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.

. ST. LOUIS PAST!!!Part Five

Some of you will remember this stadium as Sportsman's Park. Some will remember this stadium as Busch Stadium (one) . If you are Connie's age or younger your memory of this stadium will be from reading or word of mouth. The attached photos are not my best but please remember they are over 40 years old. They were taken with a Welty 35mm camera that was manually set and focused.
The first photo is looking west from the north east corner of Grand and Dodier.You are looking at the double deck right field grandstand. Looking right from the grandstand you see the front of what was called the right field pavilion. The pavilion was occupied primarily by African Americans and kids about twelve and older who were members of the Knot Hole gang and received reduced ticket prices. Unfortunately the left field bleachers is not shown. The bleachers were occupied primarily by men and boys. You set on rows of benches with no backs. The big attraction in the bleachers was price and for afternoon games you could take off your shirt and soak up the rays. The main entrance was to the left of the photo and down Dodier street.
The second photo was taken from the third base dugout looking toward right field. Currently Cardinal fans are in an uproar about two foul poles that obstruct their view. Please note all the steel girders in the grandstand that you had to find a way to look around. In 1981 I watched a football game in the old Milwaukee stadium and I am positive some of the same girders were in front of me and blocking my view.
Sportman's park [old Busch stadium] was home to both the Cardinals and the American league Brown's until they played their last game in St. Louis Oct. 1953. Then around 1962/63 the stadium became home to the Big Red our NFL football team.
I remember my first game as if it was yesterday but it was the summer of 1948. It was a hot Sunday afternoon and we rode the streetcar to see the Brows and the Chicago White Sox play a douleheader. Pat Seery an outfielder for the White Sox hit three home runs in the first game.
My personal list of big moments I saw at Sportman's park------
1---Games six and seven of the 1964 world series.
2---May 2nd 1952 Stan Musial hit five home runs in a doubleheader.
3---All star game in 1954
4--- Last night game played at Sportman>s park May 7, 1966.
5---Babe Ruth made a personal appearance in the spring of about 1949 and he could hardly speak and be heard by the crowd. He died shortly after the appearance.
Some of the great stars I saw play Willie Mays, Roberto Clementi, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Warren Spahn, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campenalla, Yogi Berra, and I could go on for a long time.
Some of my favorite old time Cardinals that I saw play Stan Musial, Enos Slaughter, Terry Moore, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Red Schoendiest, Curt Flood, Marty Marion, Ken Boyer, and again I could go on for a long time.

FRIENDS of LONG STANDING
ARE Soooooo
SPECIAL!!!!


We first met Dean and Jan Patrick by my memory in either the fall of 1969 or spring of 1970. Quickly our two families became friends and spent lots of time doing things that cost little or no money. Why because we had very little at that time of our lives.
I purposely chose older photos to illustrate our friendship of over thirty five years. The picture of Dean is from the pictorial directory of 1991 and the family photo is from the early to mid eighties.[my guess] The picture of Dean and Joe is from our 1999 anniversary party.
One of our favorite couple activities was family camping and it was great as Dean would do the cooking. You have never eaten unless you tried Dean;s peach cobbler cooked over an open fire. Another great reason to camp with Dean is he took care of everything to free you up to simply have fun outdoors.
Dean,as you know I have learned many lessons of life from you. The three most important lessons are
1--- You attend every one time family event no matter what plans you have to change.
2--- Be involved with young people as they are the future. I have fond memories of Indian guides, [you helped me to get involved] your involvement with McKnight youth program and the way you started the young kids Easter parade at McKnight.
3---Put God first, your family second and always serve others.
To illustrate what a small world this is Jan and I both went to Roosevelt high school [we didn't know each other]. And Lucille [Jan;s mother] worked with my Aunt Dudell.
Sherri still remembers a car trip to Arkansas where you quickly learned when Dean stops the car you better go.
Dean and Jan YOU ARE SPECIAL to the entire Tritschler family.
If you have an opportunity I encourage you to visit briefly with Dean are send him an encouraging card as he is really battling a serious illness.

ST LOUIS PAST PART FOUR !!!!

