Word: breadon
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Silver-haired Sam Breadon stepped out of his St. Louis office into a corridor crowded with reporters. They had been kept waiting half an hour. They knew as well as Breadon (rhymes with raidin') what the news would be, but he found it hard to get it out. Said the boss of the St. Louis Cardinals: "Uh-the Cardinals, that is uh-uh-a deal has been consummated. The Cardinals have been sold...
...sales tag was an estimated $3,500,000, a figure that would make it the biggest baseball deal ever swung. But Sam Breadon, baseball's supersalesman, didn't look happy. His chin trembled and he went on haltingly: "I feel very badly. ... It's such a big organization and so successful." Bob Hannegan, who quit as Postmaster General (see NATIONAL AFFAIRS) to take Sam's place as boss of the Cardinals, stepped forward to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder...
Crepe & Cardinals. Sam Breadon was not a shaky character. Back in 1926, when he calmly traded off Rogers Hornsby, the hero who won the first World Series St. Louis ever had, riotous fans hung crepe on Sam's office door, jumped on the running board of his car to shout insults. Sam's chilly blue eyes never flickered. He crossed up the fans again when he peddled off the great Dizzy Dean at the height of Dizzy's fame, for $185,000 (the Cubs bought a pitcher with a bad arm). Sam Breadon sold baseball heroes...
...Manager Eddie Dyer, up from the Cardinal farm chain, was two or three deep in talent at most positions, and had a grade-A pitching staff of 26. Somebody had to go to get the roster down to the June 15 30-player maximum. Boss Sam Breadon could not resist the $175,000 that the Giants offered for Catcher Walker Cooper. Infielder Emil Verban and Outfielder Johnny Hopp were sold to the Phillies and the Braves. Ace Pitchers Max Lanier (who had won his first six starts for the Cards) and Fred Martin went of their own accord to Mexico...
After Cardinal President Sam Breadon had figured out which players to keep and which to peddle-and pocketed some $500,000 in cash-he would still have the team to beat for the National League pennant...