List of St. Louis Cardinals managers

The St. Louis Cardinals, a professional baseball franchise based in St. Louis, Missouri, compete in the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior to entering the NL in 1892, they were also a member of the American Association (AA) from 1882 to 1891.^[a] They have won 11 World Series titles as an NL team, one pre-World Series championship and tied another against the NL. Since 1900, the team has been known as the Cardinals. They were originally named the Perfectos.[1] Baseball teams like St. Louis employ a manager to make on-field decisions for the team during the game, similar to the head coach position of other sports. A number of coaches report to the manager, including the bench coach, first and third base coaches, and pitching and hitting coaches, among other coaches and instructors. Mike Matheny, a former catcher for the Cardinals from 2000 to 2004, was the manager from 2012-2018,[2] when he was relieved following a series of disputes, including allegations that he would not speak with Dexter Fowler. He was signed through 2017 and extended to the 2018 season when he was fired. The Cardinals hired bench coach Mike Shildt as interim manager.[3]

St. Louis Cardinals

History 1875–1919 1920–1952 1953–1989 1990–present Seasons People Cardinal Nation Award winners Coaches Managers Owners and executives Broadcasters Overview Logos and jerseys Records Cubs rivalry • Royals rivalry World Series Championships: pre-MLB: 1886 · MLB: 1926 · 1931 · 1934 · 1942 · 1944 · 1946 · 1964 · 1967 · 1982 · 2006 · 2011 Grounds Robison Field (1893–1920) Sportsman's Park (1920–53) (Busch I) Busch Memorial Stadium (1966-2005) (Busch II) Busch Stadium (current) Teams MLB: St. Louis Cardinals, National League AAA: Memphis Redbirds, Pacific Coast League AA: Springfield Cardinals, Texas League Advanced A: Palm Beach Cardinals, Florida State League A: Peoria Chiefs, Midwest League Short season: Johnson City Cardinals • GCL Cardinals • DSL Cardinals

Matheny is one of 63 total individuals who have managed the Cardinals, more than any other Major League franchise.[4] Between 1882 and 1918 – 37 total seasons – 37 different managers stayed the helm. Ned Cuthbert became the first manager of the then-Brown Stockings in 1882, serving for one season. Also an outfielder for a former St. Louis Brown Stockings club, he was directly responsible for bringing professional baseball back to St. Louis after a game-fixing scandal expelled the earlier team from the NL in 1877. He rallied a barnstorming team that attracted the attention of eventual owner Chris von der Ahe, who directly negotiated for the team to be a charter member of a new league, the AA, in 1882.[5] Charles Comiskey was the first manager in franchise history to hold the position for multiple seasons. He also owns the highest career winning percentage in franchise history at .673, four American Association pennants (1885–1888) and one interleague championship (before the official World Series existed).^[b] He also held the record for most career wins in team history with from 1884 to 1945 (563 total) and games managed (852) until 1924. However, von der Ahe changed managers more than any other owner in team history – a total of 27 in 19 season oversaw the team on the field. After the Robison era began, stability marginally improved: nine managers in 20 years from 1899 to 1918. Jack McCloskey, Roger Bresnahan, and Miller Huggins each managed three or more seasons from 1906 to 1917, becoming the first group to manage multiple seasons in succession.

Branch Rickey, known mainly as a general manager, surpassed Comiskey's record for games managed in 1924, totaling 947 in seven seasons.[6] His replacement, Rogers Hornsby – also the second baseman who won two Triple Crowns and six consecutive batting titles – finally guided the Cardinals to their first modern World Series championship against the formidable New York Yankees, their first interleague championship in exactly 40 years. Sam Breadon, the Cardinals' owner, also frequently changed managers (although Frankie Frisch and Gabby Street both managed at least five seasons and won one World Series title apiece in the 1930s out of nine total managers in 30 seasons) until settling on Hall of Famer Billy Southworth from 1940 to 1945.

