M COLUMN - MIKE MCMURRAN Sports Editor
Sitting here listening to KWMU radio field callers favorite memories of Busch Memorial Stadium I thought I might offer my own. I am not sure, maybe many people have spent as much time downtown as I, but is doubt it.
I can recall my grandmother taking me to games as a youngster, but my first memory of going on my own is noteworthy. I was an 8th grader at St. Aloysius grade school in Spanish Lake, and for some reason there was no school the next day (it was a weekday). Me and a bunch of my buddies were spending the night camping out, as we often did, when one of my buddies’ big brother announced he was going down to Busch Stadium to spend the night and purchase World Series tickets. It turned out to be game six of the 1968 World Series against the Detroit Tigers. I cannot remember the final score, but the Cardinals were beaten badly (more on World Series memories later).
From 1969 on, I would attend as many games as possible. One tradition would be Opening Day, where for years you could camp out at the Stadium and purchase bleacher seats for Opening Day. I suspect from 1980 till the early 1990’s I attended every Opening Day; often times sitting in the front row of the bleachers.
Personal highlights include: Lou Brock’s 3000th hit, Bob Forsch’s first no-hitter, Lou Brock’s final game (remember that huge boat coming out of the wagon gate) and Mark McGwire’s grand slam home run on opening day.
I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have camped out at Busch Stadium to get tickets, but I do know it all paid off on October 20, 1982 as I sat in the bleachers as the Cardinals won their only World Championship at Busch. Sure, they were the World Champions in 1967, but the deciding game was won at Fenway Park in Boston.
My wife Lynn and I began dating in 1985, just in time to attend a playoff game and game five of the World Series together. During the course of the next 20 years we would attend numerous playoff games together – along with Opening Days.
Not all of my memories of Busch Stadium have to do with baseball. Remember the Super Jams of the 70’s? For some reason my memory of the concerts are somewhat cloudy – I cannot imagine why – but do recall seeing Styx and REO Speedwagon.
1995 brought football back to St. Louis, and I was sitting in the front row of the center field bleachers as the Rams defeated the New Orleans Saints. Not only was I sitting in the front row, my buddy, Rob Harper, who was sitting right next to me, went home that day with a real NFL football. Ticket stub I do not have, but I have the testimonial of life long St. Charles residents Don and Mary Ann Oelklaus . They were sitting next to Harper as he ran into the bushes and retrieved the first extra-point kicked at the south end of the Stadium (by the way Don, I hope this week’s column is “more about sports than the McMurran family,” as you requested). All four of them had their picture, a big picture, in the next day’s Post Dispatch. There they stood, Mary Ann, Don, Rob and a space where I should have been sitting. Where was I? It was almost the end of the third quarter and I was on a beer run – my luck hasn’t changed over the years.
On June 20th, 1992, the day Lynn and I were married, we had the entire wedding party pose for wedding pictures at the statue of Stan Musial.
Lots and lots of memories. From grade school into my 50’s – but the best was saved for last.
On October 2, 2005, I attended the very last regular season game played at Busch Memorial Stadium with my ten year old daughter, Maggie. My dear friend Mike Lemke secured two tickets for me. Now, I should have been coaching Dee’s soccer game, but to pass up the chance to attend Sunday’s game, well, those who know me know there wasn’t a snowball chance I would pass.
Why was the last the best? (Sorry Don, back to family again) Both Margo and I received certificates acknowledging our attendance. We have framed the ticket stubs, certificates and score card, which she and I kept. The memory has been saved by a photo (or ten), which also will be framed. I can just imagine Margo, on her 59th birthday, sharing our experience together with her children and grandchildren. She will be telling the story of how her and her daddy went to the final regular season baseball game ever played at the “old” Busch Stadium. How we took Metro Link to the game, kept score together, and decided we wouldn’t boo, but likewise not cheer when Mark McGwire was introduced. She’ll probably even show the framed certificates, ticket stubs and pictures. Me? I’ll be dead and gone, for you see on Margo’s 59th birthday, I would have turned 100. And that my friends, ain’t gonna happen.
