The Cards are playing the Red Sox tonight, so it was appropriate.
Wow, how cool to see the Cardinals celebrate the 1967 World Series champions. Red Schoendienst, Dick Hughes, Larry Jaster, Ray Washburn, Bob Gibson, Ted Savage, Mike Shannon, Bobby Tolan, Steve Carlton, Ed Spiezio, Orlando Cepeda, Julian Javier, Tim McCarver, and Lou Brock were all there. The hardest part for these old men was getting out of the convertibles onto the field. Brock is crippled (and I believe blinded) by diabetes, so he came in a golf cart. When the cart was pulled up to home plate, Schoendiest got into the cart with Lou and the team joined them for pictures. First pitch was Gibson to McCarver.
I remember the lineup well: Brock, Flood, Maris, Cepeda, McCarver, Javier, Shannon, Maxvill and Gibson. They showed it pre-game and I had remembered it correctly. At one time I had an LP with highlights from the 67 season. The broadcasters that year were Harry Caray and Jack Buck. That was before Harry became a cartoon and when he was a serious broadcaster.
I bet I listened to over 50% of the games that year. Just looking at those names - Wow. Those were baseball players. We talked about Mr. Gibson quite a bit in another thread. all he did was win 3 games in that serries.
A real treat to hear Big Bob chewing the fat with Danny Mac and Tim McCarver in the booth for an Inning and a half last night. He was asked to compare the 64, 67 and 68 Cardinal teams. He said the 67 and 68 teams were essentially the same team. The 67 Cards made fewer mistakes. In fact they made almost no mistakes and in his opinion, were the best team he had ever seen. The 67 Cards won the National League by 10 1/2 games and were 30 games over .500. I cut my teeth on Harry and Jack too. The one thing Harry would do that would drive me crazy however, was say that someone was visiting the ball park from Piney Bluff Arkansas. Nothing could beat his celebrating of the Cardinals winning the pennant though.
They should have taken the cart to first base, gunned it down the line to second base, then slammed on the brakes to kick up some base path dirt, with an umpire at the side signalling “safe”!
I’m not sure if Brock is blind or not but I think I read where he had a foot removed because of the diabetes. I remember being a kid in 1974 having a pair of Lou Brock sneakers with the number 118 on the back.
It was indeed fun listening to Gibson and McCarver in the booth last night. I still wouldn’t want to tangle with Gibson even if he is in his late 70’s. One tough hombre.
I used to go with my father on his night job. Every night, we’d listen to the Cardinals on the radio (Mystery Theater in the off-season). I grew up loving Lou Brock and Bob Gibson. My first chance to play organized ball, I wanted to play left field like Brock without the speed and without the ability. I hated it when Rickey Henderson broke his SB record. I sure thought Brock set it with a lot more class than Henderson did. It saddens me that a man with his skills lost a limb to diabetes. What a great time to be a Cardinal fan as were the 80s with Whitey Ball.
I was at the game, and seeing all those guys was wonderful! Based on seeing Brock, he didn’t seem blind to me. We had seats on the 9th row and he looked right at me when I waved to him, and he waved back.
Lou was one of my favorites. The night he broke the SB record (was it in San Deigo?), I ordered a poster of him sliding in and got his autograph on it.
Henderson is not fit to carry Lou’s jock. Lou was a total baseball player with class.