The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team that plays in the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals’ home stadium is Busch Stadium, located in St. Louis, Missouri.
Who owned the Cardinals before Busch?
The Cardinals had three owners earlier before Anheuser-Busch took over from 1953–1996.
Chris von der Ahe (1882–1898) was the first cardinal owner: Chris von der Ahe founded many of the aspects that are now frequently connected to the sport at the game and was the first owner of the Cardinals franchise, which was once known as the Brown Stockings.
He saw potential in the sport despite having no prior experience with it as a German immigrant who earned his way as a grocer and tavern owner.
With the Brown Stockings, Von der Ahe founded the American Association of Base Ball Clubs. Due to bankruptcy, von der Ahe, previously the most successful owner in the AA, was forced to sell the Browns in 1899.
Sam Breadon (1920–1947) was the second who took over the Cardinals: Sam Breadon began his career as a local automobile dealer before purchasing a minority part in the Cardinals in 1917 for $2,000, kicking off his 30-year ownership of the team.
Three years later, Breadon purchased the majority of the Cardinals’ shares to become the team’s sole owner, putting an end to the futility that had characterized the team’s first three decades in the National League. The Cardinals won six World Series titles and nine National League pennants between 1926 and 1946.
The Cardinals had a 2,470-1,830 record between 1920 and 1947, good for a .574 winning percentage. In 1947, he sold the Cardinals for $3 million to Fred Saigh and Robert Hannegan, making it the biggest baseball deal ever.
Fred Saigh (1947-1953) was the third owner of the Cardinals: Saigh learned that longstanding Cardinals owner Sam Breadon planned to sell after the conclusion of the 1947 baseball season.
Breadon had two difficulties. He had prostate cancer and was unable to get property to erect the new ballpark he had in mind.
Under the influence of Commissioner Ford Frick, Saigh put the Cardinals up for sale in February 1953. If Saigh hadn’t sold the franchise, he would have probably likely been kicked out of baseball.
The franchise appeared likely to be purchased by someone looking to move them to another location for a while because no reliable proposals from St. Louis interests had materialized.
Saigh, however, sold the Cardinals to the St. Louis-based brewery Anheuser-Busch just before he was scheduled to make a definitive agreement with the Houston group.
Gussie Busch, head of Anheuser-Busch, persuaded Saigh that civic pride was more important than money despite the fact that his company’s bid ($3.75 million) was significantly less than what other suitors from outside the area were willing to pay.
That the Cardinals would remain in St. Louis was all but guaranteed by this. The Cardinals soon acquired Sportsman’s Park from the Browns. By the end of the season, the Browns had left town and had changed their name to the Baltimore Orioles due to their lack of continuing negotiating power.