St. Louis Historic Preservation

Event:  St. Louis Browns Join the American League
Brief Description:  The St. Louis Browns, the City´s entry in baseball´s American League, was created in 1902 when the AL´s worst team moved from Milwaukee to St. Louis. The team took the old St. Louis Cardinals name, St. Louis Browns, and used their old stadium on Grand Avenue which was called Sportsman´s Park (the Cardinals were playing at League Park, which had originally been called New Sportsman´s Park). In their first season, the Browns finished second, just five games behind Philadelphia. This was only one of three top-two finishes in their 52 years in St. Louis. In that same span, they finished in the second division 40 times. The high point of the Browns´ stay in St. Louis was the 1944 season. The Browns won the pennant on the final day of the season, edging the Detroit Tigers by one game. The NL title was won by the St. Louis Cardinals, setting up an all-St. Louis World Series. The "Streetcar Series" was the only World Series ever played entirely in one park, since both teams by then played in the renovated Sportsman’s Park. The Series was won by the Cardinals, 4-2. The St. Louis Browns played their last game in St. Louis in 1953. Earlier that year, the St. Louis Cardinals had been purchased by August Busch, Jr. of Anheiser-Busch. Bill Veeck, who had purchased the Browns in 1951, realized he couldn´t compete with the brewery´s money. He sold the team to a group from Baltimore and sold Sportsman´s Park to Busch. The Browns moved to Baltimore and were renamed the Orioles for the 1954 season.
Year:  1902
Decade:  1900 - 1909

people • structures • events • sources • home
about historic preservation• new entries• 4 kids only• map it!

This site was made possible by: the City of St. Louis Planning and Urban Design Agency and
the City of St. Louis Community Information Network.

This site was funded in part by Federal funds administered by the Missouri State Historical Preservation Office, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, The National Park Service, and the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Version 1.0