Ultimate Baseball Road Trip (50 page)

In Busch Memorial’s early days the field featured a natural grass playing surface. But artificial turf was installed in
1970, except for the places where the dirt normally appears on a traditional infield, creating a diamond similar to the one that exists today in Tampa Bay. In 1977, the team switched to an all-plastic infield, however, leaving only dirt sliding pits around the bases. The Busch Stadium turf was famous for how hot it would get beneath an August sun, often reaching upward of 140 degrees Fahrenheit in the heat of summer. Finally in 1996, with the city’s football team having moved to a domed stadium, the Cardinals planted real grass at Busch once again, leaving the sportscasters who’d always enjoyed frying eggs on its surface to demonstrate the degree of heat crestfallen.

It seems hard to imagine Vince Coleman, or any mortal, stealing one-hundred-plus bases per season on a dirt track, as the young Cardinal did three years consecutively (1985–1987) on plastic. The field treated Coleman rather harshly though on October 13, 1985, as the Cardinals prepared for Game Four of the NLCS against the Dodgers. With light rain falling during pregame warm-ups, the Busch Stadium grounds crew activated the electronically operated tarp used to cover the infield. No one noticed until it was too late that Coleman was standing next to first base, practicing leading off the bag. Before the fleet-footed leadoff hitter knew what had hit him, the tarp’s metal cylinder had rolled over his left knee and up his leg. Screaming in pain, he was trapped under the tarp and cylinder for nearly a minute before being rescued and carried off the field on a stretcher. He suffered a bone chip in his knee and multiple bruises, which put him out of commission for the rest of the postseason. The Royals took the all-Missouri series in seven games. Who knows, if Coleman had hit leadoff for the Cards in the World Series, he might have been the difference between winning and losing.

Busch Memorial opened on May 12, 1966. The $20 million stadium, which was to also house the city’s football Cardinals, was built as part of the same urban renewal project that produced the trademark St. Louis Arch. The monument was visible from inside Busch Memorial and is even more visible from inside New Busch Stadium.

Kevin:
Did you know the Beatles played at Busch Memorial?

Josh:
Is that right?

Kevin:
Yup. August 21, 1966. It was one of the last stops on their final tour. In fact, five of the last six places they played were baseball parks. Crosley, Busch, Shea, Dodger Stadium, and Candlestick. The only one not a ballpark of the final six was the Seattle Coliseum.

Josh:
You are a fountain of useless knowledge.

Kevin:
Thank you.

Josh:
Were you alive back then?

Kevin:
Shut up.

Busch Memorial replaced ancient Sportsman’s Park, which had served as home to the Cardinals since 1920 and to the American League Browns from 1902 to 1953. This joint usage represents the longest cohabitation of two Major League teams at the same park in the history of the Grand Old Game. The ballpark was of the classic ilk, featuring two seating decks around the infield and along the foul lines, and just one level of bleachers in the outfield. St. Louis baseball fans must have been in hardball heaven during the thirty-four seasons in which Sportsman’s hosted a Major League game virtually every night. Plus, there was a burlesque club catering to fans, located beneath the center-field bleachers. How good can life get? Well it got even better than that for folks who liked goats. A resident billy goat used to mow Sportsman’s outfield grass before and after games.

Kevin:
How did the goat get the grass even?

Josh:
Dual-action molars.

During the 1940s, a section of free seats in the far left-field stands was available for kids. The inhabitants of this section were known as the Knot Hole Gang.

Babe Ruth hit three dingers in Game 4 of the 1926 World Series at Sportsman’s to set a single-game Series record. The longest of the three broke the window of an auto dealer’s shop beyond the right-field fence on Grand Avenue. Ruth duplicated the feat in Game 4 of the 1928 Series, also at Sportsman’s. The Yankees won both Series.

On a regrettable note, Sportsman’s was the last Major League facility to integrate its stands. Until 1944 African American patrons were restricted to the seats on the right-field pavilion. On the positive side, the St. Louis Stars won three Negro National League pennants: in 1928, 1930, and 1931.

The tenant Cardinals enjoyed considerably more success at Sportsman’s than the landlord Browns, highlighted by the Cards’ win against the Browns in the 1944 All-St. Louis “Streetcar Series.” While 1944 represented the Browns’ only trip to the October classic, the Cardinals racked up nine World Series appearances in the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s. The most famous of these teams was the “Gas House Gang” edition of the mid-1930s, known for its rowdy players and zany personalities. Brother hurlers Dizzy and Daffy Dean stifled opposing teams, while shortstop Leo Durocher, first baseman Rip Collins, and left fielder Ducky Medwick slugged their way to glory.

As the Cardinals thrived, attendance waned at Browns games. But the Browns did contribute a few lasting memories to baseball lore during their final days in St. Louis. In 1945 one-armed outfielder Pete Gray debuted for the Browns at Sportsman’s. Gray, who made it to the Majors when many of the regular ballplayers were away at war, batted .218 in 234 at bats in his only big league season. After losing his right arm in a childhood accident, he taught himself to catch the ball and in the same motion, tuck his glove under the stub of his right arm. He would then grab the ball as it rolled out of the glove and unleash his throw. At the plate, he batted from the left side.

