Early in franchise history, the St. Louis Cardinals were known for trading players before they started to decline. But occasionally they gave up on a young star before they ascended to superstardom. That was the case WAY back in December of 1903, when the Cardinals traded eventual Hall-of-Fame legend Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown to (of all teams) the Chicago Cubs.
Brown played for the big-league squad for only one season before the move. In his rookie year, at age 26, Brown led the Cardinals with a 2.60 ERA over 201 innings. The team finished a paltry 43-94 overall for a last-place finish in the National League.