ST. LOUIS – Before he was “the cream of the crop” and executing his high-flying elbow drop from the top rope in the WWF and WCW, “Macho Man” Randy Savage was once a part of the St. Louis Cardinals’ minor league baseball system.

Randy Poffo, better known as his wrestling moniker “Macho Man” Randy Savage, was a switch-hitter and outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds minor league teams from 1971 to 1974 before transitioning to a full-time wrestler.

Poffo had early connections to the wrestling business as his dad, Angelo, was an accomplished pro wrestler in his own right but decided to pursue a baseball career after earning All-State honors at Downers Grove High School in Illinois.

Fresh out of high school, Poffo’s brief professional baseball career began in 1971 when the Cardinals signed the 18-year-old to their rookie-level Gulf Coast League (GCL) affiliate team after working out at a tryout camp. During his time on the team, former Cardinals Player Development Director Lee Thomas described Poffo as a “quiet guy” who kept to himself.

In his first year in the GCL in 1971, Poffo appeared in 35 games, going 18-for-63 (.286 batting average) with a total of two home runs, according to Baseball Reference. Poffo would return to the Cardinals’ GCL team in 1972, appearing in 62 games with a batting average of .274 with a total of 3 home runs.

In his third season with the team in 1973, Poffo had a batting average of .344 with no home runs across 25 games before the Cardinals moved him up to their Western Carolinas League team in Orangeburg, SC, later that summer. During his time in the Western Carolinas League, Poffo hit two home runs but struggled with a batting average of .250 across 46 games.

According to Minor League Baseball League, Poffo began to explore the wrestling industry in a part-time role during the offseason after the 1973 baseball season, taking on the character, ‘The Spider Friend.’ Poffo would return to baseball for one last season in 1974 as a member of the Tampa Tarpons, where he appeared in 131 games with a batting average of .232 and a total of 9 home runs before committing to wrestling full-time, beginning the legend of Macho Man Randy Savage.

Although the Cardinals weren’t able to gain a legend from Poffo during his time on the diamond, the Cardinals are able to acknowledge that they contributed to the upbringing story for one of the biggest icons in wrestling history, Macho Man Randy Savage.