Postcard: The New Downtown St. Louis

Check out this great St. Louis postcard! I believe it is postmarked 1964. There is a great and too long description of the new downtown area of St. Louis for that time.

Check out the ballpark!

Kansas City Royals

After visiting St. Louis and the Cardinals, we drove about another 5 hours and visited the Kansas City area. I enjoyed my time in this entire area very much! In addition to having a great baseball tradition in the area, Kansas City has a lot of other things going on for it.

Kansas City is simply a great area. I thought it was easy getting around, pretty calm and just an easy area to deal with. We loved the hallmark visitor center, and just driving around the area. They have a great mall area, and lots of good food!

We had tickets to catch the Royals doing battle with the Tigers.

I have heard others say that the Royals play in a very unique venue. Kauffman Sadium is truly unique.

Sitting right next to the KC Chief's Arrowhead Stadium (the two making up the Truman Sports Complex) Kauffman Stadium is a sight. It is right off of the interstate.

Having the venue pretty much surrounded by parking spaces and huge parking lots does take away from the game day experience in my books. Unlike our other game in St. Louis, you can't get a room walking distance from the game and just go there. You have to deal with traffic and parking.

I did see a lot of tailgating going on. There were still many people showing up and having a good pre game experience.

I guess the pregame experience comes down to a personal choice. I like walking past local shops and other places on my way to a game. Others enjoy the hanging out by your vehicle for hours before the game.

At first I wanted to compare Kauffman to PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Not because of appearance or anything, but because it is casual, and has a very relaxed vibe. AND it is easy to get good tickets at a very good price.

I did not see ushers hassling people, and the crowd was good. The experience was comparable to a AAA game.

I mean that in a good way. Sometimes major league parks are too big and chaotic. Most AAA parks are eventful and exciting, bit calm enough that you can relax.

The fountains are as spectacular as I had heard, and the club has done a great job with their Hall of Fame. EVERY team (major and minor) needs a Hall of Fame at their park!

To be honest, I thought I would have a good time in Kansas City, and seeing the Royals, but I was shocked at how nice the area, and the team is.

St. Louis Cardinals

When I was much younger, I drove through St. Louis with some friends a couple of times. The place seemed so big and intimidating.

Maybe its that I am older, or maybe living in a big city like Cleveland for a decade has changed my perspective. Or, maybe it was the fact that any city bigger than Evansville Indiana seemed huge to me back then.

This time around, however, the place seemed just right.

We drove in to town early on a Friday and St. Louis appeared just right to me. You see the Arch from a ways off. You are pulled to it. We looked around feeling the need to park, and go right to it.

We resisted that initial urge, and went to our hotel. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that our hotel was situated right between the Arch and the Busch Stadium. We parked at our hotel, and walked to the points we wanted to see.

The Arch is just amazing. We were able to spend some quality time here while in town. We took the egg shaped pod to the top and looked out the windows. There was a bit of a line, and you are in a closed in space, but this is with out a doubt a "must do" at some point in a lifetime.

We walked down to the park and had a meal at Joe Buck's (look for a review elsewhere on this blog). We had a nice time there, and continued to walk around town before the start of our game.

St. Louis has a very unique vibe going on before games. We passed a number of bars and nice restaurants that felt very open. For blocks, you could see casual fans hanging out and enjoying themselves.

As a side note, we heard more than one bar band that was in tune. Bar bands in other areas, please take note! Singing, and playing in tune is important!

You can really have a very complete game day experience here near the stadium. There is a very nice fan experience going on all around.

There was a coffee shop inside of the Hilton near the park and we stopped for coffee. Inside of the hotel, a piano player played "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and outside a very competent bar band played. Street vendors sold peanuts and red bird hats.

St. Louis knows something that many other baseball areas have not figured out. MANY cities with major league teams need to take note. Having your ballpark in an easy to access downtown area with plenty of appropriate businesses is good for everyone.

The crowd was festive but pleasant. I did not notice any panhandling, or graffiti. Fans greeted and laughed with each other. You could feel safe walking with your children in this area before game time.

