Why Dustin May won’t wear 85 in St Louis

Last week, the St. Louis Cardinals acquired right-handed pitcher Dustin May from the Boston Red Sox. While in Beantown, May donned the No.85 on the mound. However, he will not have the opportunity to wear that number in St. Louis.

The reason? That number is already retired. During an introductory press conference, May learned of the decision and said he would decide on a new number by spring, according to Jeff Jones of Belleville News. At the same time, the No. 58 is already taken by the likes of reliever Chris Roycroft, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis-Post Dispatch.

In 1984, the No. 85 was retired by the Cardinals to honor the legendary owner, August “Gussie” Busch Jr. He was instrumental in helping to resurrect the franchise and was honored on his 85th birthday.

Last year, May transitioned from the LA Dodgers to the Red Sox. Altogether, he finished with a 7-11 record, 4.97 ERA, and 123 strikeouts.

At one point, Red Sox fans were disappointed with the May trade. In addition to Bush, the other St. Louis legends with their numbers retired include Bob Gibson (45), Stan Musial (6), Ozzie Smith (1), Dizzy Dean (17), and Lou Brock (20), to name a few.

The Cardinals wouldn’t be who they are without Gussie Busch

In 1953, the Cardinals were on the brink of leaving St. Louis. That is when Gussie was the head of the brewery, Anheuser-Busch swooped in and essentially saved the day.

From there, he reinvested in the franchise. They built a strong farm system and made some innovative moves. One of which was signing 1B Tom Alston as the first Black player for St. Louis.

Additionally, he rebuilt the old Sportsman’s Park, which was later renamed Busch Stadium. Eventually, the Cardinals won six NL pennants and three World Series titles (1964, 1967, 1982) under Busch ownership.

Since then, the Cardinals become one of the most marketable, profitable, and endurable franchises in baseball history.