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

You and I remember this St Louis landmark as the Checkerdome however prior to the purchase by Ralston Purina it was simply the St Louis Arena.
My memory goes back to the forties and I remember a Police circus around 1945 and a huge thunderstorm that at age six I thought the roof would blow off or collapse. For many years after I dreaded attending events at the old barn [a nickname] yet I went and saw a Rodeo that had Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger as intermission entertainment. In addition I remember going right after the end of WW2 with my father, grandfather, and uncle to see a boxing match when the temperature was at least -8 below zero and we did not know the meaning of wind chill. I was about eight and of course the old car had no heater and it did not start.
In my teen years I remember my Uncle Bob taking me to a world championship boxing event that included Archie Moore,Willie Pep, and a St Louisan by the name of Virgil Adkins. In my young adult years my fiance Nancy and I saw an NBA all star game That included Oscar Robertson, Bob Petitt, Bob Cousey, Bill Russell, and many other legendary basketball players.
Over the years the Arena was home to the St Louis Bombers [pro.basketball] Flyers [minor league hockey] Blues [ NHL] Spirits [ABA] Steamers [indoor soccer]. In addition many other events including NCAA [basketball] Boxing, Wrestling, Harlem Globetrotters, concerts, [like Neal Diamond] and other events too numerous to remember.
I doubt when the Savis center comes to its end that it will have hosted as many varied and big events that the old barn hosted.

MAY 9 1959 THE BIGGEST DAY of MY LIFE


The births of my children were important,births of my grandchildren special, career was a necessity,but 5-9-1959 made all things possible.
I can still remember standing at the front of the church watching Nancy enter on her fathers arm and thinking WOW!!!.
Forty seven years later I still wonder how in the world I was so blessed that she said yes to my proposal.
The two of us have been blessed to parent three great children and to assist in the lives of six terrific grandchildren. I am always amazed at the blessings God has given us. Thankful Miss Nancy McCoy chose me to share her life.
Nancy,Happy Anniversary and I look forward to many more.

ST LOUIS---------Part Three
FOREST PARK HIGHLANDS
Gone but not forgotten. The top photo is the entrance way to the former Forest Park Highlands. Located across from Forest Park on the grounds that is now Forest Park Community College.
The next photo shows the cars and track of the Flying Turns a great ride especially when you are
a teenage boy riding a car
with a young girl.
When you started going to the Highlands as a little guy your big dream was to be tall enough to ride the COMET. A great all wooden roller coaster.[bottom photo] In the forties and fifties this was the ultimate ride.!!!!!!
In the spring the Highlands catered to school picnics and in the summer to families going on a day trip similar to going to Six Flags today. The big difference would be today you pay a day fee for all rides and at the Highlands you purchased tickets for each ride.
The park included a haunted house, Dodgem cars, Ferriss Wheel, Air plane ride, Boat ride, and all sorts of little kids rides. In attention you had penny arcade and many games of chance.
When you were driving you sometimes would take a date for an evening of dancing under the stars to a live band.
It truly was a sad day when the Forest Park Highlands closed.

ST LOUIS PAST ------- Part two

The St Louis Zoo has always been free but back when I was a child and a young father the Zoo also had three free animal shows. Pictured here is the world famous chimpanzee show. In addition there was an Elephant and Lion show and each had there own building for their performances.
I can vividly remember at age seven or eight going to the zoo with my paternal grandparents and seeing all three shows. We would get to the park by riding a street car and a bus. In addition we would bring a picnic basket lunch and eat in the park.
The pictures are from the sixties when I was a young father. We would go to the park in our air conditioned car and purchase our lunch. I sometimes wonder if my children and grandchildren are missing a lot of memory makers that public transportation brought to our lives
The chimpanzee show was the most popular of the three shows. I guess as the three animal trainers retired the shows were unable to continued.

ST LOUIS PAST--------part one
I thought it might be interesting to periodically take a look at St Louis of the past.
The Admiral [currently a land based casino] was once a beautiful, great, magnificent traveling river excursion boat. In the evening you would dress to the nines and take your best girl on a cruise on the Mississippi from 8:00 PM to 12: am. On the two decks with windows you could dance the night away to a live orchestra. The third deck was semi open air and you could purchase food at several different venues. The top deck was open to the skies for star gazing.
Later in life when you had a young family you would cruise in the afternoon from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM spending lots of time on the first deck as that deck had all kinds of games and rides for the kids. In addition you would cool off on the air conditioned dance floor,eat in the open air dining area, and watch the river from the top deck.
It was always special to take out of town visitors on a cruise and listen to their compliments and comments.
The Admiral was a top flight attraction and a shame to lose. How it eventually became a casino is another story.

