Alright, in preparing for the 1926 Cardinals Diary, I went through and printed off box scores for each of the games from Proquest (which is worth the price of getting a SABR membership just on it’s own). One of the things I never realized was how great a pennant race 1926 was.
Not that I want to spoil things too much, but the Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and the defending 1925 World Series Champion Pittsburgh Pirates were in a three way tie as late as August 26, 1926. After that point in time, the Cardinals played the Reds and Pirates a total of 13 times to make for some great matchups through the final month of the season.
The Cardinals took the lead in early September, but even as late as September 13, 1926, the Cardinals had slipped into a tie with the Reds. On the fourteenth, they fell a half game back and they never retained sole possession of first place until September 17, 1926, when there were only eight games remaining. With two games left in the season, the Cardinals finally clinched their first pennant.
So this is going to be a cool trip down memory lane. Hopefully you readers will have as much fun with as I know I will.
