1900 Cardinals

The 1900 team wore similar uniforms uniforms from the previous season, but with a laced shirt and louder bubblier lettering. The ST. LOUIS lettering from 1899 was considerably smaller than the lettering in 1900.

It was also this season that we begin seeing the word Cardinals in the newspapers. Nicknames of teams often came about based on the color the team wore. ie, Browns, Reds, Red Sox, White Stockings, etc. Carrying over from the previous season, we have newspaper accounts of the media still referring to the team as Red Caps. But as the season continued, and as the legend goes, affirmed in a 1903 newspaper article with Patsy Donovan, sportswriter Willie McHale overheard a lady remark, “Oh! isn’t that just the loveliest shade of Cardinal!” After hearing this, McHale began referring to the team as the Cardinals in his column in the St. Louis Republic. What isn’t talked about in the famous legend, is Willie McHale apparently heard this lady when the team was on the road in Chicago, by a local Chicago woman. The origins of the Cardinals name, unfortunately, can be traced to our longtime rival city. Nonetheless, the nickname grew in popularity amongst fans and club owners. But it is important to note, the name referred to color before it referred to the bird.

The interview with Patsy Donovan in 1903 is unfortunately a second hand account, and the only real record we have of this legend. Legends and stories say the first claim was made on April 15, 1899, but we can not find a record of this. We have no accounts from Willie McHale, because he unfortunately died in 1901 at age 23. It should also be noted that while we have historical scans of the Republic, these scans do not date back to the 19th century yet.

The earliest newspaper account we currently have is from April of 1900, from the Post Dispatch that describes the team as Cardinals in passing. See below.

Newspaper Accounts

St. Louis Republic: Arpil 3, 1900
GOOD PRACTICE FOR MR. TEBEAU’S TEAM.
Rochester Athletes Were Too Stiff and Sore to Give the Cardinals an Argument.

St. Louis Post Dispatch: April 19, 1900
Their new suits were the same as their garb of ’99, white with red trimmings, except that the stockings, belt and cap seemed more of a cardinal hue. 

St. Louis Globe Democrat: April 23, 1900
Over 20,000 persons, comprising the largest crowd that has ever witnessed a game of professional base ball in St. Louis, journeyed out to League Park yesterday afternoon to pay tribute to Tebeau’s Terrors in their closing game of the initial series with Fred Clarke’s hustling band from Smokeville…
There were exciting features galore to the wonderful struggle, which was finally landed by the Terrors, 6 to 5. Three cardinal-hosed athletes enacted the principal roles for the home aggregation in bringing about victory – Emett, Heidrick, Dan McGann, and Jack Powell…
There was plenty other excitement to the contest, but non even bordering on that of the closing inning. Early in the fray Burkett and Donovan, by well-timed throws to McGann, had completed two double plays. Wallace, too, and Ely had made stretched at full length for some off throws, and the veteran Zimmer had headed off more than one cardinal runner who tried to purloin his way around the sacks. All these plays, features in any other contest, were almost forgotten by the wonderful catches of Heidrick in the ninth, which saved the Terrors the day, and McGann’s timely safe drive, which won the game said by Heidrick. 

St. Louis Globe Democrat: April 27, 1900
CHICAGO WON WITH A RUSH.
Scored Six Runs In the Ninth Inning and Downed the Terrors.
The Terrors and Anarchists put up a laughable exhibition at League Park yesterday, the latter aggregation finally triumphing by a great rally in the ninth inning, which netted them six runs. Powell, who had been batted freely throughout, was received by Young in the middle of the ninth. Two bobbies by the usually reliable Wallace, and a scratch double by Everett kept the fireworks a-going, giving Tom Loftus’ band a lead of three runs, which the locals failed to overcome in their final time up…
FARCICAL BASE BALL
Anarchists Won Closing Game Because the Terrors Refused To.
Jimmy Callahan, the deceptive right-hander of the Chicago team, has ever been a thorn to the Terrors. Thrice last season in order did he deal out a row of ciphers to the local aggregation. Yesterday the Terrors opened on him in savage fashion, starting a fusillade of “bingling” from the very start, though it was not until the fourth inning that they were able to commence their tallying. Then runs came in clusters, and even though the Anarchists were doing some leather-lacing themselves, the score at the end of these sixth inning was 5 to 5 against them, and another victory for the cardinal-hosed athletes looked as good as in. For the first time during their stay in this burg did “Handsome” Donohue and his anarchistic side partners show some life. Even though they were three runs to the bad when the ninth was started they all showed extreme confidence, and seemed to tip off the sorrowful rally that was forthcoming. 

