Cardinals legend Enos Slaughter was an infamous champion

The 1940s St. Louis Cardinals had incredible success! They won three World Series titles and finished either first or second in the NL from 1941-1949. One of the mainstays on these championship teams was Hall of Famer Enos "Country" Slaughter. Raised in the rural farming community of Roxboro, NC, Slaughter had an aggressive style of play and surly personality that made for a polarizing career. What was the legendary outfielder like outside of the walls of Sportsman’s Park? According to his stepson, Rex Slaughter, it was no walk in the park.

“You know he went through five wives, and my mother was the third of five,” said Rex. “And in today's jargon, it would be domestic violence all the time. Violence all the time.”

Despite Enos being a bear off the field, Rex felt blessed to see the success of the Cardinals up close and personal. 

“We used to go out to the games and sit with all the ballplayers' wives and stuff. And I'd horse around with Joe Garagiola's son and some of the other players' sons and daughters. We had fun, but you know what? I thought of it more like you would if your dad was a milkman or a shoe salesman or something. It wasn't a big deal to me," said Rex.

Joe Garagiola used to take them out to dinner on The Hill. The Slaughters and Musials even went to the same Catholic church.

"I was a bat boy down in Saint Petersburg every year when they had spring training.”

One of the biggest events of the time was the 1946 World Series victory over the Red Sox. Enos Slaughter scored the winning run in Game 7 on what is known as the “Mad Dash.” Slaughter was at first base with two outs and a hit-and-run was called. Slaughter scored on a double from Harry Walker after Boston SS Johnny Pesky hesitated briefly in his throw home. The event is memorialized outside Busch Stadium.

“Oh, yeah...the Mad Dash. He talked about that frequently, and, of course, he was angry in a way that he didn't make the Hall of Fame because of the Mad Dash and his success in the ‘46 series.”

While Enos thought he had earned his ticket with his performance and career .300 average, others may have voted against him ultimately because of his character. Most infamous are the reports that Slaughter attempted to get other Cardinals to boycott a game against the Brooklyn Dodgers after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947. Whether it was a boycott or just some players blowing off steam, Enos Slaughter’s opinion on the matter was well known.

“Enos hated that (integration). Of course, he was a southern guy from North Carolina, and he wasn't in favor of Jackie Robinson or any of the black players who came into the league. Some of them came from the Monarchs in Kansas City, and he (wasn’t) in favor of that one bit.”

In one game against the Dodgers, Enos spiked Jackie Robinson at first base. The incident could be chalked up to Slaughter’s typical aggressive play or possibly his prejudice towards Black players. Robinson claimed it was on purpose, while Slaughter pleaded that he had never deliberately spiked a player in his life.

“I have memories of Enos sitting on the back patio of the house here on Nancy Place in Ferguson, sharpening his spikes, getting ready for a ballgame. And he would go after players. He was mean-spirited.”

Another incident that is less famous was one involving shortstop Marty Marion.

“Marion had a pebble in the way of (a ground) ball. The ball bounced up and hit him in the throat. He talked like this *rasping sound* for a long, long time because he had a broken Adam's apple. He (Enos) just used to make fun of him.”

Eventually Enos Slaughter did get elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985 by the Veterans Committee. His resume, including 10 All-Star appearances, was enough to gain entrance to Cooperstown. According to Rex Slaughter, the family felt relief and joy. Enos was “ecstatic.” Rex and his sisters celebrated in Cooperstown the night of his induction.

But the celebration may have never occurred were it not for an influential voice on the Veterans Committee — the great Buck O’Neil. A former Negro Leagues player and MLB coach, O’Neil thought Slaughter deserved to be in based on his performance. People tried to persuade him against voting for Enos due to Slaughter’s prejudicial past.

"What’s that got to do with anything? If we think like that, we won’t let anyone in the Hall of Fame. Look around: The Hall of Fame is filled with racists and drunks and all kinds of people. The world is filled with all kinds of people. You can’t know what’s happening in a man’s heart. Could he play or couldn’t he play? That’s what matters."

Buck O’Neil from "The Soul of Baseball"

“He deserved to be in the Hall of Fame,” Rex Slaughter said. “And (he) had every reason to bemoan the fact that he wasn't voted in earlier. But I think a lot of it came down to the people voting for him. I didn't know Buck O'Neil voted for him.”

For Rex, the legacy of Enos Slaughter is conflicting. A player that brought so much glory to the city of St. Louis and the Cardinals but had personal demons that almost prevented him from achieving baseball’s highest honor.

“Enos was a great baseball player…but a lousy father.”

Rex currently lives in Colorado Springs. A retired architect, Rex married his high school sweetheart and has four children and nine grandchildren.