Organization to Honor & Celebrate 9th Championship Squad with Over 20 Former Players on Saturday, August 13
July 28th, 2022
ST. LOUIS, Mo., July 28, 2022 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced it will host a 40-year anniversary reunion of the 1982 World Series Championship team at Busch Stadium on Saturday, August 13, presented by Heartland Coca-Cola.
Over 20 former players and staffers from the 1982 team, including National Baseball Hall of Famers Whitey Herzog, Ozzie Smith, Bruce Sutter, Jim Kaat, and Cardinals Hall of Famers Willie McGee, Keith Hernandez & Tom Herr, are scheduled to take part in a pregame ceremony before that evening’s 6:15 PM game against that year’s World Series opponent, Milwaukee Brewers. Beginning at approximately 5:30 PM, members of the 1982 team will parade along the Busch Stadium warning track and be individually introduced at home plate. The ceremony will conclude with a ceremonial first pitch and a team photo with the World Series trophy at home plate.
Other players and clubhouse staff scheduled to attend the 40-year reunion include Steve Mura, John Stuper, Dave LaPoint, Doug Bair, Ken Oberkell, Mike Ramsey, Dane Iorg, Steve Braun, Glenn Brummer, Gene Roof, John Martin, Jeff Lahti, Jeff Keener, Mark Littell, Eric Rasmussen, Buddy Bates, CJ Cherre and Frank Coppenbarger. Family members for the late Cardinals Hall of Famer Bob Forsch, 1982 World Series MVP Darrell Porter and David Green will also attend.
That day, 25,000 fans, age 16 and older, will take home a 1982 “Final Out” double bobblehead featuring Bruce Sutter and Darrell Porter, presented by Coca-Cola and Schnucks.
Despite not reaching the playoff the previous 13 seasons, the 1982 Cardinals entered the season with high expectations after finishing the previous strike-shortened season with the best winning percentage in the National League Eastern Division. Before stepping down as General Manager on Opening Day, Manager Whitey Herzog fortified the roster with offseason trades for Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, Lonnie Smith, Steve Mura and re-signed free agent Joaquin Andujar. The 1982 team was characterized by a style of baseball focusing on aggressive base running, exceptional defense and solid pitching that became known as “Whiteyball”. The organization’s strategy paid off as the team stole 200 bases while hitting just 67 home runs, the fewest in all of MLB, and stayed in first place for all but 48 days of the season as they claimed their first ever National League East Division title. A three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS advanced the Cardinals to their 13th World Series appearance against the first-time American League Champion Milwaukee Brewers.
Despite a break-out performance from rookie Willie McGee in Game 3, which saw him hit two home runs and rob 1982 MLB home run leader Gorman Thomas of a late-inning homer, the Cardinals returned to Busch Stadium for the potential final two games of the World Series down three games to two. After St. Louis’ 13-1 drubbing of the Brewers in Game 6, the two teams’ aces, Joaquin Andujar and Pete Vuckovich, opposed each other in a tightly-contested Game 7. With the Cardinals trailing 3-1 entering the bottom the sixth inning, Keith Hernandez tied the game with a bases-loaded two-run single followed by a go-ahead RBI single from George Hendrick. The Cardinals would add two insurance runs in the eighth inning and, after seven strong innings from Andujar, closer Bruce Sutter pitched a perfect eighth and ninth inning to secure the club’s ninth World Series Championship.
The 1982 World Champions 40th Anniversary Weekend presented by Heartland Coca-Cola will span the August 12-14 series vs. Milwaukee, with 1982-themed promotional gate giveaways and Cardinals Museum programming.
Tickets for the 40th anniversary reunion are on sale now at cardinals.com, via phone at 314-345-9000 or at the Busch Stadium Box Office. Fans can visit cardinals.com/1982 for more information.
