Chris Von der Ahe founded the St. Louis Brown Stockings in 1881 as a way to boost sales at his nearby pub. The following year they joined the American Association, where they won a number of championships. After the AA folded in 1891, the Browns joined the more stable National League. In 1899 the team was sold to Frank and Stanley Robison, who changed the team name to the Perfectos and the uniforms from brown to red. The following year, the team name Cardinals, for the color of their new uniforms, arrived and stayed.

In 1917, the Cardinals hired Branch Rickey away from their cross-town American League rivals, the unoriginally named St. Louis Browns, to become the team president. Rickey, looking for ways to improve the team, developed contracts with a number of minor league teams who would supply Rickey with talented players in exchange for financial support. This gave the Cardinals a large advantage over the other major league teams, who had to buy players from minor league teams and had no place to train younger players. The "farm system," as it was eventually called, was soon in use by all major league teams.

In 1934, a St. Louis team nicknamed the "Gashouse Gang" for their rough play won the World Series in seven games over the Detroit Tigers. In the seventh Joe "Ducky" Medwick (who would become the last National League player to win the Triple Crown three years later) had to be removed from the game after being showered with vegetables and debris by irate Detroit fans.

In 1944, the Cardinals played the Browns in the only all St. Louis World Series. Two years later, the Cardinals took won the first National League playoff, as they tied with the Brooklyn Dodgers for the pennant.

After the 1969 season, the Cardinals traded a veteran outfielder, Curt Flood, to the Philadelphia Philles. He sued Major League Baseball, claiming he could not be sold or traded against his wishes. Although he lost his suit, and only played 18 more games in the majors, his case led the way to the breakup of the longstanding reserve clause and the beginning of free agency.

In 1998, Mark McGwire, a year after being traded to the Cardinals from the Oakland A's, broke the New York Yankees' 78-year lock on the single season home run record by hitting 70, narrowly edging out Sammy Sosa. It is often claimed that this dramatic record chase was responsible for bringing national attention back to baseball after the 1994 strike that cancelled that year's World Series.

World Series Championships:
1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982

Retired Numbers:
1 - Ozzie Smith
2 - Red Schoendienst
6 - Stan Musial
9 - Enos Slaughter
14 - Ken Boyer
17 - Dizzy Dean
20 - Lou Brock
45 - Bob Gibson
85 - August "Gussie" Busch (Owner)

Other notable players and managers:
Rogers Hornsby, Chick Hafey, Frankie Frisch, Joe Medwick, Joe Torre, Vince Coleman, Whitey Herzog, Tony LaRussa

Ballparks:
Robison Field 1893-1920
Sportsman's Park 1920-1966
Busch Stadium 1966-present