From Howard Payne, Ken Gray is arguably the best NFL player to ever come out of that small institution.  Gray played predominantly at Offensive Guard and was with the Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals for 12 of his 13 seasons, where he was a 6^th Round Pick in 1958.  Gray was a six-time Pro Bowl Selection and was twice chosen to be a First Team All-Pro.

Jerry Norton began his professional football career in 1954 with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he started as a Safety, then performed as a Half Back, then back to Safety again.  Norton was also an excellent Punter, and in 1957 he would lead the league in Punts and Punting Yards.  He would be traded to the Chicago Cardinals (which would become the St. Louis Cardinals) before 1959 and was affixed at Safety and Punter, and he would continue on a five-year streak of Pro Bowls that he began in Philadelphia.  Norton would again lead the NFL in Punts and Punting Yards in 1960, which was the same season he led the league in Interceptions (10).  He would accumulate 35 picks in total.

The winner of the 1957 Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M, John David Crow, would be drafted 2^nd overall by the Chicago Cardinals and would blossom into one of the most versatile offensive players of his era.  Used at Halfback, Fullback, and Tight End over his pro career, he played half of his career with the Chicago (later St. Louis) Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers, but he never was blessed with a loaded group around him as most of his teams were not particularly good.  Crow was, however, very good, and depending on the offensive need of his team, he was able to adapt effortlessly.  A four-time Pro Bowl Selection, Crow scored 74 Touchdowns, splitting them via rushing and 35 from the air.  He would have 8,662 Yards from Scrimmage over his career, which is a great number for the 1960s, a decade in which he was named to the 1950’s All-Decade Team.

Pat Fischer was not a tall man, standing at only 5' 9", which was likely why the multi-talented star at Nebraska fell to the 17^th Round.  It was the St. Louis Cardinals who chose him, and after initially using him as a Returner, he would force his way to become a starting Cornerback and would be named to the Pro Bowl in 1964 and 1965.  The certified ballhawk would later sign with the Washington Redskins and brought a veteran presence to their secondary and was a large part of their appearance in their Super Bowl VII appearance.  Fischer would play until 1977 and would accumulate 56 Interceptions.

Ed Konetchy was with the St Louis Cardinals for the first seven years of his professional career before he jumped to Pittsburgh of the Federal League.

Bob Forsch is the only Pitcher in Cardinals history to pitch two no-hitters for the team and he is one of the most tenured hurlers for the team with nearly 20 years of service since he was drafted.  Forsch was a late round pick in 1968 and would finally crack the roster in 1974 and in 1977 he had his best season with a 20 and 7 record and his 163 Wins are third all-time in St. Louis history..  He would lead the NL in BB/9 the next season and was a member of the Cardinals 1982 World Series win, though he went 0-2 in that year’s Fall Classic.  Forsch was also a two time Silver Slugger winner with a .215 Batting Average with 12 Home Runs as a Cardinal.

A very popular player with fans and teammates alike, Pepper Martin was the engine that drove the famed “Gashouse Gang” of the 1930’s.

We return back to the Cardinals’ famed Gashouse Gang where we have Ripper Collins who was a rookie in their World Series Championship win in 1931.  He would become a starter the season after and he would be a quick fan favorite with his nickname of Ripper and his power despite having a small frame.  Collins would have his best season in 1934 (where he also helped the Cards win the World Series where he was the National League leader in Home Runs (35), Slugging Percentage (.615) and OPS (1.008) with a sixth place finish in MVP voting.  He was named an All Star the next two seasons and would be traded to he Chicago Cubs after the 1936 season.

Bill White had a rocky road to get to the St. Louis Cardinals, especially considering he really wasn’t looking to become a ballplayer in the first place. 

Paying for the St. Louis Cardinals for the first eight of his thirteen year Major League career, Chick Hafey was known for hitting a very Batting Average.  Hafey never batted lower than .329 in a five year stretch for the Cardinals (1927 to 1931) and in that final season his .349 was good enough to secure him the National League Batting Title.  Hafey did not just hit for average as he was a 25 Home Run hitter three times and in 1927 he would lead the NL in Slugging.  He helped St. Louis win two World Series Championships.

Matt Holliday’s best season in baseball may have taken place in Colorado where he was the runner-up for the MVP in 2006 but he was with the St. Louis Cardinals for a longer period of time and actually compiled better overall statistics.

Matt Carpenter played the first 11 years of his career with the St. Louis Cardinaks, the team he had by far his greatest success.

Arriving midway through the 2002 season after demanding a trade out of Philadelphia, Scott Rolen proved to be the same star he was in the NL East and he actually raised his game.  Rolen was an All-Star in 2002 (though represented Philadelphia and he would be one in his first four full seasons as a Cardinal.  Already respected for his defensive ability, Rolen would win three more Gold Gloves in St. Louis, his 2004 accolade also coupled with leading the National League in Defensive bWAR.  That year was also his best in the majors with the bat as he had a career-high 34 Home Runs with a Slash Line of .314/.409/.598.  He would finish fourth in MVP voting that year.  Arguably his 2006 would be far more memorable as he would be a vital component of St. Louis World Series win.

The rank here was a struggle for us.

Jesse Haines is a Baseball Hall of Famer (inducted in 1970 by the Veteran’s Committee) and he played all but one of his games for the Cardinals, so when we were doing this list we initially did not expect him to be so low.  Haines recorded 210 Wins for St. Louis, which is second all-time, so how do we come up with a rank in the ’30s?

In terms of longevity, lefthanded Pitcher Bill Sherdel was one of the most tenured in franchise history as he spent fifteen seasons with the team.  As such it is not a surprise that he is currently in the top five in Wins (153), Games Pitched (465) Innings Pitched (2,450.2) and Games Started (242).  Despite the long duration, Sherdel was never considered a star but rather a good hand who could be used to start or finish, which wasn’t very common at the time, especially a player who played as long as Sherdel competed. 

An All-Star in five straight seasons (1943-47), Whitey Krukowski was a beneficiary of the glut of talent that went to serve their country in World War II.  Playing at Third Base, Krukowski had 150 Hits in all of his All-Star years where he would have three 20 Home Run Seasons, and in three years of those seasons he batted over .300.  Kurowski was also a good defensive player who twice finished first in Fielding Percentage among National League Third Basemen and was in the top four on four other occasions.  He would notably finish fifth in MVP voting in 1945.  Shoulder issues would cause him to have to prematurely retire but over his nine-year career (all with St. Louis) he would collect 925 Hits with a .286 Batting Average.

The accomplishments of Mark McGwire are not as distinguished as they used to be but make no mistake what an impact he had when he was smacking Home Runs at will and chasing the single season Home Run record when he was a St. Louis Cardinal.  For the younger readers, please understand that everybody was paying attention and it was what got many people back into Baseball.

While Joe Torre would become far better known for his career as a Major League Manager, he was a pretty good baseball player in his own right.

Larry Jackson went to three All-Star Games as a St. Louis Cardinal where he went 101 and 86 overall.  Jackson’s best season with St. Louis was in 1959 (in a year where he wasn’t name to an All Star Game) where he was first in bWAR for Pitchers with 7.3 and was also first in the National League in FIP and HR/9.

If you look predominantly at Wins and Losses than you have to wonder why someone with a record of 94 and 125 is so high on this list, but we are a lot smarter than we used to be in regards to those two stats then we used to be and even back in the 1890’s baseball fans knew that Theodore Breitenstein was a very good Pitcher.