Dick “Richie” Allen. What a legendary player and character.

Too bad it was such a bad decade. No postseason.

Simba. Period. Was sad to see him go. What a team that ‘82 one could have been had they kept him and Rollie Fingers.

Oh, wait! That team won the World Series anyway; my bad! ;)

Future hall of famer Ted Simmons.

played into the ‘70s, I still remember them best from those great ‘60s teams.

Simba played the entire decade (plus 1980) for the Birds; 1564 games, 1704 hits, 332 doubles, 37 triples, 172 home runs (in a big ballpark and a “depressed” HR era), and 929 RBI. He hit .298 for the Cardinals, slugging .439, and with an OPS of .805 and a 21-year career OPS+ (counting his years with Milwaukee and Atlanta) of 117.

A six-time All-Star with the Birds… quoting his Baseball Reference page:

The Mighty Simba! More RBIs than Bench, more runs than Carter, more hits than Berra or Fisk. When will the Hall call THIS catcher?!

Alas, not until the Veterans Committee gets the chance. How Simmons failed to get enough votes to stay on the Hall ballot for longer than one stinkin’ year is beyond me!

and it isn’t even close, even with Brock and Gibson on the premises…imagine my outrage every year when Ted would have to back up Johnny Bench and Manny Sanguillen in the All Star Game, IF he even made the team…outrageous

for that magical 1971 season: .363/.421/.555, with 230 hits and 137 RBI’s…wow!

though I loved Simba and I certainly understand why he would be the choice of so many. But for purely emotional attachment, Lou was just the essence of Cardinal baseball to me. And I really dug the fur coats, the Stutz Bearcat and the intro music from SuperFly that Lou brought along with him.

... you can tell where I come down. My 10-year-old brain couldn’t wrap itself around the injustice of Ted playing second fiddle to Bench for so many years, and Darrel Porter never quite measured up. I also thought Kenny Reitz deserved all of Mike Schmidt’s Gold Gloves – another terrible injustice.

@MdRedbirdFreak – Don’t forget about the Brockabrella, both disastrous and miraculous.

My signature notes my earliest memory of going to a Card’s game—it was my sixth birthday. My dad got us seats by the visitor’s bullpen. Lou needed two hits, and he got them.

Loved Simba too.

And I have some recollection that my second grade teacher was Bake’s cousin, but by then Bake was a Phillie.

with his blazing speed (he often ran from home to first in UNDER seven seconds), it was impossible not to love Kenny Reitz.
Those who saw him play the carpet need no convincing of his quick, vacuum-cleaner hands, but his ARM was extremely under-rated. Incredibly quick and accurate, I think he got overlooked because he didn’t have a bust-a-hole-in-a-wall throwing style. It was more of a sling-shot flip, but his balance was so good he never needed a cannon.

Great memories guys. I too loved Simba, but I think as a catcher he was pretty mediocre and that is what is keeping him out of the Hall of Fame. But, boy, he sure could hit. Reitz. LOL yep to first base in under seven seconds is just about right. Haha But, he sure did have a nice glove!!!

Just think how good those teams would have been with Carlton and Ruess on the staff!!!!