Cardwell began playing in the major leagues when he made his debut for the Phillies in 1957. He struggled during his three seasons with the team, winning 16 games while losing 24 as a spot starter.
Chicago Cubs (no-hitter)
Cardwell was traded to the Cubs on May 13, 1960, for Tony Taylor. Two days later, he no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals 4–0 in the second game of a doubleheader at Wrigley Field—the first no-hitter ever thrown by a pitcher in his first start with a new team. The lone baserunner for the Cardinals was by a walk from Cardwell to Alex Grammas with one out in the first inning; Cardwell then retired the next 26 batters. Two ninth-inning catches enabled Cardwell to secure the no-hitter: the first catch by Cubs right fielderGeorge Altman on a Carl Sawatskiline drive for the first out of the inning, and the second catch by Cubs left fielder Walt "Moose" Moryn on Joe Cunningham's sinking line drive to end the game, Moryn catching the ball just inches off the ground. Cardwell finished the season 9–16 and the Cubs 60–94 despite his no-hitter. Cardwell also showed his hitting ability in 1960, getting 16 hits including five home runs in 77 at bats for a.208 batting average. Cardwell's best major league season was for the Cubs in 1961, winning a career-high 15 games with a career-high 156 strikeouts.
St. Louis Cardinals
Cardwell slumped to 7–16 in 1962. On October 12, he was traded with George Altman to the St. Louis Cardinals. However, his stay in St. Louis ended before he even pitched a game for the St. Louis team. A month later, the Cardinals traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a deal that sent former National League MVPDick Groat to St. Louis.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Cardwell won 13 games for the Pirates in 1963 while posting a career-best 3.07 earned run average. He was sidelined most of the 1964 season with shoulder trouble. In the 1965 season, he rebounded to win 13 more games. In December 1966, he was traded with Pirates outfielder Don Bosch to the New York Mets for pitcher Dennis Ribant and utilityman Gary Kolb.
New York Mets
Pitching mostly as a spot starter, Cardwell went 12–22 in his first two seasons with the Mets. In the 1969 season, he went 8–10 in a rotation with pitchers Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Nolan Ryan and Gary Gentry, helping them win the World Series. In late July of that year, he had a 3–9 record, then won five straight, including a 1–0 shutout in the second game of a September 12 doubleheader against the Pirates. This victory, the ninth of a ten-game winning streak for the Mets, came two days after the Mets had taken over first place for good in the National League East by leapfrogging past the Chicago Cubs, who had been in first place for much of the season, only to stumble late in the season.
Cardwell was sold to the Atlanta Braves in July 1970, where he ended his major league career. In his 14 major league seasons, he won 102 games while losing 138 games with 1,211 strikeouts in 2,122 innings pitched. Although only a career.135 hitter, Cardwell hit 15 home runs with 53 RBI.