UNDERWATER EXPLORING
There is a beautiful world underwater waiting for the adventurer to explore. Top photo was taken in the Pacific ocean off the coast of Kauai Hawaii. Exploring and taking pictures require only snorkeling gear,a waterproof camera,and the ability to trust you can breathe through your snorkel tube.
The lower photo is long way from Hawaii on a beach off of the island of Cozumel Mexico. They may be two different bodies of water but they are both beautiful. On this day I spent half the day under the water and the other half we rented a jeep and drove around Cozumel. What beautiful sights were ours for stopping, looking at, and enjoying God's wonderful gifts. Snorkeling and my one scuba dive are high on my personal lists of things I have done. I can taste the salt water while I sit here and type.

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE
ARE FREE
A sunset over Lake Worth,Palm Beach FL. After a barefoot walk in the ocean with the love of your life. It does not get any better. The trip may have a cost but being barefoot in the sand with God's gift of a beautiful sunset and hand in hand with your wife is a great big ten.

The power of flowing water is magnificent as you look at Niagara Falls from the Canadian side. Please note the gift of God's rainbow pictured on the left side of the photo. The trip to Niagara may have a cost but the wonderful view is free.

The beauty of a butterfly resting in your flower garden is beyond my ability to describe. This Monarch allowed me to be this close for over ten minutes and posed for over twenty photos.

It was extremely difficult for me to narrow to three my choices for the best things if life that are free.

I hope you will share your choices for the best things in life that are free.

BRANSON MO 2006

[Mel.& Liz. Bilbo in front of their
Kringles Christmas store]

Nancy and I had the opportunity last week to spend a week in Branson. Our week began with us attending Sunday services at Hollister Church of Christ and a song service led by our friend Mel Bilbo. After services we had lunch with Mel and Liz at Mel's Hard Luck Diner. After lunch Mel and Liz gave us a tour of Kringles Christmas Store, Thomas Kinkade Store, and their book store. On your next visit to Branson we suggest a visit to the Grand Palace Shopping area and the four stores owned by the Bilbo's. Especially a meal at the diner as they feature singing servers.

Pictured on the left is 80 year old Ray Price. Nancy and I had the opportunity to be entertained by Ray and his orchestra. It was a great show

especially when you factor in his age.

On Friday, April 7th we had a special evening as Ed celebrated his birthday. Our evening started with a steak dinner at the Majestic Steak House with a great meal and service by Shaughn. Then on to the Shoji Tabuchi Show and Shoji is pictured on the left. This was either the fourth or fifth time we have seen his show an it seems to get better with age. The tour of the bathroom is still a highlight and his wide range of music continues to delight audiences of all ages.

All in all we had a great week of relaxing, resting, shopping, and being entertained.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a great group of six



Ed/Dad------04/07
Nancy/Mom--04/14




Terri 04/05
Joe 04/30

Edward 03/30
Karen 04/04




March and April birthdays are popular in our family. Ed started it all a long time ago at the old St.Anthonys hospital in St Louis. Nancy was next and was born at home in Kaiser Ar.
Our daughter Terri was born at Lutheran hospital in St Louis. Our son Edward calls Independence MO. His home town.
This time of the year has always been a fun time of the year for the Tritschler family. Then along came spouses and their birthdays simply added to the fun. We have one big family party usually a barbecue to celebrate all of our birthdays
Happy birthday and I hope we all enjoy our special day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! BROTHER

{picture taken at Harry Carey restaurant in Chicago IL,}

On the left is my brother Neil Anderson. We actually have different parents and are only children. We consider ourselves being closer than most brothers. For plus twenty five years we have lived three hundred miles apart yet we touch base at least once per week. Some weeks it is three or more times. Thank goodness for eight hundred numbers and cell phones. Even though we have different parents and childhoods it is scary how many similarities we have.
*** Both of us were born at St Anthonys hospital in St Louis
*** We eat only Saltine crackers,Hydrox cookies,and Brooks catsup
*** Though we did not know each other we both married in 1959.
*** We both graduated from high school in 1956
There are many stories I could share about our special friendship but three seem biblical to me.
The first happened in the early seventies right here in St Louis when neither of us had any real financial resources. Our wives [both wonderful women] wanted to hear John Davidson perform at a hotel in Fenton. In addition to a service charge we both paid $25.00 for four cokes as they had a two drink minimum. In 2006 $25.00 does not sound like much but in 1970 $25.00 would probably be close to $100.00 today. We still talk about that night and a couple of years ago Nancy and I met John Davidson on a cruise.
The second was a family trip we took around 1976. Neil rented a Winnebago from his uncle and took his family of four and my family of five on a wild trip to Kentucky and back. In a three night trip we saw Churchill Downs,Steven Foster's home, Mammoth Cave, the Shaker settlement in Pleasant Hill Ky. Abe Lincoln's boyhood home and on our last day we swam in Kentucky Lake. We covered over eight hundred miles from Thurs. about 7:00 PM till Sunday about 8:00 PM.Our family still talks about that weekend.
Last but not least in our mature years we usually meet somewhere nice for a great weekend. In 1997 we met in New York city and did many things. My personal goal was to see a game in Yankee stadium, a Broadway show, go to the top of the Empire State building and see the Statute of Liberty. We accomplished my goals. In addition we had a great meal at Tavern on the Green at 6:00 PM. on a Saturday without reservations and dressed very casual. How Neil obtained a table for four is still a puzzle as he has not shared how he accomplished this.
I could go on and on because all of our times together have been memorable.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEIL
YOUR BROTHER
ED