THE RAGE
By Mike Thompson
RAGE SPIRIT REIGNED SUPREME ON SUNDAY
By Mike Thompson
September 28, 2005
I got the first ‘heads-up’ from Coach Wyatt, I believe, late Wednesday afternoon just as I was leaving the Rage office. “You know it’s suppose to rain on Sunday,” he said, “they’re forecasting showers all day, it’s suppose to roll in right around the time we’d be getting set up.” Then with a grin, he regaled me with his favorite line, the one he uses anytime he’s telling me something that he knows I NEED to know to keep in the good grace of our owners. “I’m just telling you for your own good,” he said laughingly, as I headed out the door.
Before I could even get to my car, a top ten list of worst-case scenarios was already swirling around in my head. What if this, what if that, what if the promotion I had put together for the entire Rams season got off to a horrific start? I’ve talked about it in a previous article, all the info is on our website, but here goes.....coupled with my duties as Media Relations Director and play-by-play broadcaster for the Rage, I also have, for the past seven years, worked three or more shifts on-air for KLOU radio. That’s KLOU, Oldies Radio 103.3, RAMS RADIO during the NFL football season. Get the picture? With the blessing of KLOU Promotions Director John Helmkamp, I arranged for the Rage to have a promotional tent set up near Baer Park in front of the Edwards Jones Dome. A perfect location, with a built in football crowd! A crowd of tailgaters, crazy football lovin’, Rams lovin’ and soon to be, if I have my way, RAGE LOVIN’ fanatics just poised for Rams football and then, with our info, our bumper stickers, our promotional material passed out by players, coaches, and Rage personnel, poised and ready for the River City Rage in the spring of 2006 at our brand new home at the Savvis Center. Rain?? It wouldn’t dare....and besides, I work in radio, remember? I’ve seen ‘those guys’ coach was speaking of be wrong before.
But not this time!! Sunday brought the remnants of Hurricane Rita, or so I presumed, to the Gateway City with a vengeance I still can feel while sitting here warm and dry writing this article. A steady, driving series of showers, most shooting down at a 45 degree angle that slapped into the side of one’s face like blinding pellets of salt water. The Hurricane, I thought, as I waited at the corner of Broadway and Cole Street in front of the main entrance to the Dome. Oh noooo...we hadn’t called it off. It was my call to make, and admittedly, I had just an hour or so before, contacted both Scott and Tye, wondering out loud to their respective cell phone voice mails the wisdom of setting up in such adverse conditions. I called Morris Groves, our Ops Manager. He had the tent, the pass out material, everything we’d need to make a go of it. I’ll let him decide, I figured, as I dialed up his cell phone. “Your call,” he said, “I’m ready to go if you are.”
An executive decision!! I wanted to say something profound like, “let’s roll” but the most I could mumble into the cell phone I had cradled on my shoulder (while holding an umbrella, papers, field glasses, etc) was probably something like, “yeah fine” or “great, great just bring the stuff down and HUSTLE.”
It’s 9:15am.....I’ve sloshed through the mud of Baer Park to meet Morris and help him bring the 7 foot long tent and all the other promotional material to our location about 3 blocks away. I had arranged to meet Coaches Hunt, Edmunds and Montgomery at our site, along with our team doctor, Gene Bell, who was also bringing along one of his sons. Rage wide receiver Chris Williams had also stepped up to brave the weather and help out, so we were more than covered in regards to having enough people to get the word out. The traffic along Broadway was beginning to pick up and every car that went by us as we trooped along brought a set of tires sloshing through curbside puddles of water that threatened to shower us like a sideline Gatorade celebration. Some found the target! “I hope this is worth it,” I said more than once out loud to anyone willing to hear me. “I’ve never seen weather like this in the ten years I’ve been going to these games (I’m also the Press Box Announcer for the Rams, I’ve been to every game since the day the team came to St. Louis) “Believe me, this is the worst I’ve ever seen” Yeah, yeah, yeah!!
But hey, now it’s 9:30 and after fighting the wind and rain to set up the tent, pin our vinyl signs that proclaim the River City Rage the Atlantic East Champions of 2005 to the side of the structure, set up our table and get our material organized, I saw something that re-charged and re-set my attitude a complete 180!
