BUSCH STADIUM
ST LOUIS PAST Part Nine
I have so many memories of forty years of St Louis sports history with Busch stadium. There is no way I could give them a ranking but I will share a few memories with you.
*** My two daughters terri and sherri saw there first games at Busch.
*** With my daughters we saw Bob Gibson get to 2,999 strike outs and Lou Brock steal base number 105 to break Maury Wills record.
*** My son Edward saw his first game at Busch and about thirty years later I had the honor of taking his son Donovan to his first game.
*** In 1993 I took my grandson Todd to his first game.
*** 8/5/93 the middle photo was taken as we were invited by the Cards to be part of the pre-game activities. Pictured
from the left is Steve Haupt,Ed. Tritschler, Kern Sears, Rich Dolan, Hank Bauer, and Neil Anderson.
*** In 1967 I saw world series games three and four, in 1982 games one and seven, and in 1987 I saw all three world series games played at Busch.
*** I have seen at least one playoff game every year we played in the fall beginning in 1982.
*** In 1966 I was fortunate to see the all star game played at Busch.
*** I was at the playoff game in 1985 when Ozzie Smith hit a home run to win the game and Jack Buck shouted out " Go Crazy Folks"
*** In 1996 because of my job I was able to take every family member to at least one playoff game including grandson Todd, nephew David McCoy, relatives Steve and Stevie Haupt and several good friends.
*** In addition I have seen Big Red football, college football, soccer,and other events at Busch Two.
*** In 1998 Nancy and I were there when Mark McGwire hit home run number 62.
*** I have seen many great games, big moments, and above all shared them with family and friends.

Donovan










JAMES
A HOT SUMMER DAY!!!!!!!!!!

I am sitting in the shade thinking of being in the air conditioned house as four of my grandchildren are enjoying the cool,cool,water.
Life is certainly cooler when you are young.
In a few minutes I will be headed for a day of work and it will be HOT at the farm.



Kayleigh and Paul












James,Kayleigh and Paul

St LOUIS PAST!!!!!!! Part eight
OUR St LOUIS BROWNS

Pictured on the left is Satchel Paige maybe he would have been the best pitcher ever to play major league baseball but he never had the opportunity until he was in his forties. You see, African Americans were not allowed to play in the major leagues until Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the mid to late forties.
In addition to being a great pitcher he was a legendary character. Legend has it that one time he walked the bases loaded with no outs. Called all seven fielders to come into the infield and sit down. He then proceeded to strike out the next three batters. He had many rules to live by and one of my favorites is
" Never stand when you can sit
Never sit when you van lay down."
I was able to see Satchel pitch for the Browns several times as a youngster.

The next photo is of a one armed outfielder by the name of Pete Gray. Pete played for the Browns one year 1945.



My memory says I saw Pete play one time .He of course batted with one arm but he could punch the ball as he hit .218 for the Browns.
In the minor leagues he hit over.300 two seasons out of five. In the outfield he perfected a maneuver where he caught the ball, tossed it in the air, dropped his glove, caught the ball with the bare hand and threw it to an infielder.He could do this maneuver in an instant.
In order to try to compete with the Cardinals the Browns always were trying zany things to attract attendance.
*******A three foot seven inch Eddie Gaedel as a pinch hitter
******* A one armed outfielder
******* Grandstand managers night were the fans held up placards directing the manager to bunt, hit and run, take a pitch,etc.
******* A lounge chair in the bullpen for Satchel Paige to sit in.
******* Hall of Famer and announcer Dizzy Dean singing "THE Wabash Cannonball in the seventh inning"
On the serious side
***** Perfect game world series pitcher Don Larson first pitched for the Browns ***** developed Knot Hole Gang for kids to see games at a reduced price
***** Played in the 1944 world series against the Cardinals. It was called the street car series. The Browns came close to winning the series.
***** Browns pitcher Ned Garver only pitcher to ever win twenty games for a team that lost over a hundred games.
***** Hall of famer George Sisler batted .420 for the Browns
The Browns left St Louis at the end of the 1953 season. They moved to Baltimore and became the Orioles.
The scary part of this saga is William DeWitt one of the Browns owners is the father of current owner Bill DeWitt.

A STAR IS BORN!!!!!!!!!!
Donovan recently had the lead part in his second grade class rendition of "OLD McDonald's FARM"
Ed and Nancy certainly thought the teacher made a wise choice. He played his part extremely well in the eyes of the proud grandparents.
This is one of the six reasons we make our retirement home in St Louis. We both want to be actively involved in our grandchildren lives.
Attending special events, having them spend the night,and simply playing as we take care of them is a big part of our busy life and is

what keeps us young at heart.