Southworth set new team records for games managed (981), wins (620) and World Series championships (two). His Cardinals teams won 105 or more games each year from 1942 to 1944, winning the NL pennants in each of those three seasons. His .642 winning percentage is second-highest in team history, and the highest since the Cardinals joined the National League. Southworth was also awarded the Sporting News Manager of the Year Award in 1941 and 1942. Starting in 1953 with the Gussie Busch/Anheuser-Busch era, thirteen managers captained the club in 43 seasons. After Southworth, Eddie Dyer, Eddie Stanky, Fred Hutchinson and Johnny Keane also each took home a Sporting News Manager of the Year award. Keane's 1964 team that year's World Series. Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst took over from 1965 to 1977 and won one World Series and two NL pennants. Schoendienst then broke Southworth's team records for games (1,999 total) and wins (1,041). He also held records of 14 seasons managed and 955 losses.

In the 1980s, Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog's style of play known as Whiteyball pushed the Cardinals to three NL pennants and a World Series championship in 1982. He was named the Sporting News Sportsman of the Year and Manager of the Year in 1982.[7] In 1990, Joe Torre took over and Tony La Russa succeeded him when the William DeWitt, Jr. ownership – still the current ownership – commenced in 1996. La Russa finished with the longest tenure in franchise history (16 seasons), and leads Cardinals managers in wins (1,408), losses (1,182), playoff appearances (nine) and is tied for most World Series championships (two). He also won three NL pennants. Matheny took over from La Russa. With DeWitt ‘s era, the Cardinals have seen their greatest period of managerial stability with just two managers.

Besides La Russa, eight Cardinals managers have won a modern World Series: Hornsby, Frisch, Street, Dyer, Southworth, Keane, Schoendienst and Herzog; Southworth and La Russa are the only ones to win two each. Comiskey won one pre-World Series title and tied for another. Cardinals managers inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame include Comiskey, Tommy McCarthy, Roger Connor, Kid Nichols, Bresnahan, Huggins, Rickey, Hornsby, Bill McKechnie, Southworth, Frisch, Schoendienst, Herzog, Torre and La Russa.[8][9]

Table key

#	Ordinal number in the succession of managers^[b]
G	Regular season games managed (may not equal sum of wins and losses due to tie games)
W	Regular season wins
L	Regular season losses
Win%	Winning percentage
PA	Postseason appearances: number of years this manager has led the franchise to the postseason
PW	Postseason wins
PL	Postseason losses
LC	League championships: number of League championships, or pennants, achieved by the manager
WS	World Series Championships: number of World Series championships achieved by the manager
Awards	Awarded MVP (V) as a player-manager, MLB Manager of the Year (given annually since 1983) (M), and The Sporting News Sportsman of the Year (awarded annually since 1968) (S) and The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award (awarded annually since 1936) (Y) while managing for the Cardinals.
Ref	Reference(s)
*	Also a player for the Cardinals
∂	Former MLB All-Star
§	Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Cardinal
†, ‡	Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame primarily as a player (†) or as a manager and/or an executive (‡)

Table of managers

Statistics current through 2019.

