Busch Stadium Facts
Check out Busch Stadium firsts, franchise facts and more.Busch Stadium Firsts
- Groundbreaking - January 17, 2004
- Grass Installed - March 15, 2006
- Inaugural Game - April 10, 2006
- Opponent - Milwaukee Brewers
- Ceremonial First Pitches - Chris Carpenter and Albert Pujols to Bob Gibson and Willie McGee
- First Pitch - 3:14 p.m., ball, Mark Mulder to Brady Clark
- Cardinals Hit - David Eckstein, 2nd inning, April 10, 2006
- Cardinals HR - Albert Pujols, 3rd inning, April 10, 2006
Franchise Facts
- The Cardinals were founded in 1882 as an American Association Team called the St. Louis Brown Stockings. In 1883, the team changed its name to the St. Louis Browns.
- In 1892, the team moved to the National League. In 1899, the name was changed to the Perfectos, and in 1900, the team became the St. Louis Cardinals.
- From 1902-1953, an American League Team called the St. Louis Browns also played in St. Louis. In 1954, they moved to Baltimore and became the Baltimore Orioles.
- The 2026 season is the Cardinals 135th season of play in the National League.
- Since joining the National League in 1892, the team has won over 10,000 games, finished in first place 28 times, winning 19 National League Pennants and 11 World Series Championships.
- Since the ownership group led by Bill DeWitt Jr. purchased the Cardinals from Anheuser Busch in 1996, the team has posted a 2,576-2,178 record (.542 win pct., fifth-highest in majors), and advanced to the postseason 17 times, including 16 of the past 26 seasons.
- The Cardinals 69 postseason wins since 2000 are 2nd in among National League teams (4th in MLB), behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (86). The team has finished in first place 11 times in that span, won four NL pennants and two World Series while drawing over 80 million fans.
- The Cardinals have made 32 postseason appearances in franchise history and have drawn nearly 6 million fans to postseason games in St. Louis.
- The Cardinals have advanced to the postseason nine times since 2011, the most of any National League Central team and third most in the National League (1st: Dodgers, 13; 2nd: Braves, 10) in that span.
- The Cardinals have played in 76 playoff games since 2011, the fourth-most of any team in that time.
- The Cardinals lead all National League Central teams with 2,691 wins since the division was formed in 1994, and they have won the division 13 times, more than twice as many as any other NL Central franchise (2nd: Brewers & Cubs, 6).
- There are 56 former players, managers and executives with ties to the Cardinals enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum in Cooperstown, New York.