Hafey cycles through the Phillies
According to the Chinese zodiac, 1930 was the Year of the Horse. On the diamond, however, it was aptly titled the Year of the Hitter.
The start of the decade ushered in power hitting across the American, National and Negro National Leagues as owners employed a livelier ball to boost offense. The big league batting average sat at a lofty .296, buoyed by an NL mark of .303 that has yet to be topped in the Modern Era. Both the Cardinals and Yankees passed the 1,000-run mark for the first time, a figure that has been matched only five times since. Hall of Famer Hack Wilson set a major league single-season record with his 191 RBI for the Cubs, and fellow Hall of Famer Bill Terry became the last NL player to hit .400, playing for the New York Giants.
And while hitters authored history, Chick Hafey penned an entry of his own. Entering his Cardinals’ Aug. 21, 1930, matchup against the Phillies, the left fielder was batting .342 on the season with 85 runs scored, 83 RBI and a slugging percentage of .674. He sat at 35, 10 and 22 for doubles, triples and home runs, respectively – totals he’d add to that afternoon by hitting for the cycle at Sportsman’s Park.
Hafey quickly made his presence known at the plate. Coming to bat in a 1-0 ballgame in the bottom of the first, Hafey smashed a pitch from the Phillies’ Claude Willoughby to left-center for a three-run homer, putting St. Louis up 4-0 and bumping his home run count to 23.
By the time Hafey returned to the plate in the bottom of the second, the Cards had put seven runs between themselves and the Phils – and Hafey was set on keeping the offensive barrage rolling. With second baseman Frankie Frisch on third, Hafey laced an RBI triple past the Phillies’ shortstop to add one for St. Louis.
Following a Jim Bottomley single in the bottom of the fourth, Hafey notched his third hit of the day in his next at-bat with an infield single.
While he would fly out to right field in the bottom of the fifth, Hafey would round out his day at the plate in the seventh. Facing righty Buz Phillips, Hafey found left field once again with an RBI double that capped just the third ever cycle in Cardinals’ history – and the third and final cycle to be hit during the 1930 season. The Cards would also turn two in the top of the seventh to record their fifth double play of the game, just one shy of the then-NL record.
Producing four of the Cardinals’ 19 hits on the day, Hafey helped St. Louis open its series with a decisive 16-6 victory. His bat would carry the club to the 1930 NL pennant and six World Series games, where they finished runner-up to the Philadelphia Athletics.
The Phillies, on the other hand, would famously finish the season with a 6.71 team earned run average and in last place in the National League.
Hafey was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971.
Abbey Dempsey was the 2026 communications intern in the Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Leadership Development
