Former Cub Don Cardwell Dies

by markleonette on Jan 14, 2008 7:04 PM CST

Don Cardwell, who threw a no-hitter in his first start as a Cub in 1960, died Monday. Most here have probably seen replays of the last out, with Jack Brickhouse pleading with Walt Moryn to catch the sinking liner hit to left. This is quite a bit before my time, but it has to rank as one of the bigger moments in Cubs history. Can you imagine if a Cubs pitcher did this today, in his first start for the team.

Did anyone here see Cardwell pitch, or this no-hitter when it happened?

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2008-01-14-605297498_x.htm

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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sad...

speaking of him, my cousin was Moose Moryn. I never met him but he was my dads first cousin's husband. So when I go to my grandparents I see pictures of him at the family events it's kind of cool.

by Rezze21 on Jan 14, 2008 10:02 PM CST reply actions

I came home from school. . .

and saw the last inning or so. But I remember Moose's catch and Brickhouse going nuts. I still have a postcard from Moose with a reproduction autograph on it. Never a gazelle, he certainly gave it all he had on that catch. Cardwell pitched well after that, but in my mind his Cubs' career was pretty much that wondnerful game. Wish I had seen it all.

Hoping to goodness is not theologically sound. --Linus

by moldyfolky on Jan 14, 2008 11:44 PM CST reply actions

RIP

I'm surprised more have not commented on this yet, and he died just a couple days after Johnny Podres did. Two pitchers who didn't have long and distinguished careers but were a part of some glorious history.

the tape of that last out of Cardwell's no hitter with the cubs is a treasure, then he went on to be a big part of the mets '69 world series team.

by cashcowsquirtingsourmilk on Jan 15, 2008 12:07 AM CST reply actions

Podres

I think it's fair to characterize Cardwell's career as lacking much distinction. He had a great moment. But Podres had a somewhat distinguished career. He finished his career with nearly 150 wins and about a .560 win pct. He was named to three or four all star teams, for about six or seven years he racked up 14-15 wins a season like clockwork, his ERA was usually around 3 and a half and his WHIP was usually 1.2, 1.3. I'll take a guy with those stats. Pitched in four World Series, his team winning three of them. Hardly HOF material but unless you have a bunch of superstars on your team, Podres is a guy you'd probably want in your rotation.

I wonder how much a guy like Podres would make if he had those same stats today? Of the Cubs, Podres might be vaguely comparable to, say, Ted Lilly. Podres probably had better control. Probably a solid #2 for most teams today. I'm guessing Podres would make $8-10 million/season in his prime today. Maybe more since he's a lefty like Lilly and good pitching is always scarce.

by Copter OBob on Jan 15, 2008 12:47 PM CST up reply actions

I remember about a year ago....

someone on BCB had posted a link to the WGN archives or something and it had the entire ninth inning of his no-hitter in 1960. I had seen the last out, of course, and heard both Brickhouse's and Jack Quinlan's call of it, but I remember watching the entire ninth inning was amazing. I remember thinking how little the game had really changed, except that the pitchers at that time all worked much faster.

I also remember hearing somewhere that the WGN film of Cardwell's no-hitter is the oldest actual game in the archives simply because they never kept old game film before that. That game actually made some genius at WGN stop and think, "Hey, maybe some people in the future might actually want to watch this again. Maybe we should keep this." What a concept.

"Don't complain to me about the stormy weather, boys. Just bring the ship into port." --Steve Stone, September 2004

by ctcoff99 on Jan 15, 2008 12:30 AM CST reply actions

Keep in mind...

... that was a loooong time ago. Videotape in 1960 was in its infancy. It was expensive and on huge two-inch-wide reels. Storing it would have been prohibitively expensive, not to mention the lack of space. So they just re-used the tapes they had.

No one in that era ever thought that sporting events (other than maybe the World Series and other title games) would be worth saving for the future.

It was a different time. Instant replay wasn't even invented until 1963.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on Jan 15, 2008 4:40 AM CST up reply actions

Here is the last inning

The YouTube URL is here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qA08Wc8PWkE

I watched it last night, and it brought back a lot of memories. I hadn't remembered that all three 9th inning outs were on well-hit fly balls, the first to George Altman in right, the second to Richie Ashburn (!) in center, and of course the last one, the sinking liner to Moose in left. Fun to hear Brickhouse in his prime, full of enthusiasm.

Hoping to goodness is not theologically sound. --Linus

by moldyfolky on Jan 15, 2008 8:56 AM CST up reply actions

re: Here is the last inning

This is an amazing piece of footage! Well worth watching. RIP Don Cardwell.

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2008 Chicago Cubs starting outfield: Soriano-Pie-Fukudome. Let it be.

by daver on Jan 15, 2008 11:28 AM CST up reply actions

Thanks for the Video

I think that this might be the only the time I see a Cub throw a no-hitter. ;) Here is the link for the boxscore of that game:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN196005152.shtml

He only gave up one walk. This was also the second game of a double header (the Cubs lost 6-1 in the first game.)

Old Style is the nectar of life.

by Mordecai on Jan 15, 2008 1:44 PM CST up reply actions

Thanks for the link

Cool video, I think I saw a young Al Yellon jump out of the stands and rush the field.

I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant. - Robert McCloskey

by pageian on Jan 15, 2008 4:08 PM CST up reply actions

LOL

Nope. I was 3 1/2. Didn't get to my first game till three years later.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on Jan 15, 2008 5:26 PM CST up reply actions

school?

