Major League diamond — although Dyer was not implicated in the rumor. More damaging, for the next decade, the Cardinals would lag behind most of the other NL clubs in signing African-American players. Overall, the Cardinals reverted to bridesmaid status, finishing second from 1947–1949, although they trailed the Dodgers by only one game in . With the team's legendary farm system struggling without its founder — Branch Rickey, the very man who brought Robinson to Brooklyn — the Cardinals’ quarter-century of baseball dominance was coming to an end. In 1950, they fell to fifth and Dyer stepped down as manager at the end of the season. During his five years as St. Louis manager, the Cardinals won 446 games and lost 325 for a .578 winning percentage. Later life Dyer preferred to manage his thriving Houston-area businesses rather than seek another managing job in baseball. He suffered a stroke in January 1963, and died in Houston in April of the following year at the age of 64. References External links Eddie Dyer – Baseballbiography.com 1899 births 1964 deaths Austin Kangaroos football coaches Baseball managers Baseball players from Louisiana Elmira Red Wings players Greensboro Patriots players Houston Buffaloes managers Houston Buffaloes players Minor league baseball executives Major League Baseball farm directors Major League Baseball pitchers People from Morgan City, Louisiana Rice Owls baseball players Rice Owls football players Rice Owls men's track and field athletes Rochester Red Wings managers St. Louis Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals managers Scottdale Scotties players Springfield Cardinals players Springfield Red Wings players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Topeka Jayhawks players Wichita Falls Spudders players Dy