In sports broadcasting , a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster ) provides a real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present tense. Radio was the first medium for sports broadcasts, where the radio commentators had to describe the action in detail because the listeners could not see it for themselves. In the case of televised sports coverage, commentators are presented as a voiceover , with images of the contest shown on viewers' screens and sounds of the action and spectators heard in the background. Television commentators are rarely shown on screen during an event, though some networks choose to feature their announcers on camera either before or after the contest or briefly during breaks in the action.
120-494: Bill Stern (July 1, 1907 – November 19, 1971) was an American actor and sportscaster who announced the nation's first remote sports broadcast and the first telecast of a baseball game. In 1984, Stern was part of the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame's inaugural class which included sportscasting legends Red Barber , Don Dunphy , Ted Husing and Graham McNamee . He was inducted into
240-612: A Chicago newspaper had broken word of some sort of arrangement for the St. Louis Browns of baseball's American League to lose their only World Series that year. He later expressed regret about writing the article; the Browns did lose the World Series that year, 4 games to 2, to their hometown rivals on their home field, Sportman's Park, which the Browns owned, but shared with the St. Louis Cardinals . One day, while doing radio play-by-play for
360-647: A Gold Glove -winning season) to replace Taveras. On June 16, 2015, the FBI and the Justice Department started an investigation on the Cardinals for possibly hacking the Houston Astros . The hacking incident was perpetrated by Scouting Director Chris Correa. For the first time since the 2007 – 2008 seasons , the Cardinals missed the playoffs in consecutive years, 2016 – 2017 . On July 14, 2018, following an 8–2 loss to
480-407: A battery , at 325 starts together going back to 2007. The previous record holding duo, Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan , had held the record since 1975. The Cardinals play their home games at Busch Stadium (also referred to as New Busch Stadium or Busch III ) in downtown St. Louis , straddling 7th and Clark near the intersection of Interstates 64 , 55 , and 44 . The stadium opened for
600-836: A remote broadcast television studio away from the sports venue. In North America, the on-air personality based in the studio is called the studio host . During their shows, the presenter/studio host may be joined by additional analysts or pundits, especially when showing highlights of various other matches (e.g. in 1985, Jim Nantz was the studio host for The Prudential College Football Report in Studio ;43 in New York for CBS Sports , and during his four-year tenure there [1985 through 1988 college football seasons], he had Pat Haden [in 1985] and Ara Parseghian [in 1987 and 1988] as his co-hosts/pundits). Various sports may have different commentator roles to cover situations unique to that sport. In
720-523: A broadcaster is particularly renowned ( Rick Jeanneret 's hockey telecasts, for example, were simulcast on radio and television from 1997 until his 2022 retirement). The analyst or color commentator provides expert analysis and background information, such as statistics, strategy on the teams and athletes, and occasionally anecdotes or light humor. They are usually former athletes or coaches in their respective sports, although there are some exceptions. The term "color" refers to levity and insight provided by
840-469: A colorful cardboard arrangement featuring cardinal birds on a table in a Presbyterian church in Ferguson, Missouri , at which he was speaking. The arrangement's production was by a woman named Allie May Schmidt. Schmidt's father, a graphic designer , helped Rickey make the logo a familiar staple on Cardinals uniforms. While the team had been known as the Cardinals for over 20 years by then, this logo changed
960-490: A concert from their 360° Tour in 2011. Ballpark Village is a mixed-use development located across Clark Street from Busch Stadium. Phase 1 of the development, completed for the start of the 2014 season, includes entertainment venues, restaurants , and retail. Anchored by Cardinals Nation (which includes the Cardinals Hall of Fame , a two-story Cardinals-themed restaurant and rooftop seating for 300+ fans with views of
1080-438: A football game, as a player broke away towards a long run for a touchdown, Stern misidentified the runner several times as he ran toward the goal. Noticing the error just before he crossed the goal line, Stern "corrected" himself by saying that the misidentified runner had lateraled the ball to the player who actually made the run and scored. Sometime later, Clem McCarthy , that era's most prominent horse-racing announcer, described
1200-533: A history of animosity towards one another since the late 2000s as both teams often met frequently in the postseason. The Dodgers have not fared as well against the Cardinals in the postseason. In five prior postseason series matchups, the Cardinals have won four with the Dodgers winning only the 2009 NLDS and the 2021 National League Wild Card Game. The rivalry between the Cardinals and the New York Mets peaked during
1320-620: A member club of the National League (NL) Central Division . Since the 2006 season , the Cardinals have played their home games at Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. One of the nation's oldest and most successful professional baseball clubs, the Cardinals have won 11 World Series championships , the most of any NL team and second in MLB only to the New York Yankees . The team has won 19 National League pennants , third-most of any team behind
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#17329176241481440-422: A play-by-play announcer for WWE since 1999, has also portrayed this role for most of his announcing career. From 2010 to 2012, Cole served as a heel announcer, showing arrogance and contempt for faces and more sympathy for the heels (partially due to bullying from other face wrestlers, and jealousy from on-screen authority figures and other commentators). However, after Lawler suffered a legitimate heart attack on
1560-549: A star with the Chicago White Stockings. With his "curve ball", pitcher Goldsmith was soon the most talked-about ballplayer in America! But there is a curious ending to this story. For years, long after his days of baseball glory were over, Freddy Goldsmith lived happily in the knowledge that posterity would always know him as the inventor of the curve ball. However, another pitcher named Arthur Cummings popped up, claiming to be
