The 5 most devastating World Series losses in St. Louis Cardinals history

#1 - 1985 World Series

I mean, come on. It doesn't get worse than 1985. Not just for the Cardinals, but literally for any fan base.

The 1985 World Series featured both teams from the "Show Me State", putting the I-70 series in the October Classic as the Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals matched up for an epic World Series.

The 1985 Cardinals were an iconic team in the club's history, deep both in offense and pitching as they looked to win their second title of the 1980s. The offense was led by the trio of Jack Clark, Tom Herr, and Willie McGee, as McGee won MVP honors in the National League after slashing .353/.384/.503 with 10 home runs, 18 triples, 26 doubles, and 56 stolen bases to go with elite defense in center field. Herr drove in 110 runs that season, and Clark's .895 OPS led the team. Accompanied by Ozzie Smith, Vince Coleman, and Andy Van Slyke, the Cardinals could beat you many different ways.

Their pitching staff also had a dominant trio that year, with John Tudor finishing as the Cy Young runner-up after going 21-8 with a 1.93 ERA in 275 innings of work that year. Joaquin Andujar and Danny Cox were a great 2-3 punch as well, and the Cardinals' bullpen was led by Jeff Lahti, Ricky Horton, and Ken Dayley.

The Cardinals took a commanding 2-0 lead in the series, winning both games in Kansas City and looking like the superior opponent. The Royals took Game 3 by a score of 6-1, but John Tudor spun a complete game shutout in Game 4 to give the Cardinals a 3-1 series lead over their in-state rivals.

After dropping Game 5 in St. Louis by another 6-1 score, the clubs went back to Kansas City for Game 6, where one of the worst calls in MLB history would cost the Cardinals their 10th World Series title.

Cox spun seven shutout innings in Game 6, and while Charlie Leibrandt was excellent in his 7.2 innings of work, he did give up a two-out RBI to Brian Harper in the top of the 8th to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

Heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Cardinals maintained that 1-0 advantage with closer Todd Worrell on the mound. The Royals' lead-off hitter, Jorge Orta, hit a slow ground ball to first baseman Jack Clark, who tossed the ball to Worrell covering first for the first out of the inning. Orta was clearly out on the play, but first base umpire Don Denkinger called him safe.

Announcers could not believe the call after seeing replays confirm Orta was clearly out, and the inning then began to unravel for the Cardinals. Worrell would end up giving up two runs in that inning, allowing the Royals to force a Game 7, where they would crush the heartbroken Cardinals, who felt like they were robbed of a World Series title in Game 6.