1956 St. Louis Cardinals season

1956 St. Louis Cardinals
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1892)
Location
Busch Stadium I (since 1920)
St. Louis, Missouri (since 1882)
Results
Record	76–78 (.494)
League place	4th
Other information
Owner(s)	August "Gussie" Busch
General manager(s)	Frank Lane
Manager(s)	Fred Hutchinson
Local television	KTVI
Local radio	KMOX (Harry Caray, Jack Buck, Joe Garagiola)
Stats	ESPN.com BB-reference
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The 1956 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 75th season in St. Louis, Missouri and its 65th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 76–78 during the season and finished 4th in the National League.

Offseason

• October 20, 1955: Harry Walker was released by the Cardinals.^[1]
• November 27, 1955: Ed Mayer was drafted by the Cardinals from the Boston Red Sox in the 1955 minor league draft.^[2]
• November 27, 1955: Billy Muffett was drafted by the Cardinals from the Chicago Cubs in the 1955 rule 5 draft.^[3]
• January 31, 1956: Brooks Lawrence and Sonny Senerchia were traded by the Cardinals to the Cincinnati Redlegs for Jackie Collum.^[4]
• March 30, 1956: Pete Whisenant was traded by the Cardinals to the Chicago Cubs for Hank Sauer.^[5]

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
Brooklyn Dodgers	93	61	--	.604
Milwaukee Braves	92	62	1	.597
Cincinnati Redlegs	91	63	2	.591
St. Louis Cardinals	76	78	17	.494
Philadelphia Phillies	71	83	22	.461
New York Giants	67	87	26	.435
Pittsburgh Pirates	66	88	27	.429
Chicago Cubs	60	94	33	.390

Record vs. opponents

1956 National League Records Sources:
Team	BR	CHC	CIN	MIL	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Brooklyn	—	16–6	11–11	10–12	14–8	13–9	13–9	16–6
Chicago	6–16	—	6–16–1	9–13	7–15	13–9	10–12–1	9–13–1
Cincinnati	11–11	16–6–1	—	9–13	14–8	11–11	17–5	13–9
Milwaukee	12–10	13–9	13–9	—	17–5	10–12	14–8–1	13–9
New York	8–14	15–7	8–14	5–17	—	11–11	13–9	7–15
Philadelphia	9–13	9–13	11–11	12–10	11–11	—	7–15	12–10
Pittsburgh	9–13	12–10–1	5–17	8–14–1	9–13	15–7	—	8–14–1
St. Louis	6–16	13–9–1	9–13	9–13	15–7	10–12	14–8–1	—

Notable transactions

• May 14, 1956: Solly Hemus was traded by the Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies for Bobby Morgan.^[6]
• May 17, 1956: Bill Virdon was traded by the Cardinals to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Dick Littlefield and Bobby Del Greco.^[7]
• May 28, 1956: The Cardinals traded cash and a player to be named later to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Toby Atwell. The Cardinals completed the deal by sending Dick Rand to the Pirates on October 14.^[8]
• June 14, 1956: Red Schoendienst, Jackie Brandt, Dick Littlefield, Bill Sarni, and a player to be named later were traded by the Cardinals to the New York Giants for Alvin Dark, Ray Katt, Don Liddle, and Whitey Lockman. The Cardinals completed the deal by sending Gordon Jones to the Giants on October 1.^[9]

Roster

1956 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
Pitchers 24 Bob Blaylock 32 Jackie Collum 36 Murry Dickson 37 Ben Flowers 42 Harvey Haddix 39 Larry Jackson 45 Gordon Jones 16 Ellis Kinder 25 Jim Konstanty 35 Paul LaPalme 21 Don Liddle 45 Dick Littlefield 41 Lindy McDaniel 36 Stu Miller 17 Vinegar Bend Mizell 23 Tom Poholsky 44 Willard Schmidt 25 Max Surkont 37 Herm Wehmeier		Catchers 30 Walker Cooper 15 Ray Katt 15 Bill Sarni 18 Hal Smith Infielders 22 Tom Alston  3 Don Blasingame 14 Ken Boyer 28 Joe Cunningham 11 Alvin Dark  4 Alex Grammas 28 Grady Hatton 42 Bobby Morgan  6 Stan Musial  7 Rocky Nelson  2 Red Schoendienst 19 Dick Schofield		Outfielders 21 Jackie Brandt  9 Bobby Del Greco 24 Joe Frazier 24 Chuck Harmon  2 Whitey Lockman 20 Wally Moon 38 Charlie Peete  8 Rip Repulski 10 Hank Sauer  9 Bill Virdon Other batters  7 Solly Hemus		Manager 29 Fred Hutchinson Coaches 40 Johnny Hopp 34 Terry Moore 33 Bill Posedel

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Sauer, HankHank Sauer	75	151	45	.298	5	24

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Blaylock, BobBob Blaylock	14	41	1	6	6.37	39

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Collum, JackieJackie Collum	38	6	2	7	4.20	17

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Omaha Cardinals	American Association	Johnny Keane
AAA	Rochester Red Wings	International League	Dixie Walker
AA	Houston Buffaloes	Texas League	Harry Walker
A	Allentown Cardinals	Eastern League	Roland LeBlanc
A	Sioux City Soos	Western League	Harold Olt and Bob Clear
B	Beaumont Exporters	Big State League	Ford Garrison
B	Peoria Chiefs	Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League	George Kissell
C	Mexicali Eagles	Arizona–Texas League	Larry Barton, Sr. and Art Wilson
C	Fresno Cardinals	California League	Ed Lyons
C	Winnipeg Goldeyes	Northern League	Vern Benson
D	Dothan Cardinals	Alabama–Florida League	Whitey Ries
D	Gainesville G-Men	Florida State League	Homer Ray Wilson
D	Albany Cardinals	Georgia–Florida League	Chase Riddle
D	Decatur Commodores	Midwest League	Al Unser
D	Ardmore Cardinals	Sooner State League	J. C. Dunn

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester, Houston, Fresno^[10]

Notes

1. Harry Walker at Baseball-Reference
2. Ed Mayer at Baseball-Reference
3. Billy Muffett at Baseball-Reference
4. Jackie Collum at Baseball-Reference
5. Hank Sauer at Baseball-Reference
6. Solly Hemus at Baseball-Reference
7. Bill Virdon at Baseball-Reference
8. Dick Rand at Baseball-Reference
9. Red Schoendienst at Baseball-Reference
10. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

References

• 1956 St. Louis Cardinals
• 1956 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com