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OT: Cardinals
Posted: 30 Oct 2025 08:28 am
by OldRed
In 1899, Cardinals owners Frank and Stanley Robison introduced a new team name and uniforms. They discarded the old Browns name and color. Instead, the team would be called the Perfectos and don a red trim on their socks, belt, cap and lettering on their uniform.
As the "Perfectos" took the field on Opening Day, a female fan, seeing the trim and stockings remarked, “What a lovely shade of cardinal.”
The story goes that sportswriter Willie McHale overheard the comment and began using “Cardinals” as a team nickname in his articles for the St. Louis Republic.
The fans and the club embraced the name change and the team became the Cardinals in 1900.
#storiesMW #WomenMW #MuseumWeek #CardsMuseum
Re: OT: Cardinals
Posted: 30 Oct 2025 08:35 am
by jcgmoi
Management didn’t start thinking of the moniker “Cardinals” in terms of birds until 1921, when general manager Branch Rickey went to a meeting and came away with a new meaning for the team’s nickname, featuring stenciled and colored cardinals, each placed on a brown string to represent a twig. The birds on the bat would become the emblem for the team moving forward.
https://www.mlb.com/news/st-louis-cardi ... ame-origin
Re: OT: Cardinals
Posted: 30 Oct 2025 09:04 am
by OldRed
jcgmoi wrote: ↑30 Oct 2025 08:35 am
Management didn’t start thinking of the moniker “Cardinals” in terms of birds until 1921, when general manager Branch Rickey went to a meeting and came away with a new meaning for the team’s nickname, featuring stenciled and colored cardinals, each placed on a brown string to represent a twig. The birds on the bat would become the emblem for the team moving forward.
https://www.mlb.com/news/st-louis-cardi ... ame-origin
From you article:
By the 1900 season, the nickname had fully caught on -- the St. Louis Post-Dispatch began referring to the club as the Cardinals, and the team officially changed its name from the Perfectos to the Cardinals that year.
Re: OT: Cardinals
Posted: 30 Oct 2025 10:23 am
by Absolut
I say we go back to the imperfectos
Re: OT: Cardinals
Posted: 30 Oct 2025 10:25 am
by bccardsfan
Absolut wrote: ↑30 Oct 2025 10:23 am
I say we go back to the imperfectos
Oh, I think we already have.....
Re: OT: Cardinals
Posted: 30 Oct 2025 10:39 am
by BrummerStealsHome
Absolut wrote: ↑30 Oct 2025 10:23 am
I say we go back to the imperfectos
(bleep). Beat me to it.
What kind of name was Perfectos anyway? A perfecto is a prosaic term for someone thought to be perfect, or at least someone who strives for perfection. They were not named after the cigar company, though that would have been cool. Imagine a cigar across the frong of the unis. Instead of the 7th inning stretch they could have had the 7th inning smoke. Smoke 'em if you got 'em.
Here is a possible old Perfectos logo, by the way:
Re: OT: Cardinals
Posted: 30 Oct 2025 16:33 pm
by Quincy Varnish
BrummerStealsHome wrote: ↑30 Oct 2025 10:39 am
Absolut wrote: ↑30 Oct 2025 10:23 am
I say we go back to the imperfectos
(bleep). Beat me to it.
What kind of name was Perfectos anyway? A perfecto is a prosaic term for someone thought to be perfect, or at least someone who strives for perfection. They were not named after the cigar company, though that would have been cool. Imagine a cigar across the frong of the unis. Instead of the 7th inning stretch they could have had the 7th inning smoke. Smoke 'em if you got 'em.
Here is a possible old Perfectos logo, by the way:
They were never officially named the “Perfectos”, which was only a name given to them (perhaps sarcastically) by the fans and media.
It’s remarkable that despite St. Louis being a booming metropolis at the time, their baseball team was a total disaster. The team was sold to the Robisons out of bankruptcy, who basically gutted the Cleveland Spiders to be able to field a team. The Spiders were basically left with a team of random nobodies and finished their final season w/ a jaw-dropping 20-134 record.
Re: OT: Cardinals
Posted: 30 Oct 2025 21:18 pm
by sp25
Well, I think the Perfectos is a better name than the Brooklyn Superbas. How do you even pronounce that?
Re: OT: Cardinals
Posted: 31 Oct 2025 08:39 am
by Cranny
OldRed wrote: ↑30 Oct 2025 08:28 am
In 1899, Cardinals owners Frank and Stanley Robison introduced a new team name and uniforms. They discarded the old Browns name and color. Instead, the team would be called the Perfectos and don a red trim on their socks, belt, cap and lettering on their uniform.
As the "Perfectos" took the field on Opening Day, a female fan, seeing the trim and stockings remarked, “What a lovely shade of cardinal.”
The story goes that sportswriter Willie McHale overheard the comment and began using “Cardinals” as a team nickname in his articles for the St. Louis Republic.
The fans and the club embraced the
name change and the team became the Cardinals in 1900.
#storiesMW #WomenMW #MuseumWeek #CardsMuseum
Thanks for some Cardinal lore. The history of the team is rich. The history of the Browns is fascinating too.
Re: OT: Cardinals
Posted: 31 Oct 2025 10:50 am
by WLTFE
OldRed wrote: ↑30 Oct 2025 08:28 am
In 1899, Cardinals owners Frank and Stanley Robison introduced a new team name and uniforms. They discarded the old Browns name and color. Instead, the team would be called the Perfectos and don a red trim on their socks, belt, cap and lettering on their uniform.
As the "Perfectos" took the field on Opening Day, a female fan, seeing the trim and stockings remarked, “What a lovely shade of cardinal.”
The story goes that sportswriter Willie McHale overheard the comment and began using “Cardinals” as a team nickname in his articles for the St. Louis Republic.
The fans and the club embraced the
name change and the team became the Cardinals in 1900.
#storiesMW #WomenMW #MuseumWeek #CardsMuseum
Good to see your being a good Cardinals fan ans stopped being negative and attacking other posters. You're much nicer in person!
..
Re: OT: Cardinals
Posted: 31 Oct 2025 19:31 pm
by Cranny
This guy sure loves to troll, doesn’t he Red?
