9 Hall of Famers who you might have forgotten were Cardinals

Dazzy Vance

Dazzy Vance was a late-blooming pitcher who might never have reached his lofty heights if not for an accident at a poker game. Vance, who was toiling in the minor leagues at age 29, had pitched all of 11 games in the majors and had a 4.91 ERA with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees in his first 10 seasons in the league.

After injuring his arm in 1914, Vance was unable to throw with sufficient velocity and experienced intense pain on every pitch. He saw numerous doctors, who failed to spot the culprit. Finally, after a trade to the Single-A New Orleans Pelicans in 1920, Vance was playing poker and slammed his arm on the edge of the table, causing pain that had not subsided by the next day. The doctor he saw diagnosed an injury that every other doctor he had visited failed to notice.

Following a successful operation, Vance won 21 games for the Pelicans and was on his way to Brooklyn at age 30, where he proceeded to lead the National League in strikeouts in 1922. He would repeat that feat from 1923 through 1928, pacing the entire major leagues in that stat five times. In 1924, Vance won the Triple Crown, as he led the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts.

In a career with Brooklyn that lasted from 1922 to 1932, Vance amassed a 187-129 record and a 3.15 ERA. Prior to the 1933 season, the Dodgers traded Vance to the Cardinals. It was the Cardinals' second attempt to grab the right-hander, as they had tried to acquire him in 1931 for Hack Wilson.

Vance was a fun-loving spirit who, despite being 42, fit right in with the Gashouse Gang. However, it took manager Gabby Street a while to warm up to him. According to Street, he thought Vance would be a "terrible load" on the Cardinals. He changed his tune later in the season, saying Vance had done everything the team had asked him to do and a lot more. That included pitching out of the bullpen, which Vance despised.

From the bullpen, Vance delivered a 3-0 record with a 2.97 ERA as the Cardinals finished fifth in the National League. The Cardinals released Vance following the year, and he signed with the Cincinnati Reds, but his time there was short-lived, and the Cardinals claimed him off of waivers in late June.

In 1934, Vance played in his only World Series, which the Cardinals won in seven games against the Detroit Tigers. He appeared in one game, pitching 1.1 innings, allowing two hits and striking out three. With the Cardinals on the season, he pitched to a 3.66 ERA in 59 innings.

Vance finished his career in 1935, appropriately in Brooklyn. He had brought his jovial personality to St. Louis, where his presence, along with Dizzy Dean, Pepper Martin, Ripper Collins, Frankie Frisch and others, propelled the Cardinals to their third championship.