Memories of the 1987 St. Louis Cardinals

Seventeen years ago I fell in love for the first time.  No, not with a girl, I was only in third grade, we hated the girls. The year was 1987 and I fell in love with the game of baseball and more specifically, the St. Louis Cardinals.If you remember that year, the Cardinals advanced all the way to the World Series, losing to the Minnesota Twins in an exciting seven-game series.

With the success the current Cardinals are having, St. Louis fans are all ready talking of the World Series this year. With that in mind, I couldn’t help thinking back to when it all started for me. Like this year’s team, the ’87 Cardinals were stacked with talent. The team back then did not have the offensive firepower it does today, but what they did have was speed and all-around outstanding play. My favorite players were pitcher John Tudor, shortstop Ozzie Smith and center fielder Willie McGee.

For me, the Cardinals were the only thing that mattered that summer. My bedroom was adorned with Cardinals memorabilia. I had an Ozzie Smith poster on one wall, and a huge Cardinals pennant on the other. I also remember having a cool Cardinals clock, an official team calendar, and about every baseball card that was ever made of everyone on the team. I even had all of manager Whitey Herzog’s cards. And of course, my entire wardrobe consisted of Cardinals T-shirts.

I still remember waiting for the local newspaper to come every afternoon so I could read what the sportswriters had to say about the team and the next game. Plus, they always had action shots from the games that I kept in my Cardinals scrapbook folder.

One reason I loved that team so much was how they played the game. They weren’t out there smashing tons of home runs every game like this year’s team (not that there’s anything wrong with that). The ’87 team manufactured runs the old-school way. They used the hit-and-run and they stole bases like crazy. Vince Coleman had about a hundred that year by himself. And someone always seemed to come up with a big base hit right when they needed it.

They also had solid pitching, especially from Tudor. He was the crafty lefty who never overpowered hitters with the fast ball. He got hitters out with his changeup and by hitting the corners brilliantly.

Because I was only in third grade, I was just starting to play baseball myself. My friends and I would always emulate our favorite players. Of course no one could do the back flip like the Wizard did every time he came onto the field.

Now that I think about it, I really do think that watching the team inspired my friends and me to go out and play the game ourselves. At that age, we were just out there having fun, but that was how we learned to play the game, not by having our dads yell instructions at us all day. I guess that’s another column.

After the Cardinals lost to the Twins I was devastated. By devastated, I mean by third grade standards. Basically, I was mad for a couple of days.

Anyway, after the season was over I had one of the biggest moments in my young life. One day I was informed that the “Cardinals Caravan” was coming to town. Basically, some of the players traveled around and stopped at hotels to sign autographs.

It was great my friends and I went to the Holiday Inn in Galesburg, IL. and when we walked in we were just floored.

I wish I had a picture taken at the moment I saw some of the players sitting at that table. My jaw was probably on the ground.

When we walked in, there were my heroes, sitting at a table in my hometown. McGee was there, Terry Pendleton was there, and there were a couple others as well.

They all looked so normal out of their uniforms and my mom commented on how nice they all were.

We stood in line for a couple of minutes and then we got to shake hands with the players and they signed a couple of their baseball cards. They even had Fred Bird the Redbird there, too.

The one guy who wasn’t there was Tudor. But after that, I started sending his baseball cards to him in the mail and unbelievably, he sent them back–signed.

That was another great feeling, getting a piece of mail from a Cardinals baseball player. It must have been like gold to a grade school kid. I remember I even saved the envelope.

Of course, I still have all of those autographed cards. They’re at home in a binder, right next to the folder of press clippings.

Even if it seems forever ago, I still have fond memories of the ’87 Cardinals. That summer I fell in love with a sport and a team. I was too young to remember all of the key plays in every game, but I know I watched every game of the series intently.

Now that the current Cardinals are back on top of the baseball world, I’m sure there are some young fans out there getting their first taste of the sport, too. I can just imagine the kid in his back yard trying to rob someone of a homer like Jim Edmonds or trying to bare hand a ground ball like Scott Rolen, or even trying to emulate Albert Pujols’ swing.

The memories also put sports in perspective for me. To the players, parents, and coaches of all sports, at all levels, remember one thing, it is just a game–so enjoy it.