#^[c]	Manager	Seasons	G	W	L	Win%	PA	PW	PL	LC	WS	Awards	Ref
1	Ned Cuthbert *	1882	80	37	43	.463	—	—	—	—	—	—	[10]
2	Ted Sullivan *	1883	79	53	26	.671	—	—	—	—	—	—	[11]
3	Charles Comiskey *‡	1883, 1884–1889, 1891	852	563	273	.673	4	16	21	4	—	—	[12]
4	Jimmy Williams	1884	85	51	33	.607	—	—	—	—	—	—	[13]
5	Tommy McCarthy *†	1890	27	15	12	.571	—	—	—	—	—	—	[14]
6	John Kerins *	1890	17	9	8	.529	—	—	—	—	—	—	[15]
7	Chief Roseman *	1890	15	7	8	.467	—	—	—	—	—	—	[16]
8	Count Campau *	1890	42	27	14	.659	—	—	—	—	—	—	[17]
9	Joe Gerhardt *	1890	38	20	16	.556	—	—	—	—	—	—	[18]
10	Jack Glasscock *	1892	4	1	3	.250	—	—	—	—	—	—	[19]
11	Cub Stricker *	1892	23	6	17	.261	—	—	—	—	—	—	[20]
12	Jack Crooks *	1892	62	27	33	.450	—	—	—	—	—	—	[21]
13	George Gore *	1892	16	6	9	.400	—	—	—	—	—	—	[22]
14	Bob Caruthers *	1892	50	16	32	.333	—	—	—	—	—	—	[23]
15	Bill Watkins	1893	135	57	75	.432	—	—	—	—	—	—	[24]
16	Doggie Miller *	1894	133	56	76	.424	—	—	—	—	—	—	[25]
17	Al Buckenberger	1895	50	16	34	.320	—	—	—	—	—	—	[26]
18	Chris von der Ahe	1895, 1896, 1897	17	3	14	.176	—	—	—	—	—	—	[27]
19	Joe Quinn *	1895	40	11	28	.282	—	—	—	—	—	—	[28]
20	Lew Phelan	1895	45	11	30	.268	—	—	—	—	—	—	[29]
21	Harry Diddlebock	1896	17	7	10	.412	—	—	—	—	—	—	[30]
22	Arlie Latham *	1896	3	0	3	.000	—	—	—	—	—	—	[31]
23	Roger Connor *†	1896	46	8	37	.178	—	—	—	—	—	—	[32]
24	Tommy Dowd *	1896–1897	92	31	60	.341	—	—	—	—	—	—	[33]
25	Hugh Nicol *	1897	40	8	32	.200	—	—	—	—	—	—	[34]
26	Bill Hallman *	1897	50	13	36	.265	—	—	—	—	—	—	[35]
27	Tim Hurst	1898	154	39	111	.260	—	—	—	—	—	—	[36]
28	Patsy Tebeau *	1899–1900	247	126	117	.519	—	—	—	—	—	—	[37]
29	Louie Heilbroner	1900	50	23	25	.479	—	—	—	—	—	—	[38]
30	Patsy Donovan *	1901–1903	421	175	236	.426	—	—	—	—	—	—	[39]
31	Kid Nichols *†	1904–1905	169	80	88	.476	—	—	—	—	—	—	[40]
32	Jimmy Burke *	1905	90	34	56	.378	—	—	—	—	—	—	[41]
33	Stanley Robison	1905	50	19	31	.380	—	—	—	—	—	—	[42]
34	John McCloskey	1906–1908	463	153	304	.335	—	—	—	—	—	—	[43]
35	Roger Bresnahan *†	1909–1912	618	255	352	.420	—	—	—	—	—	—	[44]
36	Miller Huggins *‡	1913–1917	774	346	415	.455	—	—	—	—	—	—	[45]
37	Jack Hendricks	1918	133	51	78	.395	—	—	—	—	—	—	[46]
38	Branch Rickey ‡	1919–1925	947	458	485	.486	—	—	—	—	—	—	[47]
39	Rogers Hornsby *†§	1925–1926	271	153	116	.569	1	4	3	1	1	V	[48]
40	Bob O'Farrell *	1927	153	92	61	.601	—	—	—	—	—	V	[49]
41	Bill McKechnie ‡	1928–1929	217	129	88	.594	1	0	4	1	0	––	[50]
42	Billy Southworth *‡§	1929, 1940–1945	981	680	346	.642	3	9	7	3	2	Y (2)	[51]
43	Gabby Street *	1929–1933	556	312	242	.563	2	6	7	2	1	––	[52]
44	Frankie Frisch *†§	1933–1938	822	458	354	.564	1	4	3	1	1	––	[53]
45	Mike González *	1938, 1940	23	9	13	.409	—	—	—	—	—	—	[54]
46	Ray Blades *	1939–1940	194	106	85	.555	—	—	—	—	—	—	[55]
47	Eddie Dyer *	1946–1950	777	446	325	.578	1	4	3	1	1	Y	[56]
48	Marty Marion *	1951	155	81	73	.526	—	—	—	—	—	—	[57]
49	Eddie Stanky *	1952–1955	501	260	238	.522	—	—	—	—	—	Y	[58]
50	Harry Walker *	1955	118	51	67	.432	—	—	—	—	—	—	[59]
51	Fred Hutchinson	1956–1958	434	232	220	.513	—	—	—	—	—	—	[60]
52	Stan Hack	1958	10	3	7	.300	—	—	—	—	—	—	[61]
53	Solly Hemus *	1959–1961	384	190	192	.497	—	—	—	—	—	—	[62]
54	Johnny Keane	1961–1964	567	317	249	.560	1	4	3	1	1	Y	[63]
55	Red Schoendienst *†§	1965–1976, 1980, 1990	1,999	1,041	955	.522	2	7	7	2	1	––	[64]
56	Vern Rapp	1977–1978	179	89	90	.497	—	—	—	—	—	—	[65]
57	Jack Krol	1978, 1980	3	1	2	.500	—	—	—	—	—	—	[66]
58	Ken Boyer *	1978–1980	357	166	190	.466	—	—	—	—	—	—	[67]
59	Whitey Herzog ‡§	1980–1990	1,553	822	728	.530	3	21	16	3	1	S, Y, M	[7][68]
60	Joe Torre *∂‡	1990–1995	706	351	354	.498	—	—	—	—	—	—	[69]
61	Mike Jorgensen *	1995	96	42	54	.438	—	—	—	—	—	—	[70]
62	Tony La Russa ‡	1996–2011	2,591	1,408	1,182	.544	9	50	42	3	2	M	[71][72]
63	Mike Matheny *	2012–2018	1074	591	474	.555	3	21	22	1	0	—	[73]
64	Mike Shildt	2018–present	226	131	95	.580	1	3	6	—	—	—	—
AA totals (1882–1891) ^[a]			1,233	780	432	.644	4	16	21	4	1^[b]	––	[1]
NL (1892–1919)			4,128	1,632	2,425	.402	0	0	0	0	0	––	[1]
NL (1920–1952)			5,112	2,898	2,171	.572	9	27	27	9	6	––	[74]
NL (1953–1989)			5,867	3,038	2,814	.519	6	32	26	6	3	––	[75]
NL (1990–present)			4,469	2,391	2,076	.535	12	70	61	4	2	––	[76]
NL totals (1892–present)^[c]			19,576	9,959	9,486	.512	27	129	114	19	11	––	[77]
All-time totals			20,809	10,739	9,918	.520	31	145	135	23	12^[b]	––	[77]