1680-585: Is St. Louis' highest since the franchise joined the National League. Musial was considered the most consistent hitter of his era and most accomplished in team history, winning three MVPs and seven batting titles . St. Louis then won the 1946 World Series on Slaughter's Mad Dash in Game 7. Breadon was forced to sell the team in 1947 but won six World Series and nine NL pennants as Cardinals owner. They remained competitive, finishing .500 or better in thirteen of
1800-554: Is a general term for any type of commentator in a sports broadcast. It may also refer to a sports talk show host or a newscaster covering sports news. In video games , and particularly esports , commentators are often called shout-casters ; this term is derived from Shoutcast , an internet audio streaming plugin and protocol associated with the Winamp media player. They are also sometimes referred to as simply casters . While sports broadcasts took place from 1912, Florent Gibson of
1920-537: Is a much less distinct division between play-by-play and color commentary, although two-man commentary teams usually feature an enthusiast with formal journalistic training but little or no competitive experience leading the commentary, and an expert former (or current) competitor following up with analysis or summary. There are however exceptions to this—most of the United Kingdom's leading cricket and snooker commentators are former professionals in their sports, while
2040-536: Is considered one of the most lopsided trades in Major League history, as St. Louis received outfielder Lou Brock from the Cubs for pitcher Ernie Broglio . MVP third baseman Ken Boyer and pitcher Bob Gibson led the club to a World Series win the same year and Curt Flood , Bill White , Curt Simmons , and Steve Carlton also made key contributions in this decade. In 1967 , new arrival Orlando Cepeda won
2160-547: Is generally considered to be the first year of existence for the franchise which would later become known as the St. Louis Cardinals. The next season , St. Louis shortened their name to the Browns . Soon thereafter they became the dominant team in the AA, as manager Charlie Comiskey guided St. Louis to four pennants in a row from 1885 to 1888 . Pitcher and outfielder Bob Caruthers led
2280-456: Is the primary speaker on the broadcast. Broadcasters in this role are adept at being articulate and carry an ability to describe each play or event of an often-fast-moving sporting event. The play-by-play announcer is meant to convey the event as it is carried out. Because of their skill level, commentators like Al Michaels , Brian Anderson , Ian Eagle , Kevin Harlan , Jim Nantz , and Joe Buck in
2400-434: Is typical for there to be multiple pit reporters , covering the event from along the pit road. Their responsibilities include covering breaking news trackside, probing crew chiefs and other team leaders about strategy, and commentating on pit stops from along the pit wall. On occasion in motorsport, the reporter on the sideline is an understudy to the lead commentator, as Fox NASCAR has used this tactic numerous times based on
2520-617: The Monday Night Football booth in 2001 caused what Miller himself described as a "maelstrom" of perplexed reviews. Although the combination of a play-by-play announcer and color commentator is now considered the standard, it was much more common for a broadcast to have only one play-by-play announcer working alone. Vin Scully , longtime announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was one of the few examples of this practice lasting into
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#17329176241482640-698: The Pittsburgh Post newspaper broadcast the first sports commentary in April 1921, covering the fight between Johnny Ray and Johnny "Hutch" Dundee at the Motor Square Garden , Pittsburgh. One of the highest-paid sportscasters in the United States is Tony Romo , a former NFL quarterback and professional golfer who serves as lead color analyst for the NFL on CBS ; Romo earns $ 17,000,000 per year for his contributions to
2760-518: The 1985 World Series , which the Royals won 4–3, and which remains their only post-season meeting. Since interleague play began in 1997 , the Cardinals and Royals have met in four to six games each season, evenly split between the two cities. As of 2021, the Cardinals lead the overall series 71–50. The rivalry heated up in 2015, when both teams held the best records in their respective leagues when they opened each of their two series. The Royals advanced to
2880-480: The 2006 season at a cost of $ 411 million and holds a normal capacity of 46,861. The Cardinals finished their inaugural season in the new Busch Stadium by winning the 2006 World Series , the first team to do so since the New York Yankees in 1923. This open-air stadium emulates the HOK Sport (now Populous )-designed " retro-style " baseball-only parks built since the 1990s. The open panoramic perspective over
3000-401: The 2011 World Series accommodated a baseball record of 47,399 by increasing the number of standing room only tickets. The attendance record for any sporting event is 48,263, in a 2013 association football (soccer) friendly match between Chelsea F.C. and Manchester City F.C. , made possible by on-field seating. The largest attendance (53,000) of any event at Busch belongs to U2 during
3120-600: The 2011 championship team's unprecedented comebacks, and Albert Pujols ’ 700th home run . The Cardinals have won 105 or more games in four seasons and won 100 or more nine times. Cardinals players have won 21 league MVPs , four batting Triple Crowns, and three Cy Young Awards . Baseball Hall of Fame inductees include Lou Brock , Dizzy Dean , Bob Gibson , Whitey Herzog , Rogers Hornsby , Tony LaRussa , Joe Medwick , Stan Musial , Enos Slaughter , Branch Rickey , Red Schoendienst , Ozzie Smith , Ted Simmons , Bruce Sutter , and Scott Rolen . In 2018, Forbes valued
3240-461: The American League .) Notable Cardinals achievements include manager/owner Branch Rickey 's invention of the farm system , Rogers Hornsby 's two batting Triple Crowns , Dizzy Dean 's 30- win season in 1934, Stan Musial 's 17 MLB and 29 NL records, Bob Gibson 's 1.12 earned run average (ERA) in 1968, Whitey Herzog 's Whiteyball , Mark McGwire 's single-season home run record in 1998 ,
3360-493: The Cincinnati Reds , the St. Louis Cardinals announced they had dismissed manager Mike Matheny after 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 seasons. The team then named Mike Shildt interim manager, and he was made the permanent manager a month later. On November 19, 2018, the team announced that the "Victory Blue" uniforms, worn by the Cardinals during the late 1970s and 1980s, would be returning for the 2019 season. The uniforms, integrating