St. Louis Republic: August 27, 1900
CARDINALS FINALLY BEAT CALLAHAN.
The most pleasing feature of the game is that the Cardinals finally managed to defeat Chicago with Jimmy Callahan opposed to them on the rubber. Callahan has always been effective against St. Louis. In fact, he was looked upon as a hoodoo by the local crowd. No matter how hard he was hit he always managed to scratch his way out at the finish. He has been very lucky against St. Louis, but then Jimmy is a first-class pitcher, and good men are always considered a favorite of the Goddess of Fortune.
Yesterday James had no chance to get away with the game. But even at that he held the score down to a small figure, considering the number of safe hits that were made off his delivery. The fourteen hits made by the Cardinals were scattered throughout the game, and whenever the Hitites commenced to slug. Callahan settled down and handed up things that were mysterious, to say the least. 

St. Louis Globe Democrat: April 29, 1900
Terrors. While Making Only a Fair Start, Figure Up Well.
The Terrors have not beaten the flag in the manner anticipated. In fact, their start in the long race for championship honors has been very ordinary, and including Friday’s game, their record was four victories and three defeats, anything but imposing when it is remember the caliber of the teams they have met. Fred Clarke’s rejuvenated piratical band from Smokeville, made up of the pick of last campaign’s Pittsburg and Louisville clubs, was the opening interaction. Three games were played; the Terrors bagging the odd one. The Chicago Anarchists, Tom Loftus’ burlesquers, followed. They were sized up as the season’s absurdity, but in the first four mix-ups with the cardinal-hosed babes from this burg, three taking place here and the fourth in Chicago, a split was chronicled. The Terrors played in Chicago yesterday, and have three more games scheduled with the Anarchists on the present trip, before moving on the Pittsburg for a quartet of meetings with the Pirates.

St. Louis Globe Democrat: April 29, 1900
Placing Cincinnati, Chicago and New York for the tailed places, and allowing for Boston to do the parachute act and Philadelphia to finish about as high as ever, this leaves Brooklyn and Pittsburg as the only teams the Terrors need greatly fear. And right here is where the race bids fair to be. The Terrors, admitting that they are the strong team they appear to be (speaking from “dope” performances as yet), seem to be the second strongest team in the league. The Superbas, Hanlon’s hustling aggregation, must be considered the locals’ peer, and it will be a hard task for the Cardinals to finish in front of them…

St. Louis Post Dispatch: April 29, 1900
CHICAGO, Ill., April 28. – St. Louis and Chicago played the best game of the season at the West Side grounds to-day. It was such an exhibition of the national sport that would be worth going a thousand miles to see. Not a run was made in nine innings. St. Louis won out in the tenth, scoring three runs. Chicago also made one tally in her half.
It was good baseball that enabled the Cardinals to win. O’Connor was the first man up in this inning and he drove a ball at Clingman that would have pierced a brick wall had it been unfortunate enough to lay in its course. The sphere shot through CLingman’s legs and went to far center. 
– research from Peter Reitan https://esnpc.blogspot.com/2019/01/sunday-baseball-and-cleveland-spiders.html

St. Louis Globe Democrat: April 30, 1900
TERRORS’ TIMELY STICKY WORK.
Tebeau’s Players Found the Ball at Opportune Times.
Chicagos Were Clearly Outplayed–Sudhoff Twirled His Second Victory…
The Terrors scored as easy victory over Tom Loftus’ lumbering band in Chicago yesterday and jumped up to a tie with Philadelphia for a first place. Sudhoff twirled a clever game for St. Louis, allowing but one run and five hits. Jock Menefee made his debut with the Anarchists, and his slants proved to the Cardinals’ liking. There was little to the game. 

St. Louis Globe Democrat: April 30, 1900
The Terrors, by virtue of their defeat of the Anarchists yesterday, are once more at the head of the league procession, though the slugging Quakers are tied with them. The Cardinals are doing to the Windy Cityites now just what they should have done without a skip since they commenced their double series at League Park last Monday. The Terrors are far and away the superiors of Tom Loftus’ burlesquers, and, with the luck of the game evenly distributed, should beat that team as far as the old Baltimores used to lose to “Der Prowns.” The two teams have now had six meetings, and four victories for St. Louis have been recorded. Before going to Pittsburg the local aggregation will play two more games with the Anarchists, and Tebeau has Powell and young Harper slatted to do the twirling in the remaining two engagements.
Local fandom is again rejoicing. Those two success defeats administered their pets by the Chicagos last Thursday and Friday dampened their ardor somewhat, but the faithful is again in line, and a big amount of interest is being centered in the Cardinals’ play while away. The score of the yesterday’s game was bulletined in several downtown resorts, and tremendous crowds were on hand, cheering as they had Emmett Heidrich a week ago for his miraculous catches in the closing Pittsburg game, when the final result of 6-1 in St. Louis’ favor was posted.

