The St Louis Cardinals have been World Champions eight times, winning the World Series in '26, '31, '34, '42, '44, '46, '64, '67, and '82.

On that first Cardinal Championship team were all-time greats like Les Bell, Rogers Hornsby and Tommy Thevenow. But perhaps the greatest was a cantankerous character named Grover Cleveland Alexander.

Born during the presidency of his namesake, Alexander entered the league, and led it in pitching, in 1911 for the Phillies. After six starring seasons, Grover was drafted in 1917, and sent to France where he served as an artillery officer. In the vicious hedgerow battles, he spent days under constant bombardment and came home in 1918 suffering from shell shock, hearing loss, and increasingly violent and frequent seizures.

Despite his condition, the Cubs took a chance on him, and he pitched well for them until his alcoholism and violent clubhouse behavior got him sold to the Cardinals halfway through the 1926 season. The acquisition paid off royally for St Louis, and the pissed-off and inebriated Alexander became the Cardinals ace, helping them win the NL pennant and reach the World Series against the Yankees.
In the World Series, Alexander was on fire, pitching complete game victories in games 2 and 6. In game 7, with the bases loaded and the outcome in doubt in the seventh inning, Grover entered the game again, struck out the side, and held the Yankees scoreless for a 3-2 Cardinal victory.

Alexander pitched several more years for the Cards, but his demons eventually got the best of him, and he lost his arm, his health, and eventually his life. His records still stand, though. He is still the alltime NL pitching leader with 373 wins and 90 shutouts.

And dugout legends say that, to this day, when the Cardinals are in a really tough spot, the spirit of Grover Cleveland Alexander walks with the St Louis hurlers when they take the mound.