3480-567: The Gateway Arch , and a red "STL" wordmark, is placed on either sleeve. Caps are red and featured the aforementioned "STL" wordmark in white with navy blue trim. The team mascot is an anthropomorphic cardinal wearing the team's uniform named Fredbird . He is assisted by Team Fredbird , a group of eleven women who entertain fans from the field and on top of the dugouts. While unofficial, the Rally Squirrel became an unexpected phenomenon during
3600-635: The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants . St. Louis has also won 15 division titles in the East and Central divisions. In 1881, entrepreneur Chris von der Ahe purchased the Brown Stockings barnstorming club, renamed it the St. Louis Browns , and made it a charter member of the American Association baseball league. The team won four league championships, qualifying them to play in
3720-731: The Mutual Broadcasting System in the late 1950s and 1960s. He lived the last 15 years of his life in Rye, New York . An overheard Bill Stern radio broadcast has brief significance in the 1951, Nero Wolfe detective novel, Murder by the Book , by Rex Stout . Sportscaster The main commentator , also called the play-by-play commentator or announcer in North America, blow-by-blow in combat sports coverage, lap-by-lap for motorsports coverage, or ball -by-ball for cricket coverage,
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3840-480: The National League Central , and the rivalry faded soon after. The two teams would meet in the 2000 and 2006 National League Championship Series , briefly rekindling the rivalry. An investment group led by William DeWitt Jr. owns the St. Louis Cardinals, having bought the team from Anheuser-Busch (AB) in 1996. As with other periods of the Cardinals' transaction history, doubt loomed as to whether
3960-624: The National Radio Hall of Fame (1988) and has a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Born in Rochester, New York , Stern began doing radio play-by-play commentary in 1925, when he was hired by a local station, WHAM , to cover football games. Shortly after that, he enrolled at Pennsylvania Military College , graduating in 1930. NBC hired him in 1937 to host The Colgate Sports Newsreel as well as Friday night boxing on radio. Stern
4080-462: The Perfectos in 1899 would be the team's best finish between the AA era and Sam Breadon 's purchase of the team. As the "Perfectos", the team wore their jersey with a cardinal red trim and sock striping. Later that season, St. Louis Republic sportswriter Willie McHale included an account in a column of a female fan he heard remarking about the uniforms, "What a lovely shade of cardinal." Fans liked
4200-463: The Texas Rangers later that game with a walk-off home run from Freese. After winning that Series, La Russa retired and became the only manager to do so after winning a title. He also finished with the most wins for managers in franchise history with 1,408. La Russa's successor, Mike Matheny , helped extend St. Louis' playoff run as he became the first manager in the division play era to guide
4320-484: The minor league farm system , filling the role of today's general manager . With Rogers Hornsby at second base, he claimed Triple Crowns in 1922 and 1925 , and the Cardinals won the 1926 World Series , their first. St. Louis then won the league in 1928 , 1930 , and 1931 and the 1931 World Series . The Gashouse Gang edition claimed the 1934 World Series and the Cardinals amassed new thresholds of popularity far outside St. Louis via radio, which led to
4440-532: The playing field or court . The sideline reporter typically makes live updates on injuries and breaking news or conducts player interviews while players are on the field or court because the play-by-play broadcaster and color commentator must remain in their broadcast booth. Sideline reporters are often granted inside information about an important update, such as injury because they have the credentials necessary to do so. In cases of big events, teams consisting of many sideline reporters are placed strategically so that
4560-413: The "heel sympathizer" for color commentary in wrestling. Jerry "The King" Lawler later made a successful transition into the same role, though Lawler has since shown more sympathy for faces, partially due to his popularity with fans after a forty-year career. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Macho Man" Randy Savage pioneered the "babyface sympathizer" for color commentary in wrestling. Michael Cole , as
4680-421: The 1891 season and the Browns transferred to the National League. This time, the club entered an era of stark futility. Between 1892 and 1919 , St. Louis managed just five winning seasons, finished in last or next-to-last place sixteen times, and ended four seasons with 100 losses or more. The nadir was the 1897 season : a 29–102 record for a franchise-worst .221 winning percentage. St. Louis' 84–67 finish as
4800-512: The 1980s when both teams contended for National League East supremacy. The rivalry began with the 1983 trade that brought Keith Hernandez from the Cardinals to the Mets, essentially turning the latter into contenders. Between 1985 and 1988, the division was dominated by either of the two teams, and in three of those years, the NL East winner went on to the World Series. In 1994, the Cardinals were moved to
4920-439: The 2010s, as popularized by Fox, American football broadcasts began to increasingly employ rules analysts to explain penalties and controversial calls and analyze instant replay reviews to predict whether a call will or will not be overturned. This helps viewers who may not understand some of the rules or calls, understand further. These analysts are typically former referees . In North American English , sportscaster
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5040-602: The 2011 postseason. Making its "debut" in Game 3 of the NLDS on October 4, a squirrel ran across home plate in the middle of a pitch from Roy Oswalt of the Phillies to the Cardinals' Skip Schumaker . The Cardinals would win Game 4 and subsequently Game 5 (October 7) in Philadelphia to advance to the NLCS, symbolizing the squirrel's "role" in the victory. The squirrel was popularized as "Buschie
5160-446: The 2013 season. The modified jersey, cream-colored with red trim on the sleeves and down the front, retains the "birds on the bat" but is the first since 1932 in which "St. Louis" is used instead of "Cardinals". 2013 also saw the team adopt their red caps as their main cap for both home and away games for the first time since 1991; the navy cap was retained as an alternate, used when visiting other teams with red home caps. Starting with
5280-463: The 2019 season, the Cardinals have worn updated powder blue alternate uniforms during Saturday road games. Like the Saturday home cream alternates, it features red piping and "St. Louis" below the "birds on the bat" logo. In 2020, the Cardinals introduced a slightly updated version of their " StL " cap logo, which was "soft launched" in 2019 via their social media accounts and game broadcasts. In 2023,