• 
  Charles Comiskey led the then-St. Louis Browns to a championship in 1886 and four consecutive American Association titles.
• 
  Frankie Frisch's Goudey card. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1947, Frisch guided the Cardinals for six seasons and .564 winning percentage, leading them to the 1934 World Series title.
• 
  Red Schoendienst led the Cardinals for more than 13 seasons, who claimed the 1967 World Series.
• 
  Red Schoendienst managed the Cardinals from 1965 to 1976, 1978, 1980 and won two World Series titles with St. Louis.
• 
  Whitey Herzog managed the Cardinals from 1980 to 1990 and won one World Series titles with St. Louis.
• 
  Joe Torre managed Cardinals from 1990 to 1995.
• 
  Tony La Russa managed the Cardinals from 1996 to 2011 and won two World Series titles with St. Louis.
• 
  Mike Matheny managed the Cardinals from 2012 to 2018.

References

Footnotes

• ^a Although the American Association is considered a former Major League, the Cardinals' regular season records, postseason records and World Series championships attained since their entrance into the National League in 1892 are the official totals considered part of their official Major League achievements.
• ^b The manager's number in the order of Cardinals managerial succession. All managers with multiple terms have their totals tallied on a single line.
• ^c This line is the official total considered as St. Louis' all-time Major League record. Their Major League won-loss total only counts the regular season, as postseason play is considered separately.