St. Louis Post Dispatch: April 30, 1900
SUDHOFF PITCHED.
ONE REASON WHY ST. LOUIS DEFEATED CHICAGO ON SUNDAY.
CARDINALS PLAYED GREAT BALL.
“Wee Willie” Sudhoff, affectionately known to the St. Louis fans as “Little Sawed-off,” was the cardinal mainly responsible for the St. Louis Club’s victory over Chicago in the city by the lake on Sunday. …
The Cardinals will again try issues with Tom Loftus’ aggregation Monday afternoon. Either Jack Harper or Bert Jones will do the twirling for St. Louis.

St. Louis Post Dispatch: May 4, 1900
The Red Caps Getting in Form Again and Playing the Right Sort of Baseball.
The second game of the St. Louis series with the Pittsburg Pirates at the Smokey City was captured in easy fashion by the Cardinals on Thursday afternoon.
The final score was 9 to 2.
Burt Jones, the left-handed pitcher of the “Red Caps,” was in fine fettle and he kept the Pittsburgs guessing throughout the game. Jones’ control was excellent. He did not give a free pass to first, or make any other kind of a pitching error. He had great speed and altogether his twirling was magnificent.
“Rube” Waddell made his second appearance on the home grounds for Pittsburg and the touted wonder proved an easy mark the “Red Caps.”
The St. Louisan batted his assortment of speed and curves at will, and whenever a hit was needed it was forthcoming. Mike Donlin was the only “Red Cap” that could …………………ben’s delivery, and as a consequence Mike fanned the atmosphere three out of the five times he faced the eccentric Pirate.
Donlin managed to secure a single, however, his fourth time up. In the end the Californian acquitted himself presentably, accepting the three changes sent his way in good style. 

St. Louis Post Dispatch: May 9, 1900
The second game played by the Cincinnati and St. Louis Clubs at League Park during the present series was won by the Red Caps Tuesday afternoon by the score of 9 to 7.
The game was a good one from a St. Louis hitting standpoint, has the Red Caps connected safely with the sphere with a vengeance throughout the game and succeeded in driving newtons, who began the twirling for Cincinnati, off the rubber in the second inning.
Scott succeeded him and he was also easily found at frequent intervals by the home team.
Gus Weyhing, the old warhorse bat artist of the St. Louis club, occupied the rubber for his team, and he was the Red Cap most responsible for their victory. He was in good form, though a trifle wild, and held his opponent safe throughout the contest. He was as cool as the proverbial cucumber went in a tight place, and it was his self possession, combined with his pitching and the good fielding behind him, that won the game.

St. Louis Post Dispatch: May 15, 1900
THE CHAMPIONS WON
BROOKLYN TAKES THIRD GAME OF FIRST ST. LOUIS SERIES.
The third game of the Brooklyn series was played Monday afternoon at League Park and the champions won by the score of 3 to 2.
Jack Powell pitched for the Red Caps and “Wild Bill” Kennedy for the Superbas.

The Pittsburgh Press: April 10, 1903
Windy City Lass Named Cardinals
Baseball Writer, Now Dead, Picked Up Nickname From the Lips of a Chicago Girl
St. Louis, April 10. — “How did the Cardinals get their appropriate name?” was asked of manager Donovan by an ardent “fan” after Sunday’s great contest.
“A Chicago girl named them,” was Donovan’s surprising reply.
“Yes,” continued “Patsy,”   “a Windy City lass discovered the cognomen, unconsciously, and ‘Billy’ McHale, then a well-known baseball writer, and at the time official score of the team, was the first to publish it.
“ ‘Billy,’ poor boy, is dead now, but the name that he picked up from the lips of the Chicago girl will live for many a day. McHale accompanied the team to Chicago about the middle of the season in 1900 and sat in the press box during the first game of the series.
“Sitting directly behind him was a young girl, who is keen visage took in everything of interest in the park. Shortly after McHale took his seat, ‘Patsy’ Tebeau and his former Cleveland Spiders trotted out on the grounds.
“Attired in clean gray traveling suits, adorned with bright red trimmings, they presented a pretty picture as they crossed the field.
“nor did the picture escape the bewitching orbits of the Chicago miss, who clapped her hands enthusiastically and exclaimed to her companion: ‘Oh! is’nt that just the loveliest shade of Cardinal!’
“McHale caught the exclamation and a moment later had flashed over the wires to St. Louis in his introduction of the game the intelligence that the ‘Cardinals’ were confident of victory.
“The name was what the sporting scribes and the ‘fans’ had been searching for. A dozen different sobriquets had been applied to the team, but it remained for a Chicago girl to unconsciously select the one that stuck.”

