Spotlight on St. Louis, Missouri: St. Louis Cardinals and Busch Stadium

Founded in 1882 for the American Association, the St. Louis Brown Stockings won four AA Pennants back to back from 1885–1888 and played two World Series championships against the team known as the Chicago White Stockings, sparking the ongoing rivalry between St. Louis and Chicago. In 1892, when the American Association went bankrupt, they moved to the National League as the Perfectos but didn't become the St. Louis Cardinals until 1900.

The team used the ballpark called Grand Avenue Ball Grounds at 2911 North Grand Boulevard in St. Louis, when they were the St. Louis Brown Stockings, the Perfectos and then the Cardinals. In 1876, Grand Avenue Ball Grounds became Sportsman's Park. In 1892, when the team was brought into the National League, they moved to the New Sportsman's Park and stayed there until 1920, when they moved back to the original Sportsman's Park. In 1953, when the Anheuser-Busch brewery purchased the Cardinals and Sportsman's Park, the ballpark name was changed to Busch Stadium, or Busch I and the Cardinals played there until 1966.

The Busch Memorial Stadium hosted the St. Louis Cardinals from 1966 until 2005, and was host of the World Series in 1967, 1968, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 2004, when the Cardinals won in 1967 and 1982. In 2006, the Busch Memorial Stadium was replaced with the Busch III Stadium. During that inaugural year, the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2009, the Busch Stadium hosted the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Ten World Series Championships have been won by The Cardinals, along with over 9,200 games, eight National League Central Division Titles, three National League Eastern Division Titles and 17 National League Pennants and, they are currently the National League Champions for 2011.

Busch Stadium has 46,000 seats. Party Suites are available in the right hand field on levels two and three. The stadium is an ADA compliant, fully accessible venue that is also smoke-free. It usually opens at least two hours before game time and has ATM's for your convenience.

For tickets: Call 314 345-9000 or visit www.cardinals.com