5400-469: The 2021 season, the Cardinals added a new helmet to match their home Sunday alternate caps. The new birds on the bat design was modified again the next year, with yellow beaks and white eyes replacing the red beaks and yellow eyes of the 1998 version. Uniform numbers also returned to the front of the jerseys in 1999 after a two-year absence. On November 16, 2012, the Cardinals unveiled a new alternate uniform to be worn at home games on Saturdays beginning with
5520-444: The 21st century until he retired in 2016. The three-person booth is a format used on Monday Night Football , in which there are two color commentators, usually one being a former player or coach and the other being an outsider, such as a journalist ( Howard Cosell was one long-running example) or a comedian (such as the before mentioned Dennis Miller). A sideline reporter assists a sports broadcasting crew with sideline coverage of
5640-420: The 21st century. Radio and television play-by-play techniques involve slightly different approaches; radio broadcasts typically require the play-by-play host to say more to verbally convey the on-field activity that cannot be seen by the radio audience. It is unusual to have radio and television broadcasts share the same play-by-play commentator for the same event, except in cases of low production budgets or when
5760-471: The Cardinals abandoned Robison Field and returned to the original Sportsman's Park and became tenants of their American League rivals, the St. Louis Browns . In 1953, the Anheuser-Busch Brewery purchased the Cardinals and the new owner subsequently also purchased Sportsman's Park from the Browns and renamed it Busch Stadium, later becoming Busch I. The Browns then left St. Louis for Baltimore after
5880-798: The Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs . The rivalry is also known as the Downstate Illinois rivalry or the I-55 Series (in earlier years as the Route 66 Series ) as both cities are located along Interstate 55 (which itself succeeded the famous U.S. Route 66 ). The Cubs lead the series 1,253–1,196, through October 2021, while the Cardinals lead in National League pennants with 19 against the Cubs' 17. The Cubs have won 11 of those pennants in Major League Baseball's Modern Era (1901–present), while all 19 of
6000-546: The Cardinals at $ 1.9 billion, the 7th-highest among MLB clubs and far more than the $ 147 million paid in 1995 by owner William DeWitt Jr. 's investment group. In 2017, the team took in revenue of $ 319 million on an operating income of $ 40.0 million. John Mozeliak is the President of Baseball Operations, Mike Girsch is the general manager , and Oliver Marmol is the manager . The Cardinals are renowned for their strong fan support: despite being in one of
6120-414: The Cardinals changed their caps to solid blue with a red " StL ", removing the red bill. Also, for that season only, the Cardinals wore a script "Cardinals" wordmark on their uniforms excluding the "birds on the bat". An updated version of the "birds on the bat" logo returned in 1957 with the word "Cardinals" written in cursive beneath the bat; this logo, with some incremental changes along the way, has been
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#17329176241486240-468: The Cardinals failed to repeat as World Series champions, blowing a 3–1 lead to the underdog Detroit Tigers . In the 1970s, catcher/third baseman Joe Torre and first baseman Keith Hernandez each won MVPs, but the team's best finishes were second place and 90 wins . The team found their way back to the World Series three times in the 1980s, starting with manager Whitey Herzog and his Whiteyball style of play and another trade that altered course of
6360-438: The Cardinals finished second among MLB franchises in home game attendance, surpassed only by the Los Angeles Dodgers each season. The Cardinals since 1987 , have surpassed 3 million in 25 years, with the 25th season on September 18, 2023 . The Cardinals have had few logos throughout their history, although those logos have evolved over time. The first logo associated with the Cardinals was an interlocking "SL" that appeared on
6480-401: The Cardinals introduced Stifel as its first uniform sponsor. The Stifel patch, which has red letters with the background color corresponding to the team's uniform, is placed on either sleeve depending on a player's handedness. In 2024, the Cardinals unveiled their City Connect uniform. The red-based uniform with white pants maintained the trademark "birds on the bat" logo in front, but with
6600-680: The Cardinals to the NLCS and playoffs in his first two seasons. In 2014 , the Cardinals extended their NLCS streak to 4, with their 3–1 series victory over the Dodgers , in the NLDS . Ten days after being eliminated from the postseason by the San Francisco Giants , rookie outfielder Oscar Taveras was killed in a car accident while traveling to his hometown Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic . On November 17, they acquired Atlanta Braves right-fielder Jason Heyward (who had just come off
6720-519: The Cardinals' pennants have been won since 1926. The Cardinals also have an edge when it comes to World Series successes, having won 11 championships to the Cubs' 3. Games featuring the Cardinals and Cubs see numerous visiting fans in either Busch Stadium in St. Louis or Wrigley Field in Chicago. When the National League split into two and then three divisions, the Cardinals and Cubs remained together. This has added excitement to several pennant races over
6840-546: The Cardinals. The Cardinals' first 28 seasons in the NL were a complete reversal of their stay in the AA – with a .406 winning percentage, they compiled 1,632 wins, 2,425 losses and 74 ties. St. Louis baseball commenced a renaissance : since 1926 the Cardinals have won eleven World Series and nineteen NL pennants. Breadon spurred this revival when he bought out the majority stake in 1920 and appointed Rickey as business manager, who expanded scouting, player development, and pioneered
6960-464: The Connecticut sandlots made a discovery that revolutionized baseball. He discovered that he could perform an amazing trick. He could actually pitch a baseball in such a way as to make it curve! In 1870, before a large but skeptical crowd, Freddy Goldsmith gave a demonstration of his new invention. The test was made by drawing a chalk line along the ground for 45 feet. Poles were set upright at each end of
7080-604: The Day newsreels, as he acknowledged in his signoff message on his Colgate Shave Cream Sports Newsreel of the Air over NBC Radio ("Until then, I'll be seeing you in the News of the Day newsreel at your favorite Loews or Associated theaters!"). The character "Bill Kern" in Woody Allen's "Radio Days" was a take on Stern's storytelling. He caused a controversy on September 15, 1944, when he reported that
