Cards trail, but are in historically familiar place
Last time St. Louis won a World Series on the road, in 1967, it was ... at Fenway
The Cardinals are a team rich with World Series championship history, but they have an opportunity this week to do something they haven't done very often along the way to their 11 previous titles -- win a title on the road.
St. Louis won championships in 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982, 2006 and 2011. The last three of the Cardinals' titles were won on their home field -- Busch Stadium II in '82 and the current Busch in 2006 and '11. They last won a World Series on the road in 1967, and where was it? Fenway Park in Boston, where the final two games of this year's World Series are scheduled to be played.
The Cards also won titles on the road in 1942 and '46, both times at Yankee Stadium, and in 1934 at Navin Field in Detroit.
The Cardinals enter tonight's Game 6 (7:30 p.m. ET airtime on FOX, 8:07 p.m. game time) against the Red Sox trailing 3-2, but with the chance to even the series behind rookie right-hander Michael Wacha. Should they force Game 7, it would be played Thursday night at Fenway.
In 1967, the Cardinals were leading the Series, 3-2, when it moved to Boston for the final two games. With the score tied at 4-4 in the seventh, the Red Sox put together six hits for four runs and an eventual 8-4 victory, making a decisive game necessary. The Cards won with ease the next day, as Bob Gibson held the Sox to three hits while striking out 10 for his third win of the Series. Gibson was named the Series Most Valuable Player.
On the other hand, their Series losses in 1985 and '87, both happened on the road as the Royals in '85 and the Twins in '87 came back from 3-2 deficits. In their total of seven World Series losses, the opposition has three times clinched at its home park and four times in St. Louis.
This year, each of St. Louis' postseason series wins -- the National League Division Series against the Pirates and the NL Championship Series against the Dodgers -- were clinched at Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals were 43-38 on the road during the regular season, the sixth-best such record in the Majors and the third-best record in the NL.