Busch Stadium

The St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum, located in Busch Stadium, the home of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, honors professional, semiprofessional, and amateur baseball players. The museum displays pictures and memorabilia from the history of baseball in St. Louis. Among the African American players depicted in the exhibits are Bob Gibson (1935-) and Lou Brock (1939-), who had outstanding careers with the Cardinals, and Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (1906-82), who played for the St. Louis Browns. Another exhibit highlights the history of the Negro Baseball League and its St. Louis team, the Giants, later known as the Stars. The
Negro National League career of James "Cool Papa" Bell (1903-91) is also featured.
Busch Stadium, where the museum is housed, was once the arena of Curt Flood (1938-97), an outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Flood, with popular support among players, sued Major League Baseball in 1970 to become a free agent. This was prohibited by the reserve clause, which was a part of the baseball players' contract. Flood lost the case in the Supreme Court on a technicality, but it ushered in a new financial era for professional ballplayers. Flood was named to the All-Star squad three times and played in three World Series for the Cardinals. He batted over .300 six times in his career and earned seven consecutive Gold Awards.