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.

. 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.