ST. LOUIS — One of the biggest rivalries in baseball is taking place at Busch Stadium this week.
The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs series kicked off Tuesday night with the Cards taking the win!
The two teams have despised one another for a while… so when did the rivalry start?
Flash back to 130 years ago when the Cardinals were known as the St. Louis Browns and the Cubs were called the Chicago White Stockings.
(The Cardinals were known as the Browns until 1899 when they became the Perfectos before finally becoming the Cardinals in 1900. But don’t get that confused with the American League team St. Louis Browns that came to town in 1902 and eventually went on to become the Baltimore Orioles.)
The two teams met for the first time in the 1885 World Series, but the series ended with no winner.
Fast forward one year later, the teams met again for the 1886 World Series in what was a very heated rematch. The St. Louis Browns (Cards) took home the win thanks to Curt Welch’s famous $15,000 slide.
The rivalry was born!
The Cards and Cubs have since met in more than 2,400 games, many of which are bitter battles only fueling the rivalry.
The Cards hold more World Series titles with 11 to the Cubs' three.