7200-502: The MVP, helping to propel St. Louis to the World Series . The Cardinals won the league the following year behind their Major League-leading 2.49 staff ERA in what was an all-round record-breaking season of pitching dominance . Posting a modern-day record low ERA of 1.12 and striking out a one-game World Series -record of 17, Gibson won both the MVP and Cy Young awards that year. However,
7320-591: The Rally Squirrel". As a tribute to the popularity of the squirrel, a small depiction of the Rally Squirrel is also included on the official World Series rings the team received. It shows up under the "STL" logo on the side of the ring. Fredbird sparked controversy in May 2015, when he was asked by a fan for a photograph and handed him a sign that said "Police Lives Matter". The team later claimed that Fredbird should not be involved in any political activity or social commentary. The Cardinals–Cubs rivalry refers to games between
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#17329176241487440-579: The September 10, 2012 episode of Raw , Cole broke character and continued to provide updates on his colleague's condition whilst simultaneously calling the action. His professionalism in the situation led to a slow babyface transition, which was cemented when the two men hugged in the ring upon Lawler's return to commentating two month later. In some cases, commentators are also active managers for wrestlers, usually following continuity as heels. Former Extreme Championship Wrestling color commentator Cyrus
7560-737: The U.S, David Coleman in the UK, and Bruce McAvaney in Australia may have careers in which they call several different sports at one time or another. Other main commentators may, however, only call one sport ( Joe Rogan for example announces only one sport which is Mixed Martial Arts, specifically the UFC organization and Peter Drury for the Premier League Football Association). The vast majority of play-by-play announcers are male; female play-by-play announcers had not seen sustained employment until
7680-453: The World Series, where they faced and ultimately defeated the New York Mets , while the Cardinals lost in the NLDS. Had the Cardinals made it to the World Series, they would have faced the Royals in a rematch of 1985. Primarily a playoff rivalry; since 1892, The Cardinals and Dodgers have met 6 times in the postseason with 2 meetings in the NLCS won by the Cardinals. Both teams have recently grown
7800-593: The act as violating the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution . The court ruled that the Yankees organization devise a plan to protect the players of their privacy while female sportswriters conducted interviews, suggesting the use of towels. After the access of allowing women in was put into effect, the Yankees organization allowed reporters to spend ten minutes interviewing players and
7920-404: The analyst. The most common format for a sports broadcast is to have an analyst/color commentator work alongside the main/play-by-play announcer. An example is NBC Sunday Night Football in the United States, which is called by color commentator Cris Collinsworth , a former NFL receiver, and play-by-play commentator Mike Tirico , a professional announcer. In the United Kingdom, however, there
8040-468: The brewery took control and hired Joe Torre to manage late in 1990 , then sold the team to an investment group led by William DeWitt Jr. in 1996 . Tony La Russa replaced Torre in the spring of 1996. In 1998, Mark McGwire competed with the Cubs' Sammy Sosa for a barrage of home runs in their pursuit of the single-season home run record . From 2000 to 2013 , the Cardinals reestablished their way to
8160-427: The career of Cup lead Mike Joy, a former pit reporter. Those who made the switch included Steve Byrnes (Truck Series, 2014), Vince Welch (Truck Series since late 2015), and Adam Alexander (who did Cup for Fox-produced TNT broadcasts from 2010–14, Xfinity on Fox since 2015) did the same too. In British sports broadcasting, the presenter of a sports broadcast is usually distinct from the commentator, and often based in
8280-553: The club in St. Louis. In March 1996, AB sold the team for $ 147 million to a partnership headed by Southwest Bank's Drew Baur , Hanser and DeWitt Jr. Civic Center Redevelopment, a subsidiary of AB, held the parking garages and adjacent property and also transferred them to the Baur ownership group. Baur's group then sold the garages to another investment group, lowering the net franchise purchase price to about $ 100 million, about $ 10 million less than Financial World 's value of
8400-645: The coining of the term " Cardinal Nation ". Dizzy Dean led the Gang, winning the 1934 MVP , and leading the NL multiple times in wins , strikeouts , innings , complete games and shutouts . Johnny Mize and Joe Medwick emerged as two power threats, with Medwick claiming the last Triple Crown for a Cardinal in 1937 . In the 1940s, a golden era emerged as Rickey's farm system became laden with such talent as Marty Marion , Enos Slaughter , Mort Cooper , Walker Cooper , Stan Musial , Max Lanier , Whitey Kurowski , Red Schoendienst and Johnny Beazley . It
8520-431: The crew-neck collar became a V-neck. Another trend in baseball led the Cardinals to change their road uniforms from gray to light blue from 1976 to 1984; the player numbers were worn on the sleeves in 1979 and 1980. In 1992, the Cardinals returned to wearing traditional button-down shirts and pants with belts. That same year, they also brought back the all-navy cap with a red " StL ", which were last worn in 1964, for use on
8640-490: The era's professional baseball championship series , a forerunner of the modern World Series . In two of these championships, the Browns met the Chicago White Stockings, now the Chicago Cubs , launching the enduring Cardinals–Cubs rivalry . In 1892, the Browns – also called the Perfectos – joined the National League . In 1900, the team was renamed the Cardinals . (Two years later, an unrelated St. Louis Browns team joined
8760-411: The field across the street), a 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m ) Budweiser Brew House, FOX Sports Midwest Live! and PBR , the $ 100 million phase 1 development of Ballpark Village is intended to be a gathering space throughout the year, not just during the baseball season. Busch Stadium is the Cardinals' fourth home ballpark and the third to bear that name. The Cardinals' original home ballpark
8880-466: The following season. In 1920, the "SL" largely disappeared from the team's uniforms, and for the next 20 years the team wore caps that were white with red striping and a red bill. In 1922, the Cardinals wore uniforms for the first time that featured two cardinal birds perched on a baseball bat over the name "Cardinals" with the letter "C" of the word hooked over the bat. The concept of the birds originated after general manager Branch Rickey noticed