Busch Stadium is all that too. The staff was friendly and helpful not not intrusive.

The Cardinals had a very nice, well stocked and well managed gift shop. I noticed that the cashier made a point to address me as Mr. AND she pronounced my uncommon last name correctly. Retail people remember that. That earns an A+.

I love skylines at parks. Like the Pirates, the Cardinals have a great one, at least from where we were setting.

Another cool thing about the Cardinals. They will do a "happy birthday" type message on their side scoreboards for FREE. They loop them too during an inning, so, if you miss it the first time, get your camera ready. You'll probably have a couple more opportunities to get a picture of the message.

We had a really nice time in St. Louis and I am looking forward to getting back again soon. Especially if you are in Western Kentucky this is a nice, 3 day weekend trip.

Kansas City T-Bones

Kansas City Missouri has the Royals. Kansas City Kansas has the T-Bones.

We timed out our Missouri/Kansas trip to make sure we could see the Cardinals, the Royals and the indy league T-Bones.

I can't say enough about how much the Kansas City area has going on. Missouri AND Kansas. This park really added to our whole experience in this area.

The T-Bones on field announcer was interviewing kids from several local little league teams on the field as they paraded before the game. Most of the kids gave her generic yes or no answers, or told her their position.

One kid decided to take a moment to describe his team's accomplishments, and he went into excessive detail about how good they were. It was pretty funny.

It was mascot day when we went. I love mascots.

I also love the fact that there are so many minor league teams getting good local fan support. I especially love seeing the independent teams drawing good support. These guys had a good crowd.

The park is very unique as it is used by other teams, and for other sports.

The Park is in the Village West area, and it features one of the nicest lifestyle centers (I hate that word, by the way) that I have seen. It seemed to go on forever. Oh, and we found some good BBQ close by. This is the kind of town I could move to if I ever had to move.

Dwayne Hilton- Cardinals Organist

Dwayne Hilton, the organ player for the St. Louis Cardinals, sent a great note.

"Its so much fun being a part of the St. Louis Cardinals' organization."

When asked about his favorite player, he mentions Albert Pujols.

"I enjoy playing all kinds of music on the organ- anything that gets the fans clapping & excited."

Dwayne kindly signed his letter, adding the "Charge!" notes!

Joe Buck's St. Louis MO.

Hey! Joe Buck's is just a couple of blocks from the stadium, and he had a very nice late lunch/early dinner here!

It wasn't crowded, and it had a great, casual atmosphere.

Negro League Hall OF Fame and Museum, Kansas City

http://www.nlbm.com/

There are certain pilgrimages all baseball fans should make. The Hall of Fame in Cooperstown comes to mind. The Negro League Baseball Museum is also on that list.

I should take a moment to say that I truly appreciate shrines like this. A lot of love and respect has been put into this establishment.

I should also take a moment to be honest and say that I was a little disappointed. I have read about some of the money issues going on with the museum. I know there are problems and complications with keeping a place like this going, especially in these economical times, but I saw a few things here that were a little embarrassing.

We went inside. One of the first things you come across at the museum is the movie theater. There is a sign giving the times that the movie shows- which was pretty much every half an hour.

We went into the theater, and the movie was playing without audio. I went to tell one of the staff people. I told the person selling tickets.

We came back a half an hour later hoping to see the movie, with audio. This time, there was no movie showing. People casually walked in expecting to see the film, narrated by James Earl Jones. We all set around the dark theater. After a few minutes we realized the film would not be playing.

Sure, sometimes movie projectors don't work. However, they were obviously informed of the problem. It looked like they had even stopped the video projector, but they did not take the time to close the theater door or put up a small sign to inform patrons of the situation.

SEVERAL light bulbs were out. This was especially sad in their Hall of Fame locker area. Each inductee has a jersey and a plaque describing their career, displayed in a locker. Some of the lockers had no light. You literally could not read about the career of the player!

Some of the items on display were undocumented. For example, there are several sets of wooden ballpark seats throughout the museum. I was curious about where they came from, but I could not find a plaque or note card with information on them. They were just wooden seats. They may have been repros, or they may have been from a significant stadium. I don't know.

