Morris headlines 2024 Cardinals Hall of Fame class

ST. LOUIS -- Matt Morris, a 101-game winner during his time pitching for the Cardinals, pitching coach Dave Duncan and three-time champion and third baseman Whitey Kurowski have been elected for induction into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.

Morris, Duncan and Kurowski make up the 11th induction class for the Cardinals Hall of Fame since its inaugural class in 2014. An enshrinement ceremony will be held at Ballpark Village adjacent to Busch Stadium III during the Cardinals Hall of Fame Weekend, presented by Edward Jones, on Sept. 7.

Morris, who is tied for 11th in franchise history in pitching wins, emerged as the winner from a ballot that included Cardinals legends Steve Carlton, George Hendrick and Edgar Renteria.

Morris was chosen by the fan vote over an eight-week voting period. Kurowski, a World Series winner with the Cardinals in 1942, 1944 and 1946, was picked by the Cardinals’ Red Ribbon Committee, a group of 13 St. Louis baseball experts via a secret ballot process.

Kurowski, the club’s starting third baseman during their 1940s dynasty, never played on a team that finished lower than second place. A three-time World Series champion, Kurowski played the fourth-most games in franchise history at the hot corner and was named a National League All-Star in five consecutive seasons from 1943-47.

Duncan, the pitching coach on Cards teams that won the World Series in 2006 and ’11, was an organizational selection looking to honor an important figure in St. Louis baseball history.

“We take great pride in the selection process we use for electing new members of the Cardinals Hall of Fame,” Cardinals Chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said. “I’d like to thank our fans as well as the Red Ribbon Committee who cast their votes for this year’s induction class. Congratulations to Matt Morris, Dave Duncan, and the late Whitey Kurowski on this tremendous honor. We look forward to celebrating the achievements of these players during our induction ceremony in September.”

Morris, a former first-round pick by the Cardinals and a two-time All-Star, won 11 or more games in six different seasons with St. Louis. During his eight seasons with the Cards, Morris compiled a .620 winning percentage, which ranks fourth in franchise history among pitchers with at least 1,000 innings pitched. The right-hander’s best season came in 2001, when he went 22-8, earned the first of back-to-back All-Star Game selections and finished third in NL Cy Young Award voting.

Working alongside Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa, Duncan was the Cardinals’ pitching coach for 16 seasons, and the pitching staff ranked in the top half in the NL in ERA during 12 seasons. He mentored four Cardinals 20-game winners, including 2005 NL Cy Young Award recipient Chris Carpenter. The Cardinals made the playoffs nine times with Duncan on staff.

Kurowski was the starting third baseman during the winningest stretches of baseball in Cardinals history, playing for the 1942, 1944 and 1946 World Series champions. He clinched the 1942 World Series with a ninth-inning home run in the decisive Game 5 against the Yankees. Kurowski was selected to the NL All-Star team five straight seasons from 1943-47.