March 1, 1965: Willie Montañez was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cardinals.[4]
Regular season
The mid-1960s saw changes both on the field and off – all while retaining the core of a remarkable successful franchise and its renewed popularity in St. Louis. Schoendienst's replacement of Keane had been preceded a few weeks earlier by general manager Bing Devine's firing, the redemption of the final pennant drive having come too late to assuage owner August Busch's dwindling patience. Devine was replaced by Bob Howsam, who made a number of moves to shore up a talented but aging team which struggled through the 1965 campaign, finishing mired in 7th place at 80–81. A capable GM if not Devine's equal, Howsam made some moves that worked – and some that did not. Howsam traded aging veterans Bill White, Dick Groat, and utility catcher Bob Uecker to Philadelphia in return for Pat Corrales, Art Mahaffey, and Alex Johnson. Popular third baseman Ken Boyer was dispatched to the Mets in exchange for pitcher Al Jackson. Finally, pitcher Ray Sadecki was traded to the Giants for first baseman Orlando Cepeda in 1966. The latter moves worked better than the former, but the Cardinals still finished in 6th place in 1966, resulting in Howsam's replacement by none other than Cardinals legend Stan Musial. Musial's most notable move was to acquire Yankees' star Roger Maris.
^Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007
