By Ira Katz
May 9, 2025
No, this is not a photo of members of the College of Cardinals, the electors of the next Catholic Pope.
I don't know when I first saw this photo of the key players and manager of the 1968 St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, nor for what particular reason it made an impression on me.
As a ten-year old boy these Cardinals were the chief rival of my hometown Chicago Cubs ( The Madeleine for a Chicagoan - LRC Blog). They were rivals due to the proximity of Chicago and St. Louis and because the Cardinals were the team to beat that always got the better of the Cubs. In 1967 they won the World Series against the Boston Red Sox in seven games and in 1968 they lost the series in seven games to the Detroit Tigers. The nine players represent the starting lineup and the superstar starting pitcher (Bob Gibson, 3rd from the left). Four are members of the baseball hall of fame (Gibson, Brock; Cepeda, and Schoendienst). Three are St. Louis area natives who spent almost their whole careers (as players and afterwards) with the team (Shannon, Maxvill, and Schoendienst).
Visually, it seems even more than contrived, more like photo shopped. If it first appeared today I would have thought it was generated by AI. The hats and uniforms stand out as colorized, almost suspended in air. I love the colors of the shirts and sweaters. Was the photo of manager Schoendienst added to the photo of the players? But now what is most striking to me is the appearance of the players as members of a team. There is a team look. Individuality is limited. Soon afterward this radically changed in sports and in American life in general. Look at the images below of the Cardinals of the early 70s. Long sideburns, facial hair and long hair quickly became the norm. Individuality took over, but they still looked alike!
Short summaries of the life and career of each player (from left to right) and their manager follow below.
Roger Eugene Maris (born Maras; September 10, 1934 - December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new MLB single-season home run record with 61 home runs in 1961.
Maris played in the minor leagues from 1953 to 1956, and made his major league debut for the Cleveland Indians in 1957. He was traded to the Kansas City Athletics during the 1958 season, and to the New York Yankees after the 1959 season. Maris finished his playing career as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1967 and 1968. Maris was an AL All-Star from 1959 through 1962, a the AL Most Valuable Player in 1960 and 1961, and an AL Gold Glove Award winner in 1960. Maris appeared in seven World Series; he played for Yankees teams that won the World Series in 1961 and 1962 and for a Cardinals team that won the World Series in 1967.
Maris's home run record was controversial, as the previous single-season home run record (60, set by Babe Ruth in 1927) was set during a period when MLB teams played 154 games per season. Maris broke Ruth's record in the year the AL baseball season was extended to 162 games, hitting his 61st home run in the last game of the season, which led to questions about the legitimacy of his record. 2 Maris' major league record remained unbroken until Mark McGwire surpassed it in 1998; his AL record stood until 2022, when Aaron Judge hit 62 home runs for the New York Yankees.
James Timothy McCarver (October 16, 1941 - February 16, 2023) was an American professional baseball catcher, television sports commentator, and singer. 1 2 He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1959 to 1980 for four teams, spending almost all of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies. A two-time All-Star, he helped the Cardinals to the 1964 World Series title, batting.478 in the Series, including a three-run home run in the tenth inning to win Game 5. In 1966, he became the first catcher since the 19th century to lead the National League (NL) in triples with 13. McCarver was runner-up for the 1967 NL Most Valuable Player Award, behind teammate Orlando Cepeda, after batting.295 and leading NL catchers in assists and fielding percentage.
Traded to the Phillies after the 1969 season, he was later re-joined by pitcher and St. Louis teammate Steve Carlton, becoming his regular catcher as the team won three division titles from 1976 to 1978. After increased use as a pinch hitter in his last several seasons, in September 1980, McCarver became the 18th major league player to play in four decades.
After his playing career, McCarver became a television color commentator, most notably for Fox Sports after previous stints with the other three broadcast networks. He eventually set a record by calling 23 World Series as well as 20 All-Star Games, earning three Emmy Awards in the process. In 2012, McCarver was named the Ford C. Frick Award recipient. He was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2016, 3 4 and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2017.
Robert Gibson (November 9, 1935 - October 2, 2020), nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot", was an American baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959 to 1975. Known for his fiercely competitive nature, Gibson tallied 251 wins, 3,117 strikeouts, and a 2.91 earned run average. A nine-time All-Star and two-time World Series Champion, he won two Cy Young Awards and the 1968 National League Most Valuable Player Award.
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Gibson overcame childhood illness to excel in youth sports, particularly basketball and baseball. After briefly playing with the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, he chose to pursue baseball and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals organization. He became a full-time starting pitcher in July 1961 and earned his first All-Star appearance in 1962. Gibson won 2 of 3 games he pitched in the 1964 World Series, then won 20 games in a season for the first time in 1965. Gibson also pitched three complete game victories in the 1967 World Series. He is one of four players and two pitchers to win multiple World Series MVPs.