9000-478: The former Formula One racing commentator Murray Walker had no formal journalistic training and only limited racing experience of his own (he had come from an advertising background and his initial hiring was more of a comic double act than a traditional sports commentary pairing). In the United States, Pat Summerall , a former professional kicker, spent most of his broadcasting career as a play-by-play announcer. Comedian Dennis Miller 's short-lived run as part of
9120-599: The franchise: in 1982 , shortstop Garry Templeton was shipped to the Padres for fellow shortstop Ozzie Smith . Widely regarded as one of the best defensive players in history, Smith ranks first all-time among shortstops in Gold Glove Awards (13), All-Star games (15), assists (8,375), and double plays (1,590). St. Louis won the 1982 World Series from the Milwaukee Brewers that fall. The Cardinals again won
9240-633: The game show The Name's the Same . Most of the program was played for laughs but Stern, with his reporter training, could always be counted on to ask shrewd, probing questions stressing the factual aspects of the show. According to the Halberstam book, Stern's tenures at both networks were cut short due to health problems caused by his addiction to painkillers, which dated back to the period after his leg had been amputated. After retiring from television broadcasting, Stern did radio sports reports and commentaries for
9360-416: The inventor, and quite a few baseball men believed him. When Freddy Goldsmith heard about this, it broke him up completely. Ill and bed-ridden at the time, he died a broken-hearted man, pathetically maintaining to the end that he, and only he, was the original inventor of 'the curve ball.'" After many years with NBC he switched to ABC , where he lasted until 1956. While at ABC, Stern was a regular panelist on
9480-512: The knee. Some observers consider Stern's style a blueprint in the 1940s for the style of Paul Harvey , ABC Entertainment Network social commentator, who adapted both Stern's newscasting (transforming his Reel One to Page One ) and his stories about the famous and odd (to Rest Of The Story ), although Stern made no effort to authenticate his stories and, in later years, introduced that segment of his show by saying that they "might be actual, may be mythical, but definitely interesting." Harvey, on
9600-509: The largest games-won deficit after 130 games (at 10.5) to upstage the Atlanta Braves on the final day for the wild card playoff berth. In Game 3 of the World Series , Pujols became just the third player to hit three home runs in a World Series game. In Game 6, third baseman David Freese and outfielder Lance Berkman each tied the score on the Cardinals' final strike—the first such occurrence in any game in MLB history—and St. Louis defeated
9720-474: The league in 1985 and 1987 . In the 1985 Series , they faced-off with cross-state rivals Kansas City Royals for the first time in a non-exhibition game, but they lost the series after a controversial call in Game 6; the 1987 series saw them face off against the Minnesota Twins , but could only win all three of their games played at home in the seven-game series. After Gussie Busch died in 1989 ,
9840-500: The league in ERA (2.07) and wins (40) in 1885 and finished in the top six in both in each of the following two seasons. He also led the AA in OBP (.448) and OPS (.974) in 1886 and finished fourth in batting average in 1886 (.334) and fifth in 1887 (.357). Outfielder Tip O'Neill won the first batting triple crown in franchise history in 1887 and the only one in AA history. By winning
9960-509: The line, and another was placed midway between these two. Freddy Goldsmith stood at the first pole and his catcher at the other end. To the amazement of the crowd, Freddy demonstrated that he could throw a baseball so that it went on the outside of the center pole and the inside of the others, in a curve. Thus the baseball world came to know of Freddy Goldsmith and his invention – 'the curve ball.' Freddy Goldsmith became nationally famous. Big league clubs fought for his pitching services. He became
10080-458: The main commentator has many sources to turn to (for example some sideline reporters could be stationed in the dressing room area while others could be between the respective team benches). In the United States, sideline reporters are heavily restricted by NFL rules; in contrast, both the 2001 and 2020 incarnations of the XFL featured sideline reporters in a much more prominent role. In motorsports, it
10200-459: The men's locker room. Both were believed to have been the first women ever allowed to enter a professional men's locker room to conduct a post-game interview. Sport organizations began to follow in the NHL's footsteps and allowed for other female sportswriters to be given the same access as men sportswriters. It was not until the year 1977 when Melissa Ludtke , a sportswriter from Sports Illustrated ,
10320-515: The moniker "Cardinals" and, the next year in 1900, popularity for the nickname induced an official change to Cardinals . In 1902 , an American League team moved from Milwaukee into St. Louis, renamed themselves the St. Louis Browns and built a new park on the site of the Cardinals' old stadium , striking a rivalry that lasted five decades. Breadon bought a minority interest in the Cardinals in 1917 and in 1919 Browns manager Branch Rickey joined
10440-779: The network. Jim Rome being the highest paid sports Broadcasters in The United States, making over 30,000,000 per year, Jim also has his own Sports talk show called The Jim Rome Show syndicated by CBS Sports Radio. In 1975, the National Hockey League (NHL) made headlines when two coaches of the NHL All-Star Game in Montreal allowed Robin Herman ( The New York Times ) and Marcelle St. Cyr ( CKLM radio in Montreal) access into
10560-467: The next season , St. Louis joined the National League as a charter member, finishing in third place at 45–19. George Bradley hurled the first no-hitter in Major League history . The NL expelled St. Louis from the league after 1877 due to a game-fixing scandal and the team went bankrupt. Without a league, they continued play as a semi-professional barnstorming team through 1881. The magnitudes of
10680-514: The next seventeen seasons, but fell short of winning the league or World Series until 1964 . In 1953 the Anheuser-Busch brewery bought the Cardinals and August "Gussie" Busch became team president, spurring the Browns' departure in 1953 to Baltimore to become the Orioles , and making the Cardinals the only major league club in town. More success followed in the 1960s, starting with what