In 1951 Bill Veeck purchased the Browns and hired a hypnotist to convince the team’s players they could hit. And the players responded, batting a combined .264, good for second best in the league. Veeck also sent Eddie Gaedel up to pinch-hit against the Tigers that year. Wearing the uniform number 1/8, the three-foot seven-inch Gaedel walked on four pitches. Later that season, Veeck let the fans seated behind the Browns’ dugout manage a game against the Kansas City Athletics. The fans would hold up “Yes” or “No” signs in response to questions posed on signs held up above the Browns’ dugout like: “Bunt?” or “Steal?” or “New Pitcher?” Believe it or not, the Browns won the game.

When the Browns left for Baltimore to become the Orioles, they sold Sportsman’s Park to the Cardinals. August Busch, owner of the Cards, renamed the ballpark “Busch Stadium,” but only after Major League Baseball told him he couldn’t call it “Budweiser Stadium.” So, you see, the idea of using a ballpark’s name as a marketing device isn’t all that new. Busch also installed a mechanical eagle (yes, an eagle, not a cardinal) above the scoreboard in left field that would flap its wings whenever a Cardinal player hit a home run. And he drove a team of Clydesdales onto the field on a number of occasions, much to the fans’ delight.

In the days since the opening of Busch Stadium III, fans have enjoyed a number of significant accomplishments, the greatest of which have been the celebration of the Cardinals’ World Series championships during the 2006 and 2011 seasons. While the Cardinals’ epic comeback in Game 6 of the 2011 October Classic will forever warm the hearts of Red Bird fans, the 2006 title over the Tigers was, perhaps, even more surprising and delightful. After managing just eighty-three
wins during the regular season and slumping their way into the playoffs, the 2006 Cards became the team with the lowest win total to ever win a World Series. As for the 2011 team, it twice battled back from being two runs behind and a strike away from defeat in Game 6, before posting an eleven-inning 10-9 win. Then the Cardinals vanquished the Rangers in Game 7, winning 6-2 on the Busch Stadium lawn.

The first game ever played at New Busch, on April 10, 2006, treated fans to a bit of a reversal when the ceremonial first pitches were tossed out by current players Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter, and thrown to retired greats Bob Gibson and Willie McGee, instead of the other way around. Also honored on that day were the living legends enshrined in bronze in front of the ballpark: Stan Musial, Lou Brock, Ozzie Smith, and Red Schoendienst. Bruce Sutter, a legend who has yet to be honored with a statue outside Busch, was also on the field that day. Mark Mulder came away with the win, as the Cards defeated another team whose park is named after a brewery, posting a 6-4 win over Milwaukee.

The 2009 All-Star game returned to a stadium named Busch for the first time since the inaugural season of Busch Memorial back in 1966. Sadly for the hometown National League fans, the 2009 affair continued the AL streak of victories, as the Junior Circuit notched a 4-3 win. President Barack Obama threw out the first pitch, donning a White Sox jacket, while Musial hoisted across another ceremonial pitch. The Rays’ Carl Crawford garnered MVP accolades with his dramatic catch that robbed Brad Hawpe of a certain home run.

Other than all that, we suppose it was a pretty uneventful first few years at the new yard! Although the P.A. system has rattled and hummed with a little extra special vibe on nights when stadium acts like U2, the Dixie Chicks, the Eagles, and the Dave Mathews Band have visited.

Tickets to New Busch can be difficult to come by, or not so much, depending on a number of factors. If the team is not in playoff contention after the All-Star break, tickets to games not against the archrival Chicago Cubs and other top-drawing teams are relatively easy to come by. Red Bird fans are loyal, but they expect to see a winning product on the field. When they don’t, tickets to all sections start to drop. On the other hand, when the Cards are in contention, tickets are hotter than passes to a Taylor Swift show at an all-girls junior high.

Remember, walking this ballpark and trying to keep in touch with the game is a difficult endeavor. Not only are you forced behind the exterior walls, but there is no interior concourse to walk the park. It’s really the worst of both worlds. Perhaps it’s because Cardinals fans remain in their seats that the designers made this odd choice. We can’t think of any other reason for it.

By and large, these seats are going to treat you nicely. There is no overhang issue for any seat on the field level except for in a handful of places mentioned below. But beware and consult the Seating Tip sidebar for these sections, as it can be very confusing the way the stadium’s viewing areas are numbered. All seats in each section are not created equal.

These are the Green Seats, as in for people with lots of “green.” Holders are either wealthy, lucky, or smart. Wealth will buy a ticket. Luck will allow them a friend to pass them a ticket. And the smart ones know how to buy them cheap on StubHub. Average games go for about two or three bills. Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox go for much more. Ticket holders are treated to valet parking at the Home Plate entrance. A gourmet dinner awaits. If you sit here, at the end of every inning, an attendant will take your food and beverage order. There is a healthy waiting list to purchase these season tickets.