The pinnacle of Gibson's career was 1968, during the "Year of the Pitcher", which is regarded as one of the greatest single pitching seasons of all-time; he posted a 1.12 ERA for the season and then recorded 17 strikeouts in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series. Gibson threw a no-hitter in 1971 but began experiencing swelling in his knee in subsequent seasons. At the time of his retirement in 1975, Gibson ranked second only to Walter Johnson among major-league pitchers in career strikeouts. When describing Gibson's career, his former all-star teammate Tim McCarver jokingly remarked, "Bob Gibson is the luckiest pitcher in baseball. He always pitches when the other team doesn't score any runs."
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981, his first year of eligibility, and the Cardinals retired his uniform number 45 in September 1975, the year he retired. Gibson was later selected for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. He died of pancreatic cancer on October 2, 2020.
In his day, St. Louis Cardinals great Bob Gibson was feared like no other pitcher - ESPN
"No pitcher I faced competed like Gibson," Hank Aaron said. "He hated you when he pitched." That was Bob Gibson, a fighter, a ferocious competitor, to the end.
Up close with Bob Gibson, a true baseball great - American Thinker
I expected Gibson to be a mean beast of a man as he appeared on the mound. Rather, he was the nicest guy in camp - nicest by a wide margin amid a bakers' dozen of nice guys that included renown nice guys Roy Campanella and Ernie Banks. Gibson was cordial, humble, kind, considerate. Disarmingly so. By most accounts, on the mound, Gibson was fearsome, if in normal life a complete gentleman (with emphasis on "gentle"). How fearsome? The internet tells us Gibson once hit Bill White with a pitch for crowding the plate - in an Old Timers' game.
Thomas Michael Shannon (July 15, 1939 - April 29, 2023) was an American professional baseball third baseman and right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1962 to 1970, and then worked as a Cardinals radio broadcaster from 1972 to 2021.
Shannon was raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and was an integral part of some of the Cards' most successful seasons. He was a part of the 1964 World Series and 1967 World Series champions.
Shannon was the proprietor of Mike Shannon's Steaks and Seafood restaurant in downtown St. Louis until it closed on January 30, 2016. 1 Shannon continued to operate two Mike Shannon's Grill locations, in Edwardsville, Illinois, that closed in 2022, and at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, which is run by his grandson, Justin VanMatre. 2
Mike Shannon - Society for American Baseball Research
He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent most of it as a left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. An All-Star for six seasons, Brock was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985 in his first year of eligibility 1 and was inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.
Best known for stealing bases, 2 3 Brock once held the major league records for most bases stolen in a single season and in a career. He led the National League (NL) in stolen bases in eight seasons. A member of the 3,000-hit club, he led the NL in doubles and triples in 1968, and in singles in 1972. In 1974, he was the runner-up for the NL Most Valuable Player Award. After retiring as a player, he served as a special instructor coach for the Cardinals.
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes (Spanish pronunciation: [oɾˈlando seˈpeða]; September 17, 1937 - June 28, 2024), nicknamed "the Baby Bull" and "Peruchin", was a Puerto Rican first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for six teams from 1958 to 1974, primarily the San Francisco Giants. An 11-time All-Star, Cepeda was one of the most consistent power hitters in the National League (NL) through the 1960s and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
Orlando Cepeda - Society for American Baseball Research
Curt Flood - Society for American Baseball Research
Flood's legacy continues to benefit players more than ever, even if his name has been lost to history. Brad Snyder summarized Flood's place in most contemporary players' lives: "Today's athletes have some control over where they play in part because in 1969 Flood refused to continue being treated like hired help. But while [Jackie] Robinson's jersey has been retired in every major league park, few current players today know the name Curt Flood, and even fewer know about the sacrifices he made for them."
is a Dominican former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1960 to 1972, most prominently as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals where he became a two-time All-Star player, and was a member of two World Series winning teams (1964, 1967).
Maxvill's best season with the bat was 1968 with the Cardinals. He set career highs in batting average (.253), on-base percentage (.329), and slugging percentage (.298). He also received his only Most Valuable Player award votes (finishing in twentieth place) and won his only Gold Glove. 2 In the World Series that year (the last of the pre-LCS era), he went 0-for-22, the worst performance in a World Series. It was also the worst hitless streak to start a postseason until 2022.
He played for 19 years with the Cardinals (1945-1956, 1961-1963), New York Giants (1956-1957) and Milwaukee Braves (1957-1960), and was named to 10 All Star teams. He then managed the Cardinals from 1965 through 1976 - the second-longest managerial tenure in the team's history (behind Tony La Russa). Under his direction, St. Louis won the 1967 and 1968 National League pennants and the 1967 World Series, and he was named National League Manager of the Year in 1967 and 1968. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. At the time of his death, he had worn a Major League uniform for 74 consecutive years as a player, coach, or manager, 1 2 3 and had served 67 of his 76 years in baseball with the Cardinals.