Since this game was on a Sunday afternoon, you didn't have school that day. Maybe you came home from playing outside or something. I have the last two innings of this game on tape. Another exciting moment was when Musial pinch hit in the 8th, Cardwell struck him out and the place went nuts. Also has the commercials that Jack Brickhouse & Vince Lloyd did LIVE in the booth between innings! A different time indeed.

"It's a funny old world. Man's lucky if he gets out of it alive." W.C. Fields

by KedzieKid on Jan 15, 2008 10:06 AM CST reply actions

Ah well,

it was just a few years ago. In those days I often saw only the last inning or two of the early part of the season, since my elementary school was three blocks away. I only remember the last few innings of Cardwell's gem and assumed it was one of those after school experiences.
Cheers.

Hoping to goodness is not theologically sound. --Linus

by moldyfolky on Jan 15, 2008 10:29 AM CST up reply actions

old times

No big deal, I have a pretty cloudy memory myself, since I was also around at the time (9 yrs. old). Just watched it over again, & noticed on Ashburns catch in center, all the trash littering the warning track. There was no "basket " then.

"It's a funny old world. Man's lucky if he gets out of it alive." W.C. Fields

by KedzieKid on Jan 15, 2008 10:42 AM CST reply actions

re: old times

Wow, I find it interesting that Cubs fans have apparently been littering the field for some 40-odd years. My question is: Were people littering the field back then doing so in (misguided) protest or just out of sheer laziness?

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2008 Chicago Cubs starting outfield: Soriano-Pie-Fukudome. Let it be.

by daver on Jan 15, 2008 10:52 AM CST up reply actions

Most likely

it was just a bunch of trashy White Sox fans who were too lazy to drive to the south side to watch a game. Cub fans only litter when it's necessary.

I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant. - Robert McCloskey

by pageian on Jan 15, 2008 4:08 PM CST up reply actions

I think "laziness"

I think there was much more littering then, which eventually led to Ladybird Johnson's Keep America Beautiful campaign and all that a few years later. I remember being indoctrinated into the "give a hoot don't pollute " ethos by parents and teachers who were only just getting used to the concept themselves.

Why does everybody stand up and sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" when they're already there? ~Larry Anderson

by JohnM on Jan 16, 2008 6:41 AM CST up reply actions

Always fun to see....

how fans could rush the field in those days. You'd get locked up if you tried that today. I love footage with the old Andy Frain ushers....these guys were supposed to keep order and yet fans always made it onto the field. The Andy Frain ushers were kind of like WWF referees. Creating the illusion of order while sheer chaos is going on around them. :)

"Don't complain to me about the stormy weather, boys. Just bring the ship into port." --Steve Stone, September 2004

by ctcoff99 on Jan 15, 2008 11:49 AM CST reply actions

It was a different time.

No one had "security" as they do now. Those men -- all men, incidentally, no women in those days -- were often retired, and their function was primarily to show people to their seats.

It was a VERY different era.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on Jan 15, 2008 12:58 PM CST up reply actions

I remember young Andy Frains

and didn't the recent book Wrigley Field: The Unauthorized Biography allude to some less than savory aspects of Mr Frain's organization?

Why does everybody stand up and sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" when they're already there? ~Larry Anderson

by JohnM on Jan 16, 2008 6:45 AM CST up reply actions

But yes it was a different time

Cardwell is quoted saying that "all 'you-know-what' broke loose" after the catch by Moose Moryn. He couldn't bring himself to say h-e-double hockey sticks.

Why does everybody stand up and sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" when they're already there? ~Larry Anderson

by JohnM on Jan 16, 2008 6:57 AM CST up reply actions

That was almost 50 years ago.

Think about this: even 10-15 years ago, saying something "sucked" was considered profane. Now that's totally accepted in most parts of society.

Times change.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on Jan 16, 2008 8:21 AM CST up reply actions

Cardwell

I have the interview on the field that Lloyd had with him, & he was very nervous with the mob around him, and couldn't wait to get to the clubhouse. Even after he was in the clubhouse, the crowd was running all over the field throughout the "10th inning".

"It's a funny old world. Man's lucky if he gets out of it alive." W.C. Fields

by KedzieKid on Jan 16, 2008 9:22 AM CST reply actions

I remember being outside

playing, I was 2 years old, and my Mom screaming from inside the house! I ran in an watched the mob on the field. Probably my earliest memory. Of course, it's about the Cubs! I watched both of Kenny Holtzman's no-no's and Burt Hooten's. Milt's "perfect game" ;), too.

"WGN, Channel 9 Cubs Baseball, Excitingly, Importantly, Dramatically Yours." - Jack Brickhouse

by BigJohnAZ on Jan 16, 2008 10:18 AM CST reply actions

More Footage Exists

The Museum of Broadcast Communications has footage of the entire 8th and 9th innings of the game, along with video coverage of the on-field interview after the game. Stan Musial pinch-hits in the 8th for St. Louis and is retired. Ernie Banks hits in the 8th for the Cubs as well. The Museum of Broadcast Communications used to have this entire sequence on it's web-site, but they have now pared it down to just the final out and the postgame interview. I would imagine if you went to the museum itself, you could see the entire sequence, but I'm just speculating. I watched it when it was on the website months ago, it was really cool to see at-bats by two hall of fame legends and the no-hitter, all in one 20 minute span, even though both Banks and Musial were retired.

You have to sign up and create a user account to view it, but for fans of nostaglia it's more than worth it. www.museum.tv

Search for "Cubs" in the archives; they also have color footage of a short 1965 on-field interview that Jack Brickhouse conducted with Ernie Banks and Willie Mays.

One day, the dream will come true.

by brianp88 on Jan 16, 2008 11:25 AM CST reply actions