis from Germany in 1857, married Eberhard Anheusers daughter, Lilly, following his service in the American Civil War, Busch began working as a salesman for the Anheuser brewery. Busch purchased DOenchs share of the company in 1869, and he assumed the role of secretary from that time until the death of his father-in-law. By 1877, the owned a fleet of 40 refrigerated railroad cars to transport beer. Expanding the companys distribution range led to increased demand for Anheuser products, the expansions led production to increase from 31,500 barrels in 1875 to more than 200,000 in 1881. To serve these cars and switch them in and out of their St. Louis brewery, the shortline operated until 2011 when Anheuser-Busch sought to shut down operations. In 1876, Busch introduced Budweiser, with the ambition of transcending regional tastes and his companys ability to transport bottled beer made Budweiser the first national beer brand in the United States, and it was marketed as a premium beer. The company was renamed Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association in 1879, in 1880, the Busch family fully controlled the company through the generations until Anheuser-Buschs sale to InBev in 2008. During the 1880s and 1890s, Busch introduced a series of advertisements and marketing giveaways for the company, including bottle openers, calendars, corkscrews, pocketknives, postcards, and prints. Among the most well-known of these giveaways was Custers Last Fight, as a marketing tactic, Busch distributed thousands of copies of the print to bars in 1896, the same year Anheuser-Busch introduced its new super-premium brand, Michelob. Eventually more than one million copies of the print were produced, at the turn of the 20th century, Anheuser-Busch continued to expand its production facilities to keep up with demand. In 1905, the built an new stockhouse in St. Louis. After the death of Adolphus Busch in 1913, control of the passed to his son, August Anheuser Busch