10800-511: The other hand, said he told only stories he had authenticated in some way. Stern occasionally appeared in feature films as himself. Two of his more familiar credits are The Pride of the Yankees , starring Gary Cooper , and Here Come the Co-Eds , starring Abbott and Costello . He also narrated a long-running series of 10-minute short subjects for Columbia Pictures , "Bill Stern's World of Sports." He also served as sports commentator for News of
10920-539: The outfield wall offers a remarkable view of St. Louis' downtown skyline featuring the distinctive Gateway Arch . A replica of the Eads Bridge spans the entrance to the park on the third base side, while the statue of Stan Musial stands in front of that entrance. Other statues at the corner of 8th and Clark include Hall of Famers Rogers Hornsby , Ozzie Smith , George Sisler , Cool Papa Bell , Bob Gibson , Jack Buck , and others. Due to increased demand, Game 7 of
11040-650: The pennant, the Browns played the NL pennant winner in a predecessor of the World Series . The Browns twice met the Chicago White Stockings—the predecessor to the Chicago Cubs — tying one in a heated dispute and winning the other , thus spurring the vigorous St. Louis-Chicago rivalry that ensues to this day. During the franchise's ten seasons in the AA, they compiled an all-time league-high of 780 wins and .639 winning percentage. They lost just 432 contests while tying 21 others. The AA went bankrupt after
11160-488: The perception from the color to the bird. The now-famous "birds on the bat" design initially appeared with the birds perched on a black bat and "Cardinals" in printed letters. An alternate version of this logo with "St. Louis" replacing "Cardinals" appeared in 1930 and was the primary logo in 1931 and 1932 before "Cardinals" returned. In 1940, the now-familiar " StL " logo was introduced on the team's caps. The interlocking " StL " has undergone several slight modifications over
11280-416: The play-by-play announcer, who is more or less the "voice of the fans" as well as " babyface sympathizers " (or supporters of the "good guys"). Though both are supposed to show neutral stance while announcing, the color commentators (especially when they support heels) are usually more blatant about their stance than the play-by-play announcers. Jesse "The Body" Ventura and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan pioneered
11400-543: The powder blue color with the team's current "Saturday alternate" jersey design, were to be worn 13 times on the road during the 2019 season. The Cardinals acquired Paul Goldschmidt in a trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks on December 5, 2018. On September 14, 2022, long-time starting pitcher Adam Wainwright and catcher Yadier Molina set the NL/AL record for most starts as pitcher and catcher duo, also referred to as
11520-464: The primary is usually to place them in position to interfere with the match they are calling, the second is to provide promoters with the opportunity to determine if this performer can speak well extemporaneously. St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis . The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as
11640-411: The purchaser would keep the team in St. Louis, due to the city's status as a "small market", which appears to handicap a club's competitiveness. Such was the case when Sam Breadon put the Cardinals up for sale in 1947: then-NL President Ford Frick proposed moving the Cardinals to Chicago . When AB placed the Cardinals for sale in 1995, they publicly expressed intention to find a buyer who would keep
11760-509: The red caps were the only cap worn by the team full-time. In 1967, the birds on the bat emblem on the jersey was again tweaked, making the birds more realistic and changing the position of their tails relative to the bat and this version remained on all Cardinals game jerseys through 1997. In 1971, following the trend in baseball at the time, the Cardinals replaced the traditional flannel front-button shirts and pants with belts with new pullover knit jerseys and beltless elastic waist pants. In 1973,
11880-404: The reorganizations, following the 1877 and 1881 seasons, are such that the 1875–1877 and 1878–1881 Brown Stockings teams are not generally considered to share continuity as a franchise with the current St. Louis Cardinals. For the 1882 season , Chris von der Ahe purchased the team, reorganized it, and made it a founding member of the American Association (AA), a league to rival the NL. 1882
12000-551: The rights to cover the events themselves. They both served for many years as their networks' sports directors as well as being on-air stars. According to the book Sports on New York Radio by sportscaster and Westwood One executive David J. Halberstam , Stern's remarkable career flourished despite a physical handicap. In 1935, on his way home from a football game in Texas, the car Stern was in got into an accident, injuring him severely enough that his left leg had to be amputated just above
12120-423: The road only while wearing the same red and white cap for home games. In 1998, the "birds on the bat" was updated for the first time in 30 years with more detailed birds and bolder letters. That year, St. Louis introduced a cap featuring a single cardinal bird perched on a bat worn for Sunday home games only. Up until 2020, the alternate "bird" caps were paired with their primary " StL " red batting helmets, but in
12240-469: The script "The Lou" in white trimmed in navy blue instead of either the city or team name. "The Lou" paid homage to rapper Nelly , a St. Louis native who once coined the city's nickname on his 2000 single Country Grammar . Darker red wavy pinstripes were an allusion to the Mississippi River where St. Louis is situated. A red circular patch containing a yellow fleur-de-lis , a navy blue illustration of
12360-669: The season, becoming the Orioles. The Cardinals built Busch Memorial Stadium , or Busch II, in downtown St. Louis, opened it during the 1966 season and played there until 2005. It was built as the multi-purpose stadium home of both the baseball Cardinals and the NFL football Cardinals , who are now the Arizona Cardinals ; the NFL's Rams also played the first four games of their home schedule upon their arrival in St. Louis in 1995. The current Busch Stadium
12480-552: The sport's mid-level markets, they routinely see attendances among the league's highest, and are consistently among the top three in MLB in local television ratings. Through 2024, the Cardinals' all-time win-loss record is 11,285–10,402–152 (.520). Professional baseball began in St. Louis with the inception of the Brown Stockings in the National Association (NA) in 1875 . The NA folded following that season, and
12600-577: The team at the time $ 110 million. Current Cincinnati Reds owners Bob Castellini and brothers Thomas Williams and W. Joseph Williams Jr. each once owned a stake in the Cardinals dating back to the Baur-DeWitt group's purchase of the team. To allow their purchase of the Reds in 2005, the rest of the group bought out Castellini's and the Williams brothers' shares, totaling an estimated 13 percent. At that time,