8th GRADE GRADUATION A BIG MARKER ON life's JOURNEY
On the left is our oldest granddaughter Kelsey Taylor on the night she graduated from Wolfbranch elementary school in Fairview Heights Il.
The second photo is Kelsey with her proud grandparents who graduated back when there were only black and white photos.
The third photo is her parents who graduated when there were color photos but no home computers.
The fourth photo is an impromptu photo of Kelsey enjoying her evening of achievement.
I believe there are a few differences in 8th grade graduation between 1952 and 2006.
1-In 1952 we did not wear gowns.[I guess because of cost] Boys were instructed to wear nice shirt and pants.
2-In 52 the program was during normal school hours. [I guess for the convience of teachers] In 06 it was a formal evening program.
3-In 52 the student speeches were directed at our parents to show off our supposed knowledge.One of our speeches was titled
"The benefits of Radio Free Europe" [ you can fill in the blank on who delivered that one]
In 06 the speeches by students seemed to be directed to the graduates to challenge and motivate to dream big dreams and achieve your goals.
4- Maybe this is the biggest difference. In 1952 on the night of graduation four or five of us
boys rode a streetcar from South
City to the Fox theatre on North
Grand to see a movie, go bowling
afterwards, and return home after midnight.[no idea why I our parents let us]
Kelsey,Grandpa is proud of you and my prayer is you will set high goals and achieve more than grandpa ever thought of.
I would urge you to share with the cyber world memories of your 8th grade graduation.

THREE GENERATIONS
PLAYING CATCH
Pictured here is my five year old grandson Paul Stone, his dad Shawn and the grandpa. Yes believe it or not I have my own glove and surprisingly I can still throw and catch.
I now have played real catch with all of my grandchildren except for three year old James. I believe there is some sort of a bonding power in the game of playing catch.
When I look back I see clearly about sixty two years ago when my dad and I started playing catch. [my dad died when I was ten so those moments are few but special] My son and I started playing catch about thirty years ago and we wore many bare spots into our grass. Next it was Todd being introduced to the game of catch about thirteen years ago.[seems like only yesterday] Last summer I had the opportunity to begin playing catch with Donovan and now Paul joins the list.
What other activity can a father and son be involved in that gives them time together, exercise, conversation,imagination, and special memories all wrapped up in one activity. It truly is an activity that bridges generations.

SUNDAY LUNCH at FRIDAY:s
Photo by Mr. Brad
Pictured in red is my daughter Sherri,across is grandson Paul, next to Sherri is grandson James [but his middle name is Edward,]
across is son inlaw Shawn, next to James is grandma Nancy, and across is her ever loving Ed, the last two is friends Chuck and Joyce Helt.
Today we had a guest speaker at church who happened to be my young friend Keith Jones. Keith did a really good job in bringing the message from God's word.
The conversation by the four adults in the rear covered everything from Nebraska,to Kansas City, to West Plains,to Dallas, and ended with growing up in St Louis. The others at the table periodically joined in our conversation.
It took James a few times to figure it out but he now figures if you stay near grandpa you get to ride with grandpa. We only have one car seat in our car so that limits who can ride in our car. Paul appears not to mind that James is riding with the grandparents.
Church,family,friends that is the way to spend your Sundays.

St Louis HAWKS FIFTY YEARS LATER Continuation

Photo on top left is of Harry Gallitin former coach at Southern Ill. Carbondale. In the NBA he was a star player for the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons. Harry later became a coach of the New York Knicks and of course he played and coached our Hawks. In addition he is a member of the basketball hall of fame.

The second photo is of Charles Share who was the center for many years and played at six foot eleven.{ I am in beige coat} Charles played for the Hawks first in Milwaukee and then in St Louis for a total of seven years. I think you could sum up his career this way ' he was not a star BUT was a very valuable player"

In the center of the third photo is Buddy Blattner a man who had many careers that he starred in. He was a former world champion table tennis player, a major league second baseman, announcer on major league baseball Game of the week with Dizzy Dean. When he began announcing Hawk games he had never before announced a basketball game. He went on to announce over 800 Hawks games. When he left the Hawks it was to become baseball announcer for the Los Angeles Angels. Buddy returned to Missouri when he retired.

The very poor long photo is of Bob Costas. Bob was an unexpected guest thus not at head table but he gave an improntu talk.

The evening with the Hawks was one of my top sports thrills of a lifetime of sports. I describe my self as a guy who likes all sports BUT I love baseball and basketball.

