In the Lower East Side of Manhattan was a dingy slum called the Gashouse District, a region frequented by whores, drunks and thugs, an area which took it name from several large petroleum storage tanks in the neighborhhood. The nastiest crew of thugs in the district gathered some measure of notoriety as "The Gashouse Gang".

When the 1934 Cardinals arrived at the Polo Grounds, they had just finished a rain-soaked game with the Boston Braves, and had had no time to clean their filthy uniforms. Arriving on the field sodden, funky, streaked with mud and tobacco juice, unshaven after a night on the road, the New York Giants and their fans were shocked by the appearance, and aroma, of these country boys. The next day a cartoon in the New York Herald Tribune depicted the Redbirds as "The Gashouse Gang", an insult that the team adopted as a compliment.

TheGashouse Gang, featuring stars like Pepper Martin, Leo Durocher, Frankie Frisch, Ripper Collins and the Dean Boys, Dizzy and Daffy, won the National League Pennant that year, Diz pitching a record 30 winning games. They met the Detroit Tigers in the World Series, going seven games before winning the Championship. Dizzy and Daffy together won 4 games, pitching a combined ERA of 1.43.

The following year, a line drive off of Dizzy Dean's toe brought an end to his pitching dominance in the National League, but the Gashouse Gang had made their mark in history, and in the hearts of the rough-and-tumble farmers, brewers, and teamsters who formed the heart of the Cardinals fan base in the Depression Era.