The St. Louis Cardinals are an undeniably storied franchise.
Each generation of fans has seen more than their fair share of team legends, as well as some pretty solid teams over the years.
One of the best teams in Cardinals history was the 1985 squad that came to within one win of defeating their cross-state rival Kansas City Royals in the World Series.
Obviously, Cardinals fans would prefer not to talk about the infamous Don Denkinger play.
But St. Louis may not have been in the World Series if not for a trade they made with the Pittsburgh Pirates on this day in 1984.
St. Louis shipped outfielder George Hendrick to Pittsburgh in exchange for pitcher John Tudor and utilityman Brian Harper.
#OTD 1984 – The Cardinals traded George Hendrick and Steve Barnard to the Pirates for John Tudor and Brian Harper. #STLCards pic.twitter.com/Um8nJyhBah
— Augie Nash (@AugieNash) December 12, 2022
Cardinals Fan Remembers Key Trade
Tudor was obviously the big piece in that trade.
He, Joaquin Andujar, and Danny Cox formed a solid top three in the Cards rotation that season.
The left-hander won 21 games in 1985 and posted a microscopic 1.93 ERA in 36 starts.
He also threw 14 complete games, 10 of which were shutouts
Tudor took the loss in Game 7 of the World Series against the Royals, but was on hand for the team’s return to the World Series in 1987.
The lefty went 10-2 with a 3.84 ERA in 16 starts and 96 innings of work.
Tudor was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988 and was a part of their World Series championship team, but returned to St. Louis in 1990 for his final season.
The veteran spent a total of five years with the Cardinals, five with the Boston Red Sox, one with the Pirates, and two with the Dodgers.