ST LOUIS HAWKS
FIFTY YEARS LATER
St Louis Past part seven continued

On May 27th, I had the opportunity to attend a St Louis Hawk autograph party at the Missouri Athletic Club. Pictured in the first photo is Cliff Hagen, Bob Pettit, and St Louisian Easy Ed. Macauley.
The second photo is Easy Ed and I
talking during the autograph session. Ed. McCauley might be the best native St Louisian basketball player to have ever played college and professional basketball in St Louis
1- He starred at St Louis University for three years in the late 1940's. [this is an era when the NCAA would not allow freshman to play sports] In his college career the Billikens won the NIT tournament when it was a bigger event than our current NCAA tournament.
2- Ed then played professional basketball for the old St Louis Bombers, Boston Celtics and then won the NBA championship with our Hawks in the 1957/1958 season.
3-After his basketball career Ed went on television in St Louis as a sports anchor.
In the third photo I am shaking hands
with basketball hall of famer Cliff Hagen. In the 1950's and early 60's Cliff was the best six foot four forward in professional basketball. He had a sweeping hook shot that he could shoot over taller players from fifteen to twenty feet from the basket. In addition he had a good jump shot and somehow he was a great rebounder even thought most forwards were a lot taller. Cliff went on to become the athletic director at Kentucky University.
Bob Pettit is simply the best basketball player to have ever played for a St Louis professional team. In the 1958 championship game he not only scored fifty points but he scored nineteen of the Hawks twenty one points in the fourth quarter. In addition he was the first NBA player to reach 20,000 points in a career. After his Hawk career Bob returned to Louisiana and became president and owner of a bank.
If you have an interest in the St Louis Hawks you need a copy of Full Court by Greg Marecek the story of the Hawks in St Louis.

ST LOUIS HAWKS !!!!!!!!!! 1955----1968

St Louis Past Part Seven
For a young man who loved playing basketball. The fall of 1955 when the Hawks moved to St. Louis was the best of times.

To be able to witness number nine BOB PETTIT go from a good player to a great player was special. To see Cliff Hagan become one of the games great forwards at only six foot four inches tall. St. Louisian Easy Ed. Macauley came to the Hawks and took us from a good team to a championship team.

This was an era of twelve minute quarters, good defense, the advent of the time clock and teams routinely scored over a hundred points. The Hawks big rivalry at the time was the famed Boston Celtics. They had big Bill Russell, Bob Cousey, Bill Sharman, and were coached by the great Red Auerbach. Other great players of the time was Wilt Chamberlain,Oscar Robinson,Maurice Stokes, and Elgin Baylor.

I happen to have several game programs from that era that show a cost of .Thirty five cents. Ticket prices were $1.50 for general admission and $2.00 and $2.50 for reserve seating. I worked in the camera department of Sears making $1.00 per. hour but apparently that was enough money for two tickets. I was fortunate that my girl friend Nancy McCoy also enjoyed basketball. My memory is that we averaged seeing about six games a year.

Many of you who know me will agree that I am a little frugal.[ha ha] One of our favorite dates was going to a Hawks game on Sunday afternoon and then right afterwards a musical concert. We were fortunate enough to have seen Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, and the Dukes of Dixieland for the price of a game ticket. In addition the Hawks would have doubleheader were you saw two games for the price of one. Some times the second game would be the Harlem globetrotter.

To demonstrate how lucky Nancy and I are we were there the night the Hawks beat the Celtics for the NBA championship on Saturday April 12 1958.[ we were not even engaged.} We witnessed Bob Pettit scored fifty points and nineteen out of the twenty one points the Hawks scored in the last quarter. Final score was Hawks 108, Celtics 107.

The Hawks played most of their games at Kiel Auditorium but they hosted the NBA all star game at the old arena/checkerdome. It was either the winter of 1958 or 1959 and again we were lucky and had two tickets. Really not bad for a guy making $1.00 an hour while attending college.

This posting was from my memory but if you have an interest in the Hawks there is a new book out titled Full Court by Greg Marecek. The next posting will be about a recent book signing event that I attended.

ST LOUIS PAST!!!!!PART SIX
KIEL AUDITORIUM
The photo is taken from Market street looking south. Allthought a very old photo the Kiel Opera House is still there.[A story for another day]
On the right side is the 16th street entrance to the auditotium located about half way down the block.
My memory tells me the main entrance to the auditorium was on the leftside of photo or 14th street Today the Savvis Center is located were the Kiel once stood.
The Kiel was the home basketball court of the St Louis Billikens and remember the St Louis Hawks our NBA team.{another story for the future]
One of my fondest memories of the Kiel was Friday night wrestling promoted by Sam Muchnick.{later in life I handled his banking needs] I can still remember wrestler like Gorgeous George, Lou Thesz, and a barefoot wrestler Argentina Rocha. In addition the Kiel hosted all types of indoor events except for hockey.[no ice making equipment]
Some big differences between Kiel and Savvis Center.
******* Kiel attendance 10,500 Savvis 19,000
******* Savvis can host hockey and other ice events
******* In the era of Kiel no private suites
The Kiel may have been old but the setting was more intimate than our current Savvis Center. To get to the auditorium you had to walk up long winding concrete walk ways no steps,escalator or elevators. The auditorium I am sure would not be up to the building codes of today.