It is no secret that we are officially in the home stretch of the regular season.  Yet, there is no bad time to honor the rich history of the Negro Leagues. The St. Louis Cardinals did just that recently as they opened up their road trip against the Pittsburgh Pirates on a night known as Negro League Legacy Night.

Instead of wearing their traditional road St. Louis Cardinals jersey, the Cardinals wore the jersey of their hometown's former Negro League baseball team the St. Louis Stars.  

This was the 7th time that the St. Louis Cardinals have honored the St. Louis Stars in such a fashion.  The St. Louis Cardinals last honored the St. Louis Stars in 2020 during a series against the Kansas City Royals.

The St. Louis Stars were a Negro League that operated from 1906-1931.  Originally, the franchise operated as an independent entity from 1906-1919 before becoming a Negro League team officially in 1920.  

Many may not know that the franchise was also known as the "St. Louis Giants" for the fifteen years of its franchise existence before changing its name to the St. Louis Stars in 1922. Their home park used to be known as Stars Park. It was one of the only ballparks built exclusively for a Negro League ball club. Today, this ballpark is the home of Harris-Stowe University's baseball team.  Given that the university is an HBCU, it is quite fitting.

Great players such as Cool Papa Bell and Mule Settles have played for this franchise.  Overall, the St. Louis Stars have 5 former players that are currently inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and won 3 NNL Championships (1928,1930,1931).

The Cardinals was not the only team honoring a Negro League team by sporting a throwback uniform. The Pittsburgh Pirates also honored the Pittsburgh Crawfords.

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