St. Petersburg Cardinals

• Location: St. Petersburg, FL
• League: Florida State League (1966-1996)
• Affiliation: St. Louis Cardinals 1966-1996
• Ballpark: Al Lang Stadium

Team History

The St. Petersburg Cardinals were a long-time affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals in the Florida State League, playng from 1966 to 1996. The team was also known as the St. Petersburg Cards at times.

In its first season, the team hosted the longest game played in baseball history up to that point, losing to the Miami Marlins, 4-3, in 29 innings. The game began on June 14, 1966 and lasted until the early hours of June 15th, the umpires having failed to apply a 12:50 am curfew. This game remains the longest uninterrupted game in organized baseball history, and only the longest game in baseball history, played in 1981 and which lasted 33 innings, has ever gone longer.

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs	Pitching Coach
1966	91-45	1st	Sparky Anderson	Lost League Finals
1967	96-43	1st	Ron Plaza	League Champs
1968	80-63	3rd	Ron Plaza	Lost in 1st round
1969	54-76	11th	Jack Krol
1970	78-52	3rd	Joe Cunningham	Lost League Finals
1971	72-69	5th	Joe Cunningham
1972	66-66	5th (t)	Roy Majtyka
1973	84-62	2nd	Roy Majtyka	League Champs
1974	59-71	6th (t)	Roy Majtyka
1975	88-47	1st	Jack Krol	League Champs
1976	70-71	5th	Hal Lanier
1977	83-56	2nd	Hub Kittle	Lost League Finals
1978	84-56	1st	Hal Lanier	Lost in 1st round
1979	64-71	7th	Sonny Ruberto
1980	70-66	4th	Tommy Thompson	Lost in 1st round
1981	69-63	4th	Nick Leyva
1982	69-64	4th	Nick Leyva (26-30) / Jim Riggleman (43-34)
1983	70-64	5th	Jim Riggleman
1984	71-73	7th	Jim Riggleman
1985	78-62	3rd	Dave Bialas	Lost in 1st round
1986	88-48	1st	Dave Bialas (50-24) / Marty Mason (2-0) / Mike Jorgensen (36-24)	League Champs	Marty Mason
1987	85-57	2nd	Dave Bialas	Lost in 1st round	Marty Mason
1988	68-68	10th	Dave Bialas
1989	75-64	5th (t)	Dave Bialas	Lost in 1st round	Marty Mason
1990	60-74	10th	Joe Pettini		Jay North
1991	47-84	13th	Dave Bialas		Jay North
1992	57-76	11th	Dave Bialas		John Stuper
1993	75-58	4th	Terry Kennedy		Rich Folkers
1994	74-65	5th	Mike Ramsey		Rich Folkers
1995	64-67	8th	Chris Maloney		Rich Folkers
1996	75-63	4th	Chris Maloney		Rich Folkers

Further Reading

• Sam Zygner: "Racing the Dawn: The 29-Inning Minor League Marathon", The Baseball Record Journal, SABR, Volume 41, Number 2 (Fall 2012), pp. 37-44.