Cardinals History: Branch Rickey changes Major League Baseball forever in St. Louis

Throughout their long history, the St. Louis Cardinals have been the envy of nearly every other franchise in baseball. Their 11 World Series titles and 12 National League Central titles are products of decades of dedication, innovation, and star power. One particular innovation, however, has carried this franchise for many years.

In 1919, vice president, general manager, and field manager Branch Rickey made a bold investment to help the Cardinals get ahead of the competitive curve at the time.

On January 1st, 1919, St. Louis Cardinals vice president Branch Rickey and owner Sam Breadon bought shares of a Houston baseball team, thus starting the farm system model.

As the Cardinals entered the 1919 season, they remained one of the few teams without a World Series championship, which was introduced in 1903. Between 1903 and 1918, the Cardinals had only three seasons where they posted a record greater than .500. Clearly, some major changes needed to be made if the club wanted to start winning.

In what was a dramatic move at the time, Rickey and Breadon purchased shares of a Texas League team based out of Houston, Texas. This was the start of the first farm system — a collection of minor league teams directly controlled by a major league parent team — in MLB history.

Over the next several years, Branch Rickey and Sam Breadon would purchase other non-MLB teams to add to their farm system. By 1939, the Cardinals had ownership of 39 minor league teams with over 650 players in total. This continuous influx of talent allowed the Cardinals to win nine pennants and six World Series trophies between 1919 and 1946.

By utilizing so many minor league teams, Rickey was able to find "quality out of quantity," one of his favorite monikers. By signing several amateurs instead of purchasing pricier players, the Cardinals were able to save money and have control over players who could pan out to be stars. Red Schoendienst (signed in 1942), Jim Bottomley (signed in 1919), and Joe Medwick (signed in 1930) were three of many players who played in the Cardinals' farm system in its infancy who made huge contributions to the team.

Today, farm systems are homogeneous throughout baseball, with each team having four levels of minor league teams (Triple-A, Double-A, High-A, and Low-A) along with complex teams and other development teams.

The Cardinals were once one of the best teams at using their farm system to develop homegrown players. From Stan Musial to Bob Gibson to Albert Pujols, the Cardinals have been able to use their farm system to develop Hall of Fame players generation after generation.

Throughout the 2010s, the Cardinals used homegrown players to lead their team. Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, Kolten Wong, Matt Carpenter, and Jon Jay were drafted and developed by the Cardinals, and they helped lead some of the best teams of this century to playoff victories each year.

The primary goal of Chaim Bloom is to reinvigorate the Cardinals' farm system to levels it once was, thus creating a consistent pipeline of players who lead the team to success. With top prospects JJ Wetherholt, Liam Doyle, Quinn Mathews, and Rainiel Rodriguez showing excellent signs of growth along with the influx of prospects already this offseason like Brandon Clarke and Yhoiker Fajardo, Bloom is already off to a great start. Hopefully, Chaim Bloom can channel his inner Branch Rickey and get ahead of his competitors when it comes to the farm system.