ST. LOUIS — June 15 is a massively important day on the Cardinals' historic calendar.
From 1923 to 1985, June 15 was baseball's trade deadline. And that date created two bedrock moments in Cardinals history.
First, the one that almost every other lopsided trade is compared to.
Brock for Broglio.
On June 15, 1964 the Cardinals sent pitchers Ernie Broglio and Bobby Shantz, along with outfielder Doug Clemens to the Cubs for pitchers Jack Spring and Paul Toth, and some 25-year-old outfielder named Lou Brock.
The rest, as they say, is history. In St. Louis, Brock became a Hall of Famer and the all-time stolen base king (That is until Ricky Henderson eclipsed his total in 1991). He was a six-time All-Star for the Cardinals, helping them win two World Series titles as one of the best October performers in baseball history.
Broglio was never the same after leaving St. Louis, and had a 5.40 ERA in 59 games with the Cubs. He was out of baseball by age 30 in 1966.
June 15 is also the date of one of the worst trades in Cardinals history.
On June 15, 1983, the Cardinals traded first baseman Keith Hernandez to the New York Mets for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey, in a move that was motivated by just about everything other than on-field production.
Hernandez had established himself as the best-fielding first baseman in baseball and was the National League's co-MVP with the Cardinals in 1979.
Allen and Ownbey combined to go 21-22 for the Cardinals in the 80's. Hernandez went on to help the Mets to the 1986 World Series title and was a three-time All-Star in New York.
Most all has been forgiven from Hernandez's unceremonious departure however, and he was just recently elected to the Cardinals Hall of Fame in the class of 2021.