12720-479: The team to a major-league best 105 wins and take the NL pennant . In 2006 , beset with injuries and inconsistency, they won the World Series , beating Detroit in five games to set an all-time record-low of 83 wins for a World Series winner. In 2009 , the Cardinals reached 10,000 wins, dating to when they first played in the American Association (AA). St. Louis returned to the playoffs in 2011 , first surmounting
12840-458: The team's caps and or sleeves as early as 1899 or 1900 (depending on the source). Those early uniforms usually featured the name "St. Louis" on white home and gray road uniforms which both had cardinal red accents. During an 1899 road trip to Chicago, a girl in the stands remarked, "Oh, isn't that a lovely shade of cardinal." The team, known as the Perfectos at the time, changed its name to Cardinals
12960-463: The team's logo since. In 1962, the Cardinals became the first National League team (and the second in all of Major League Baseball after the Chicago White Sox in 1960) to display players' names on the back of their jerseys. In 1964, while retaining their blue caps for road games, the Cardinals changed their home caps to all red with first a blue, than a white, interlocking " StL ". The next year,
13080-555: The top with ten playoff appearances, four NL pennants , two World Series titles and 1,274 regular season wins against 993 losses for a .560 winning percentage, leading the National League and second in MLB only to the New York Yankees . With the addition of Jim Edmonds , Albert Pujols , and Scott Rolen , the Cardinals featured three prominent sluggers and defenders nicknamed "MV3;" Pujols won three MVPs and hit .328 with 445 home runs in his Cardinals career. In 2004 , playoff stalwart Chris Carpenter 's 3.09 ERA and 15 wins helped power
13200-517: The wrong horse as having won a race. When the verbose and egotistical Stern chided him for this error, McCarthy replied, "You can't lateral a horse, Bill." In 1949, Stern waded into "The Great Curveball Debate" about who invented the curveball in the 19th century, Candy Cummings or Fred Goldsmith . In his book of that year, Bill Stern's Favorite Baseball Stories , he came down solidly in Goldsmith's corner: "Some 80 years ago, an obscure kid pitcher on
13320-432: The years but has appeared on the team's caps every year since. The first appearance of the "STL" in 1940 coincided with the introduction of navy blue as a uniform color. From 1940 until 1955, the team wore navy blue caps with red bills and a red interlocking " StL " while the jerseys featured both cardinal red and navy blue accents. In 1951, the "birds on the bat" logo was changed to feature a yellow baseball bat. In 1956,
13440-484: The years. The Cardinals and Cubs have played each other once in the postseason, 2015 National League Division Series , which the Cubs won 3–1. The Cardinals have an interleague and intrastate rivalry with the Kansas City Royals , dubbed the "Show-Me Series" after the nickname of the team's home state, Missouri ; or the "I–70 Series" after the interstate highway that connects the cities. The teams first met in
13560-402: Was Sportsman's Park from 1882 to 1892 when they played in the American Association and were known as the Browns. In 1893 , the Browns moved to a new ballpark five blocks northwest of Sportsman's Park which would serve as their home from 1893 to 1920. The new park was originally called New Sportsman's Park but became more commonly referred to as Robison Field . Midway through the 1920 season,
13680-556: Was also one of the first televised boxing commentators. He broadcast the first televised sporting event, the second game of a baseball doubleheader between Princeton and Columbia at Columbia's Baker Field on May 17, 1939. On September 30, he called the first televised football game . During his most successful years, Stern engaged in a fierce rivalry with Ted Husing of the CBS Radio Network . They competed not only for broadcast position during sports and news events, but also for
13800-592: Was constructed partly atop the site of Busch Memorial Stadium. The Cardinals home field in spring training is Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida . They share the complex, which opened in 1998, with the Miami Marlins . Before moving to Jupiter, the Cardinals hosted spring training at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, Florida from 1937 to 1997. The Cardinals have exceeded the attendance total of 3 million every season from 2004 to 2019. Every season from 2013 to 2019,
13920-612: Was given the assignment to cover the New York Yankees playoff series but was denied entry into the men's locker room. Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn and other officials chose to discriminate against her based on her sex. Knowing that this would put Sports Illustrated in a disadvantage from other publishers, Time Inc. and Ludtke filed a lawsuit against Kuhn. The lawsuit was taken to the United States District Court in 1978 where Judge Constance Baker Motley ruled
14040-483: Was known for having dual roles as a heel manager and a somewhat neutral commentator, and continues to do so during his clients' matches in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling . Acting as a commentator has also been used to keep injured wrestlers – such as Samoa Joe on Raw between late 2019 and April 2021 – in the public eye while recuperating. Special guest color commentators serve two purposes:
14160-414: Was one of the most successful decades in franchise history with 960 wins and 580 losses for a winning percentage higher than any other Major League team at .623. With Billy Southworth managing, they won the World Series in 1942 and 1944 (in the only all-St. Louis series against the Browns ), and won 105 or more games each in 1942 , 1943 , and 1944 . Southworth's managerial winning percentage (.642)
14280-525: Was then asked to leave and wait. Male reporters were unhappy with this and blamed the women from keeping them out and not being able to do their job. In 1990, the issue made its way back into the headlines when Lisa Olson made a public statement revealing that players from the New England Patriots had exposed themselves while interviews were being conducted. This prompted other female reporters who had been harassed to come forward. Their credibility
14400-411: Was undermined by accusations that female interviewers appeared as being "too friendly" or conversing too long with players as though they were flirting. Thus, the issue of sexism was still present, despite the equal access to men's locker rooms. Though not always the case, in professional wrestling , the color commentator is usually a " heel sympathizer " (or a supporter of the "bad guys") as opposed to
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