WHY We LIVE in ST Louis AREA!!

[left to right, Kelsey,Nancy, Ed, Todd bottom row is Kayleigh, Paul,Donovan,and in the front is James].
If you received an 05 Christmas card this is the one you should have received. Everyone decided a big no to the photo card because James was too tired. However this photo is a picture of why we live in St Louis and not in a warmer climate.
In about 1985 Nancy and I began to think and plan about how we wanted to spend our retirement years. When retirement happened our plan was to leave around Jan. 1 for a warmer climate and return about April 1 and around June 15th we would reverse our life style and spend three months in the north and cooler climate
On Nov. 14th, 1988 our plans were changed as we expierenced for the first time the joys of being grandparents. Todd Taylor came into our life and we decided we could handle the St Louis weather as we did not care to be gone for that long. We can still travel but we return home in two or three weeks in order to stay involved in our family and their lives.
From the picture you can tell we now have six reasons for not leaving the area. The picture may not have made the Christmas card cut but each grandchild brings great joy to our lives. We know in this era we are so fortunate that our six grandchildren live about twenty minutes from our house.
This last week is typical of how we spend our time. We started on Thursday by spending the day with Donovan and Kayleigh. We went to the park I played catch with Donovan. Grandma and Kayleigh did the swings and all the other park toys. On Saturday Paul and James came over for four hours of fun and games. The two boys especially like the hill in our back yard and have invented a game of the two of them riding on a tricycle down the hill. On Sunday we attended church with the Taylor family. We heard Joe deliver a great bible lesson then we all went out for a pizza lunch at Fortels. Part of the afternoon was spent with the three men watching March madness and the woman visiting the Pottery Barn.
Simply there is no other place for Nancy and I to live but right here in St.Louis.

Cousins Who Became Friends

{Left to right} Ed,Carol,Louise,Louis

It all began with a simple phone message left on my recorder in the winter of 1997. Hi,my name is Melba and I am your cousin. I kept her name and number with every intention of quickly returning her call. Very soon a week went by,then a month, and before I knew it a year had gone by and embarrassingly I finally returned her call in the fall of 1998.
After several visits with Melba I discovered some other cousins who were into our family genealogy. After some correspondence back and forth I finally spoke to Carol and we decided to meet over dinner in Westport. Melba,unfortunately could not join us as her health kept her home bound but I did keep up my visits until her death. I have no idea what took so long but we finally met on September 21, of 2000 at Marcianos with our spouses Jim and Nancy. I feel a little remorse for Jim and Nancy as it was hard for them to get any input into the constant conversation about our family and its past.
Carol then suggested we meet her brother Louis and his wife Billie now things began to move at a faster pace and this meeting took place at the Bevo Mill on November 10th 2000. Nancy and I arrived first and when Louis appeared there was no doubt the two of us were related in fact my granddaughter looks at pictures of Louis and says grandpa.
Our pace continued to speed up and in the spring of 2001 we met at Louis and Billies home and I met another cousin Louise and her husband Dave. Since the meeting of the four couples we have been getting together a minium of four times per year and participating in other major family events.The four families hosted our first family reunion and we had a large group of extended family at Creve Couer park on June 1.2001.
The four of us are related on the grandparents line as they were all brothers. I have a vivid memory of Louis and Carols grandpa as he had a disintive truck that drove around South City in the 1940;s and he coached a school soft ball team that I played on. I remember the names of Louise and Melba's grandparents and to my knowledge the four cousins proably never met as kids. It is amazing how much the four of us are alike even though we had no contact the first sixty years of our lives.
You may think we are related but to me I describe us as friends.