Source notes

1. "St. Louis Cardinals Team History & Encyclopedia". Sports-Reference, LLC. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
2. Nowak, Joey (November 20, 2013). "Cardinals extend manager Mike Matheny's contract through 2017 season". MLB.com. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
3. "Cardinals fire manager Mike Matheny". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. July 14, 2018.
4. "Managers by Franchise". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
5. Cash 2002: 49–60
6. "St. Louis Cardinals managers". Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2013. Note: Sort by games managed to view order of total games managed, which will show Rickey became the record-holder after Comiskey
7. "Herzog honored". New York Times. October 19, 1982. Retrieved September 17, 2013. The Sporting News today named Whitey Herzog of the St. Louis Cardinals manager of the year. Herzog edged Milwaukee's Harvey Kuenn in the balloting of major league managers conducted for the weekly newspaper.
8. "Baseball Hall of Fame inductees". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
9. "Doug Harvey, Whitey Herzog Elected to Hall of Fame by Veterans Committee" (Press release). National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. December 7, 2009. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
10. "Ned Cuthbert Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
11. "Ted Sullivan Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
12. "Charlie Comiskey Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
13. "Jimmy Williams Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
14. "Tommy McCarthy Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
15. "John Kerins Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
16. "Chief Roseman Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
17. "Count Campau Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
18. "Joe Gerhardt Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
19. "Jack Glasscock Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
20. "Cub Stricker Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
21. "Jack Crooks Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
22. "George Gore Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
23. "Bob Caruthers Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
24. "Bill Watkins Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
25. "Doggie Miller Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
26. "Al Buckenberger Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
27. "Chris Von der Ahe Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
28. "Joe Quinn Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
29. "Lew Phelan Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
30. "Harry Diddlebock Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
31. "Arlie Latham Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
32. "Roger Connor Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
33. "Tommy Dowd Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
34. "Hugh Nicol Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
35. "Bill Hallman Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
36. "Tim Hurst Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
37. "Patsy Tebeau Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
38. "Louie Heilbroner Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
39. "Patsy Donovan Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
40. "Kid Nichols Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
41. "Jimmy Burke Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
42. "Stanley Robison Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
43. "John McCloskey Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
44. "Roger Bresnahan Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
45. "Miller Huggins Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
46. "Jack Hendricks Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
47. "Branch Rickey Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
48. "Rogers Hornsby Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
49. "Bob O'Farrell Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
50. "Bill McKechnie Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
51. "Billy Southworth Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
52. "Gabby Street Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
53. "Frankie Frisch Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
54. "Mike Gonzalez Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
55. "Ray Blades Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
56. "Eddie Dyer Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
57. "Marty Marion Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
58. "Eddie Stanky Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
59. "Harry Walker Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
60. "Fred Hutchinson Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
61. "Stan Hack Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
62. "Solly Hemus Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
63. "Johhny Keane Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
64. "Red Schoendienst Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
65. "Vern Rapp Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
66. "Jack Krol Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
67. "Ken Boyer Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
68. "Whitey Herzog Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
69. "Joe Torre Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
70. "Mike Jorgensen Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
71. "Tony LaRussa Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
72. "LaRussa named NL Manager of the Year". The Chattanoogan. November 6, 2002. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
73. "Mike Matheny Managerial Record". Sports-Reference, LLC. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
74. "Breakout selected from 1920 to 1952". Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
75. "Breakout selected from 1953 to 1989". Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
76. "Breakout selected from 1990 to 2017". Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
77. "St. Louis Cardinals Team History & Encyclopedia". Sports-Reference, LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2017.

Bibliography

• Cash, Jon (2002). Before They Were Cardinals: Major-League Baseball in Nineteenth-Century St. Louis. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 0-826-21935-7.

Related lists

• List of St. Louis Cardinals owners and executives
• List of St. Louis Cardinals coaches
• List of St. Louis Cardinals seasons