Sixty-five years ago today, an appeal filed on behalf of the St. Louis Cardinals over back taxes hit the news. What could have changed if the Cardinals would have left St. Louis?
In 1953, there were plenty of things going on around the St. Louis Cardinals that showed just how fragile the organization’s hold in the city of St. Louis truly was. A filing of an appeal on this day, 65 years ago, to back taxes requested by the United States government gives a bit of insight into what was a pretty incredible case!
Many enjoy the daily reminder of the game’s history on Baseball-Reference. Today’s listing had a single line that led down a rabbit hole:
"The St. Louis Cardinals appeal the U.S. claim for $215,025 in back taxes from 1947-1949"
That single line led down a rabbit hole that led to the name Fred Saigh, the owner of the St. Louis Cardinals from 1948-1953. Saigh was a lawyer in the St. Louis area that purchased and owned multiple buildings in downtown St. Louis before purchasing the St. Louis Cardinals from Sam Breadon.
In 1952 when tax evasion came after Saigh, he forced himself to sell his team, taking serious offers from Houston and Milwaukee.
Why would he move the team from St. Louis?
The Cardinals were in a tough spot at the time. Major League Baseball saw it had a problem with its locations. The league had 16 teams in just 10 cities, with none west of St. Louis.
To get that coverage west of the Mississippi, the league intended to split up some of the multiple-team cities. With the Browns and Cardinals both in St. Louis, the Cardinals were certainly one of the teams up for movement.
The Cardinals were also in a fairly tenuous position within the city. With Saigh’s ownership change and the fact that the Cardinals did not own their stadium (the Browns owned Sportsman’s Park and rented it out to the Cardinals), the Cardinals had the least foothold in the city at the time.