April 9, 1953 Sportsman's Park sold!

[Aa3rt]

It was 55 years ago today (April 9th, 1953), that the perennially cash-strapped Bill Veeck, with the Browns playing their last season in St. Louis, sold Sportsman's Park to Anheuser-Busch for $800,000.

Anheuser-Busch had purchased the St. Louis Cardinals less than 2 months previously. Plans to rename the park Budweiser Stadium meet with resistance from baseball commissioner Ford Frick, who opposes associating baseball and beer in such a blantant fashion. The A-B interests then compromise by renaming the park "Busch Stadium".

More information here: Sportsman's Park history

[Bill_McCurdy]

Around the same time in 1953 that August Busch bought and renamed venerable Sportsman's Park in his own honor, he did the same thing to Buffalo (Buff) Stadium in Houston. The two "new" Busch Stadiums shared this much in common, aside from their similar architectural construction and common ownership by the Cardinals, their deepest rooted everyday St. Louis and Houston fans never bought into the identity theft.

Sportsman's Park. Buff Stadium. May you each long live in our hearts by your true names.

[rat618]

I grew up watching the Buffs in the 50's and couldn't agree more.

[StanTheMan]

Don't forget the Augie Busch released a new beer in 1955, BUSCH Beer, after he named the park Busch Stadium.... usurping the MLB opposition to a park named after Beer.

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