No. 1964.06.15 · Expansion Era
Brock for Broglio
The Cubs traded Lou Brock to the Cardinals for Ernie Broglio in a six-player deal. Brock finished with 3,023 hits. Broglio won seven games in Chicago.
On June 15, 1964, the Cubs sent Lou Brock, Jack Spring, and Paul Toth to St. Louis for Ernie Broglio, Bobby Shantz, and Doug Clemens. Broglio was 28 and had won 18 games the year before. Brock was a young outfielder hitting .251, striking out too often for a man at the top of a lineup. On that day the deal had a logic.
It did not survive the summer. Brock hit .348 the rest of the way and the Cardinals won the pennant and the World Series. Broglio went 7–19 as a Cub and was out of the majors after 1966. He later said his elbow was already damaged when the trade was made, and that he had been taking cortisone. Brock retired with 3,023 hits and 938 stolen bases.
The trade is the shorthand for a deal that cannot be walked back. It is also a reminder that the famous side of it was not obvious in the transaction wire. Broglio was the established pitcher. The elbow was the fact the Cubs did not price in.
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