St. Louis Post Dispatch: July 15, 1906
“Why are baseball teams nicknamed and how did the teams in the National and American leagues receive their names?” is the inquiry of a correspondent who signs himself “Raven.”
As a usual thing, baseball teams have been given their nicknames by baseball writers, who happen to strike upon some cognomen which hits popular fancy and is taken up by the public.
The name Ravens has been applied to the local American League team ever since the trimmings of the uniforms were changed from brown to black, every discerning person recognizing the absurdity of calling. Team Browns that did not have a vestige of that color about their uniform.
It was because of a. Chance in the color of the trimming of their uniforms, caps and stockings that the name of the Robison aggregation at League Park was changed from Browns to Cardinals. The messrs. Robison had purchased the team of Mr. Von der Ahe and then transferred the Cleveland Spiders to St. Louis. When the color of the uniform was changed the was no longer nicknamed Browns, but called Cardinals, and the name has adhered to them ever since. 

The St. Louis Republican: September 16, 1900
St. Louis returns next Sunday and will play a series of two games with Pittsburg. The teams will make a flying trip from the Smoky City, as there is a game scheduled to take place in the home of the Pirates on Saturday. They will leave immediately after the game and will reach Union Station at 2:05 o’clock Sunday afternoon. The Pittsburg players will don their uniforms on the train, but the Cardinals will have to go to the park to dress, as they will have to appear in their cream-colored suits. 

St. Louis Post Dispatch: October 5, 1931
Why “Cardinals?”
The ever-inquiring public put up a tough one to the Sports Editor: “Who named the St. Louis National League team The Cardinals? When? Why?
The answer to this question is all jazzed up by the fact that the word “Cardinal” is now construed as referring to the bird of that name. Branch Rickey adopted this as a happy thought and today the “Redbird” is emblazoned on the breasts of the team’s uniforms.
However, originally they called the team “Cardinals” because of the color of their stockings.
No less an authority than Patsy Donovan, who managed and played outfield for the team back in 1903 and earlier, says the term “Cardinal” was applied to the color of the hose worn.
A clipping of ancient vintage, supplied by P.J. McHale, brother of Willie McHale, a former sports writer for the Post-Dispatch in 1900, tells the following story of the naming of the Cardinals:
“CHICAGO MISS NAMED CARDINALS.”
“How did the Cardinals get their appropriate name?” Was asked of Manager Donovan by an ardent fan after Sunday’s great contest.
“A Chicago girl named them,” was Donovan’s surprising reply.
“Yes,” continued Patsy, “a Windy City lass discovered the cognomen, unconsciously and Billy McHale, then a well-known baseball writer and at the time official scorer of the team was the first to publish it.
“Billy is dead now but the name that he picked up from the Chicago girl will live for many a day.
“McHale accompanied the team to Chicago about the middle of the season in 1900 and sat in the press box during the first game of the series.
“sitting directly behind him was a young girl, who is keen visage took in everything of interest in the park. Shortly after McHale took his seat, Patsy Tebeau and his former Cleveland Spiders trotted out on the grounds. Attired in clean gray traveling suits adorned with bright red trimmings they presented a pretty picture as they crossed the field.
“Nor did the picture escape the eyes of the Chicago Miss who clapped her hands enthusiastically and exclaimed to her companion ‘Oh, isn’t that just the loveliest shade of Cardinal!’
“McHale caught the exclamation and a moment later had flashed over the wires to St. Louis in his introduction of the game the intelligence that the ‘Cardinals were confident of victory.’
“The name was what disporting scribes in the fans had been searching for. He doesn’t different nicknames have been applied to the team, but it remained for a Chicago  girl to select the one that stuck.”
NOTE: the above article has a slight inaccuracy stating that McHale worked for the Post. It is our understanding that McHale worked only for the Republic.

Team Colors

Cardinals Red – PMS 200

Off-White Fabric – CMYK: 1/2/3/0