Cardinals: 5 memorable moments from 1982 Championship Season

Bob Forsch and Game 1 of the 1982 NLCS

After the Cardinals clinched the NL East title in Montreal on September 27th, relief pitcher Jim Kaat said, “This is like winning the first leg of the Triple Crown. We’ve just won the Kentucky Derby, now there’s two big races to go.”

The next big race was the NLCS against the Western Division Champions, Atlanta Braves. The Braves were managed by former Cardinal Joe Torre, and on his staff were other former Cardinals, Bob Gibson and Dal Maxvill.

The key game in the 1982 NLCS turned out to be Game 1: Take 2.

Game 1: Take 1, was a rainout. In other words, with two outs away from an official game, and the Braves leading 1-0, the umpires stopped the game during an downpour. The game never re-started and was postponed to the following night, in which Game 1 began from the start.

Game 1: Take 2, started much like Take 1, but eventually the Cardinals took control during a 5 run 6th inning, on the way to a 7-0 win. Bob Forsch kept the Braves hitters off balance all night and pitched an complete game gem, in which he only yielded three hits.

Game 2 was close, but the Cardinals pulled out a 4-3 win. Game 3 was anti-climatic, with the Cardinals scoring 4 runs in the second inning and winning 6-2, sweeping the series 3-0.

The Cardinals were then propelled into their first World Series since 1968, against the American League Champs, Milwaukee Brewer.