(Image from St. Louis Cardinals website http://www.stlouiscardinals.com/)Today's forecast for St. Peters, MO: Snow showers, high 41 degrees. Snow on opening day for the St. Louis Cardinals? That's just not right!
Hey, baseball fans! It's hard to believe 2009 opening day is already here. This morning the kiddos were excited because they got to wear Cardinal red to school rather than their school uniforms--of course they're always excited when they get to wear anything other than their school uniforms. The St. Louis Cardinals are slated to play the Pittsburg Pirates later this afternoon. With today's forecast calling for snow showers, I wonder if they will get to play.
This crazy weather reminds me of another St. Louis Cardinals' game I attended--the 1967 All Star Game at the then new Busch Stadium. The weather on that day in July was at the other extreme. Hot and humid and over 100 degrees.
When asked what he thought about the Cardinals' new stadium, Casey Stengel remarked, "It holds heat well." Or something to that effect. It was definitely a scorcher!
The 1967 All Star Game game ranks third in my all-time favorite Cardinal memories.
My second favorite Cardinal memory was in July, 1997. I had entered Walt's name in a Father's Day contest at a local department store. His name was picked as Grand Prize Winner! He got to throw out the first pitch. He won four tickets for seats in the boxes where they serve you food and drink. In addition to Walt and me, Julie and Mikey went with us. Willie McGee hit a homer and won the game for the Cardinals.
My most treasured Cardinal memory is the seventh game of the 1964 World Series, when the Cardinals played the New York Yankees.
Mom and Dad let my older sister Kathleen and me skip school. I tagged along with Kathleen and her friends to camp outside Sportsman Park--the old, old stadium on Grand and Dodier. We bought $2 bleacher tickets, and a friend of Kathleen's paid us each $5 to buy an extra ticket. With $5 to spend, we got to buy lunch at the ballpark. That game was one I will always remember! Bob Gibson pitched; Tim McCarver caught, and the Cardinals won the game. I was one of the crazy people who climbed down the bleacher wall to run out onto the field and celebrate. Kathleen stood in the bleachers holding our blankets yelling, "Donna, don't do that you'll get hurt!" But I didn't.
So, anyone else have a favorite baseball memories to share? It doesn't even have to be a Cardinal memory.
Seems like I grew up listening to Cardinals baseball and especially loved the 1967 team--Cha Cha Cepeda, Curt Flood, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson (to name a few) were my heroes. However, my ultimate baseball "crush" was on Tim McCarver. Every fan letter I wrote to him received a gracious reply, including an autographed photo. Alas, the treasured memento has disappeared over the years, but the exciting memory remains.
ReplyDeleteGo Cards!
I've been a Cardinal fan forever, too. I especially remember the 1967 and 1968 years. I went to an all girl catholic high school at that time, and one of my teachers was a darling little nun who loved the Cardinals. She brought a transister radio to our class every game day when the Playoffs or World Series was going on, and we listened to the games instead of having class. I thought she was the coolest nun in the world! Another big memory is from 1996 when I won Cardinal tickets from JC Corcoran on K-Hits radio. My son, Mark, was 9 years old then and both of us were on Channel 4 News in St.Louis!
ReplyDeleteHi Pat,
ReplyDeleteTim McCarver was (still is) a cutie. Too bad you can't find your memoriabilia. Another Cardinal who was young and cute in the 60s was Mike Shannon.
Donna
Hi Becky,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your memories. How cool that you got to be on the news! Sounds like a great memory for your son, too.
Regarding nuns: I went to an all girs' Catholic high school, too. Our nuns were very forgiving to those os us who skipped school to go to the World Series in 1964.
Donna