I was at the museum with friends who had been there before. They said that it seemed more impressive on previous visits.

There were some other areas of concern. I really hate to admit it, but I could go on.

I thought back to my visit to the Ty Cobb museum a few weeks earlier. The museum was smaller, it was ran out of a room in a hospital, and there was one staff person managing it, the gift shop, and some hospital work. It was nicer.

I went through the Royals Hall of Fame on this trip too. Very nice (see my previous post).

My friend and I both agreed that we could fix their lighting and some other issues in an hour or two. Again, these were small, but very noticeable issues.

The no photography rule here seemed unnecessary too. There are some nice relics behind glass, but there are many reprint photos, and things that a camera flash would likely not affect.

I honestly hate to mention any flaws here, but they were very obvious.

Still, for $8 admission, or $10 to see the Jazz Museum too, the ticket price is a bargain. If you are a fan of baseball, you will still have a great time.

There is a lot to like here. I got the feeling that this museum, with a little tweaking, could be spectacular.

There are some some uniforms. The Hall of Fame Section is very nice (with lighting). Also, I really admired the Geddy Lee Collection. Right when I thought he couldn't get any more awesome! What a great guy.

Oh, there gift shop was great. I have to give them a lot of credit on their gift shop. They had some beautiful reproduction Negro League jerseys. They were pricey, but they were some of the nicest repros I have seen.

They also had a great selection of affordable t-shirts. I personally couldn't leave without a Cleveland Buckeyes shirt. I also picked up Rod Carew's book SIGNED at cover price! If my wife had not stopped me, I would have bought more.

As I finish writing this, I am feeling like I may have been a bit hard on the museum. It was still a great trip, well worth the price of admission. Still, it may have been an off day for the museum, but it was probably the only trip many people will make there.

I love baseball. Obviously, I love going to games and shrines relating to the sport. I tell friends who have not gone to games about the joy and family friendly atmosphere at the minor league parks. I encourage people to visit the museums. I just hope that those people in charge of the parks, the shrines and the museums have the same reverence for the sport and its history.... especially the history of the humble Negro Leagues.

Postcard: Old Busch Stadium

I would love to find some old postcards of the St. Louis Arch. The postcard style I love had been phased out by the time the Arch went up in the 60s.

Luckily, the gift shop at the Arch sells a great postcard book with 8 very retro looking postcards for $8.95!

The old Busch Stadium is on several of the cards.

Since the book is currently commercially available, I will only scan the cover (shown) for this blog.

Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame and Museum

The Kansas City Royals really impressed me during our recent trip through the area.

Like the Reds, the Royals have put a Hall of Fame for the team right there at their ballpark.

I know a lot of teams have some tributes, plaques, etc. but a full legitimate Hall of Fame is really nice.

The staff here was great. I asked a guy when I walked in if it was OK to take pictures. He said that it was encouraged!

This museum did a great job of covering the beginnings of the team, the history, etc. They had a fun display of stadium give aways and other relics. Uniforms and historic gear were also on display. George Brett factors significantly in the museum. In fact, there were Brett references all over the town.

In the back of the museum, there is a huge window over looking the park. It was a very nice touch.

Their World Series trophy is there!!! Tell me that is not cool!

In the gift shop, they were selling game used balls from games. I thought that was cool. I think prices started at $30. The balls had some documentation too, noting where they appeared in the game.

Ernie Hays St. Louis Cardinals Organist

Organist Ernie Hays sent a nice short note.

He said that he has been the St. Louis sports organist since 1971!

He says that his favorite player was Ozzie!

BOOK: "Out of the Park" by Ed Mickelson

I love any book about baseball. I must admit, some are better than others. I won't mention a book if it did not impress me. I really enjoy it when guys who played decades ago put a book out, especially one that is mostly about their days in the minors.

Ed Mickelson has put out a great book about his playing career. This is a fun, honest book, that doesn't seem too fake, or too over the top. I would recommend this book to any young fan for a good read. I think any old fan will enjoy reading about Ed and other ball players back in the late 40s through the late 50s.

