The 1982 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Milwaukee Brewers, with the Cardinals winning in seven games.

The Cardinals won the National League East division by three games over the Philadelphia Phillies, then defeated the Atlanta Braves, three games to none, in the National League Championship Series. The Brewers won the American League East division by one game over the Baltimore Orioles, then defeated the California Angels, three games to two, in the American League Championship Series. The 1982 World Series Championship represented the last time (until the Giants won in 2010 and the Cardinals in 2011 respectively) that the National League won back-to-back World Series; they had, in fact, won four straight, starting in 1979.

Though the teams had never met, the cities had an existing commercial rivalry in the beer market, as St. Louis is the home of Anheuser Busch while Milwaukee is the home of Miller Brewing. This led to a few minor references to the Series being nicknamed the "Suds Series."

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB), played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy. As the series is played in October, Major League Baseball also refers to it as the "Fall Classic". The most recent World Series was won by the St. Louis Cardinals, who defeated the Texas Rangers in 7 games in 2011.

The New York Yankees of the American League have played in 40 World Series and won 27, and the Oakland/Philadelphia Athletics have played in 14 and won 9. In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals have played in 18 and won 11, while the San Francisco/New York Giants and Los Angeles/Brooklyn Dodgers have both appeared in 18 and won 6.

Until the formation of the American Association in 1882 as a second major league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (1871–75) and then the National League (founded 1876) represented the top level of organized baseball in the United States. All championships went to whoever had the best record at the end of the season, without a postseason series being played. Starting in 1884 and going through 1890, the National League and the American Association faced each other in a series of games at the end of the season to determine an overall champion. These matchups were disorganized in comparison to the modern Series: games played ranged from as few as three in 1884 (Providence defeated New York 3 games to zero), to a high of 15 in 1887 (Detroit beat St. Louis 10 games to 5), and both the 1885 and 1890 Series ended in ties, each team having won three games with one tie game.

Peter Dennis Vuckovich (vook-koh-vich) (born October 27, 1952 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is a retired American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who came across as an intimidating presence on the mound with his 6'4" (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) frame and Fu Manchu moustache. Vuckovich was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 1974. He batted and threw right-handed.

Vuckovich graduated from Conemaugh Valley High School and went on to Clarion University to play baseball. Nearly thirty years, to the day, after the White Sox drafted Vuckovich they drafted his son, Peter Vuckovich, Jr., who also attended both Conemaugh Valley High School and Clarion University, in the 48th round of the 2004 amateur draft.

Vuckovich is a member of the Clarion University Sports Hall of Fame. Vuckovich is also a member of both the Western PA Sports Hall of Fame and the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

Vuckovich is of Serbian background.

Vuckovich developed a reputation for bizarre, hyper-competitive behavior during his twelve season career. He would fidget, twitch, pace, and convulse while on the mound. He was known to cross his eyes and stick his tongue out at batters. He would spit in his glove, scream at umpires while in the stretch, and sometimes step to the back of the mound and dry heave. His colorful personality made him a fan favorite.^{[citation needed]}

Duane "Dewey" Tomko (born December 31, 1946 in Glassport, Pennsylvania) is an American former kindergarten teacher turned professional poker player, based in Winter Haven, Florida.

Tomko is chiefly noted as the runner-up in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 no limit Texas hold'em main event in both 1982 (to Jack Straus) and 2001 (to Carlos Mortensen.) Besides his success in the main event, Tomko has won three WSOP bracelets, all in different variations of poker, in addition to various other tournament wins throughout his career.

Tomko was born and raised in Glassport, PA., a suburb of Pittsburgh. He began playing poker profitably as a 16-year-old in Pittsburgh pool halls which allowed him to finance his education.

He worked as a kindergarten teacher for several years, but often played poker through the night. After Tomko realised that poker was more profitable than his job, he invested a sum of his winnings into businesses while choosing to play poker full-time and leaving his full time job.

Thomas Michael Shannon (born July 15, 1939) is an American-born former Major League Baseball player and current radio sportscaster.

Shannon is a radio broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was raised in St. Louis, Missouri and played with the Cardinals during some of the team's most successful years. Additionally, he is the proprietor of Mike Shannon's Steaks and Seafood in downtown St. Louis.

Shannon was born and raised in south St. Louis. He attended grade school at Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic School, and graduated high school from Christian Brothers College High School in 1957. He attended the University of Missouri before leaving to begin his professional baseball career. Shannon has commented that if football players were paid better during his era, he probably would have stayed at Missouri, and sought a professional football career. He believed himself a better football player, and his former coach, Frank Broyles, commented that had he stayed in school, Shannon might have won the Heisman Trophy.