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Enos Slaughter climbed through the ranks of the Cardinal farm system in the 1930’s. He was making $400 a month when he arrived in St. Louis in 1938, but when the Cubs had offered $1,000 for him, he persuaded the Cardinals to give him a $200 raise. Slaughter went on to lead the National League with 52 doubles in 1939, and 188 hits in 1942. His natural speed allowed for a greater chance to spread those doubles into triples, and leading the National League in triples in 1942 and 1949. He also won the RBI title in 1946 with 130. Slaughter was right-handed with an accurate throwing arm from the outfield position. He was a left-handed batter who hit for .300 or better ten times in his illustrious career. In the 1942 World Championship for the Cardinals, Slaughter had the highest batting average with a .318. Slaughter is best known for scoring from first base in the 1946 series. He was on first base in a deciding game in the series. Harry Walker hit the ball to the outfield and Boston’s shortstop, Johnny Pesky, was hesitant on the relay throw to the plate where Slaughter scored. In May of 1947, Slaughter (a North Carolina tobacco farmer) and fellow Southerner Terry Moore, tried to persuade their Cardinal teammates to go on strike in protest of Jackie Robinson’s entrance to Major League Baseball. Even though his plans for the strike never happened, Slaughter expressed his feelings later that August. Jackie Robinson was playing first base for the Dodgers when Slaughter hit a short, infield grounder and was thrown out by several steps at first base. While Robinson was stretched out to make the catch, Slaughter spiked him in the leg. It was the sign of the times. Slaughter also played with the New York Yankees, Kansas City A’s, and Milwaukee Braves throughout the 1950s. He ended his career with 2,383 hits and 10 All-Star game appearances. He also coached college baseball for Duke University from 1971-1977. He was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1985. Slaughter died on August 12, 2002 in Durham, North Carolina, at the age of 86. After Slaughter’s funeral, fellow friend and teammate, Stan Musial, had this to say: "One of Enos' favorite stories to tell was how he initiated me into the big leagues. We had to get from the park to the train station and we needed to catch a cab in the pouring rain. For some reason, the hood on the cab wouldn't shut and everybody started debating what to do. Finally Enos shouted, 'Throw the rookie on the hood and let's get out of here.' So that's exactly what we did. I had to ride on the hood of the car in the pouring rain all the way to the train station. I'm not sure if I ever completely dried off from that trip. Enos was more than just a teammate, he was one of my best friends. If you ever wanted to know what it meant to be a Cardinal, all you had to do was look at "Country" Slaughter. He was a real Cardinal."
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