In a personal way, Ed constructs a bridge for me to a time I haven't been able to get a hold of in the past. My first memories of Major League ball- first hand- are from the mid to late 80s. I do remember being a little kid watching the 86 World Series. I remember the big news in those days about Pete Rose, Dwight Gooden, etc. Even though I wasn't around at the time, I can visualize the 70s and 60s, through those decades connections to the 80s. Gary Carter, a favorite of mine at the time, had his rookie card come out in 75. Rose in the 60s. I could still connect to those teams in those times. Ed makes his decade or so appear more vivid in my personal baseball timeline memory.

I love the old pictures in the book, and the illustrations by Ron Joyner make the book feel like an old Topps baseball card. Remember the cartoons on the back of the old cards sometimes? They were usually cute caricatures of the players with a caption about the player (an anecdote from school, a nickname, etc.). Ed has a lot of these type of illustrations in the book, which gives the book an Innocent feel. As I read the book, I sort of visualized Ron Joyner drawn figures in my mind acting out the scenes.

I won't give away any of Ed's stories, but I will mention some things in general that I really like about his book. The book avoids the chest beating and bragging about sexual exploits that many other books written by athletes have. Ed talks a lot about his wife, and missing her on the road. The only questionable activity he mentions is something called "bird dogging" which, by today's standards, was a pretty tame activity. Oh, I think he may have mentioned drinking a beer or two. Again, this is a book the whole family can feel comfortable reading.

Ed Mickelson didn't write this book to put down any other player, or to complain about not getting more of a shot in the majors. In fact, pretty much any time another players name is mentioned, Ed talks about them in a positive light, mentioning how they helped him along the way. I hope other former players who decide to write a book in the future take note of Ed's blueprint. He had fun in baseball, so he wrote a fun book, with fun stories.

Hunt down a copy of Ed's book (I bought mine signed directly from him). Its over 200 full pages of real baseball stories from half a century ago.

Frank Saucier 1951 St. Louis Browns

Frank Saucier recently sent me some great articles relating to his career. Frank has been on the receiving end of many honors. His college baseball field is now named after him. He lead all of pro baseball in batting average in 1949 and in 1950, he was named Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year!

Oddly, his biggest notoriety related to Bill Veeck's putting midget Eddie Gaedel in to pinch hit in a game. Gaedel pinch hit for Saucier.

Frank sent a great article from the St. Louis Globe Democrat about the last Browns home game on September 26, 1953. The team was in financial trouble, and only had a couple dozen baseballs. To conserve baseballs, batting and fielding practice was skipped. Umpires allowed balls that should have been discarded to remain in play. Fans were asked to throw foul balls back.

Frank was also a part of the U.S. Navy's V-12 program during World War II. In this program, at age 18 he was one of the youngest officers to ever be commissioned by the U.S. Navy! He ended up serving in the Philippines, Japan and China.

While he was really getting his baseball career going and established, the Navy called him back in 1952 because of the Korean War.

After that, Frank went on to be the owner, president and CEO of his own company, and then he worked as a financial consultant! What a great success story! Frank did a lot in baseball, the military, and private business! Thanks for the info Frank, and thanks for your service to our country!

Joe Mather- Cardinals

I sent a couple of VERY amateur photos I took to Joe Mather this season. I mentioned back in April that I went to one of the exhibition games in Memphis putting the ML Cardinals against their AAA team the Redbirds. I sent Jo Jo a couple of pics from that game.

Joey was kind enough to sign my pictures, adding commentary to them, and he answered some questions. You can tell Mr. Mather is a truly funny guy.

He says that his favorite park is Wrigley and his favorite sports team is the Pittsburgh Steelers (good choice). Phoenix Arizona is his favorite sports city.

He says that Autozone park is nice, but Busch Stadium is beautiful!

Joey's humor shows in his note, as he says that he has started an autograph collection too, and then he tries jokingly to talk me in to sending him my autograph collection.

Memphis and St. Louis are lucky to have Joey around!