Only a handful of franchises can boast a longer, more colorful story than the St. Louis Cardinals. Now, fans and collectors will get a chance to soak up some outstanding baseball history thanks to the debut of the new Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum website.
The site, which just launched this week, showcases the team’s extensive collection of baseball memorabilia, while encouraging fans to explore and learn more about the rich 121-year history of the defending World Series champions.
The site includes hundreds of historical photographs, several fresh virtual exhibits and dozens of informative videos that go inside the collection and highlight the biographies of some of the greatest Cardinals in team history. It also has interactive elements designed to encourage fan input and engage visitors.
“We wanted to create a place to showcase our vast museum collection, while giving fans a chance to learn more about the rich history of the Cardinals,” said Bill DeWitt III, President of the Cardinals, a serious memorabilia collector himself who has been actively bidding in major auctions to add pieces to the museum’s physical collection.
The Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum collection is the largest team-held collection in baseball and is second only to National Baseball Hall of Fame in terms of size with over 15,000 memorabilia items and over 80,000 archival photographs. While the museum has been closed since 2008, artifacts are currently featured throughout Busch Stadium, including in the team’s front office, Cardinals Team Store and Cardinals Club, as well as part of periodic special exhibits within the community.
“This website is a great way for us to further the educational mission of the museum, while making our collection available to fans all over the world in a free and fun format,” said Vicki Bryant, Vice President of Event Services and Merchandising. “Our museum staff and Major League Baseball did a fantastic job with the designing the web site to bring the rich history of the Cardinals alive.”
The virtual museum features several unique exhibits such as the story of the Cardinals 11 World Championships, Stan “The Man” Musial and a look at how the Cardinals got their name. The website also includes a “Question from the Fans” section where fans are encouraged to give their personal account of games, eras or players. This interactive ability will allow the team to gather and share individual experiences as they continue to tell the story of the organization.
Other sections of the site include, “Cardinalographies,” an in-depth look at an era in Cardinals history or biography of a Cardinals great; “Inside the Collection,” a unique look at individual items from a special Cardinals moment; and the Cardinals Museum “Theme of the Week,” where each week the museum will offer a topic that will be discussed at length. The site is designed to be updated often as new chapters in team history are written each season.
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St. Louis Cardinals’ Museum Website Showcases Team’s History