I saw our guys come alive with a bunker mentality that you can sometimes look back on and say, hey that’s the day we kinda came together. Players on the field can often point to a moment when things turned around and the tide began to turn, and a game or even an entire season began to change for the better. I began to sense that feeling as I watched Coach Hunt stand on the corner in a semi-steady rain and hand out bumper stickers and season ticket information, as I watched Chris and Coach Montgomery be more than willing to talk to football fans, answering questions about our team, our season and our future. I remember Coach Edmunds coming up not once, not twice, but THREE times to get more material to take out to the huge crowd at Baer Park. I watched him come back each time more water logged than the time before to tell us how great the fans were, how many people knew about the Rage and wanted our material to be able to plan for next season. “This is great,” he yelled out at one point, and ya know, I had to agree he was absolutely right! I wandered over to Doc Bell and kinda whispered under my breath “Ya know, this wouldn’t have been able to happen before the new ownership took over this past year, man, just look at this, look at these guys mixing it up with all these fans in all this mess.” The good doctor just smiled and said, “Like they say, my friend, it’s a whole new ballgame.”
It’s now 11:20am.....I’ve got to go.....the Rams job is waiting.....I ask everybody to stick around till the noon kickoff, but by now I know that’s a moot point...these guys are having too much fun and too many potential Rage fans for 2006 still need to get material in their hands.
True, we’ll be down there 7 more times, maybe more...GO RAMS!!....and if I said it once, I probably said it 20 times on Sunday....”It’s never been this bad, guys, really, this is the worst.”
But heading into the Dome just before 11:30, I had the very real feeling that it had never, ever been this good!
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
First Capitol News High School Athlete of the Week
BOBBY GOEBEL –
SAINT CHARLES HIGH SCHOOL
FULL NAME: Robert Goebel
AGE, HT. WT.: 18, 6’4”, 280
HOME: Saint Charles
FAMILY: Lives with mom and step dad – Cindy and Dave Edwards
NICKNAME: Bobby
PEOPLE WHO INFLUENCED YOU THE MOST/WHY? My father, Greg Goebel, he got me started in football at the Pee Wee level when I was just 9 years old.
BEST ADVICE ANYONE EVER GAVE YOU: Coach Sinks (offensive line coach at SCH), stay low!
PLAYERS - PAST OR PRESENT - YOU WOULD PAY TO SEE PLAY FOOTBALL: Warren Sapp is my favorite defensive lineman, and Orlando Pace is easily my favorite offensive linemen; I watch them whenever I can on T.V., to see them play in person would be awesome.
HOBBIES: Cars, fishing and hunting.
TYPE OF CAR: Pontiac Grand Am
FAVORITE ACTOR: Adam Saddler
FAVORITE MOVIE: Friday Night Lights
FAVORITE TV SHOW: ESPN Sports Center
FAVORITE MUSIC: Country
FAVORITE FOOD: Steak
FAVORITE PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAM: Dallas Cowboys
BEST TIME OF YOUR LIFE/WHY? Right now, I’m living it!
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Never playing more than 10 football games in one season; we’re going to change that real quick!
PLAYERS YOU LEARNED THE MOST FROM: I watch Orlando Pace every snap of the ball – his technique is practically perfect. Once again, my dad, he gave me the love of the sport at a very young age.
SPORTS HERO: Orlando Pace
THE CHARACTERISTIC YOU MOST ADMIRE IN A PERSON: Honesty, if your not honest, with both yourself and others, you have nothing.
THE TRUEST SIGN OF SUCCESS: The ability to accept and understand the true concept of “team work.” Coach Nesslage makes sure we know exactly what it means.
MOST MEMORABLE GAME: Beating Warrenton at Lindenwood University; we started the season out with a loss against Jennings and have turned it around with 3 straight wins.
River Otter Goaltender In Chicago Wolves Training Camp
By Louis J. Launer
The United Hockey League season hasn’t started yet, neither has any training camps with any of the teams. But one Missouri River Otter is getting some experience this season at a higher level in the minor leagues - in the Chicago Wolves training camp. Goaltender Kevin Reiter signed with the River Otters in August and fans hope that Reiter would be the team’s number one goaltender.
News of Reiter’s apparent “call up” to the Chicago Wolves organization (an American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers) spread among Missouri River Otter fans last Friday with some mixed emotions. Many were happy to see Reiter playing on the AAA level. Some wondered if
the River Otters needed to shop for another goaltender if the Wolves decided to keep him.
By the end of the weekend, fans became confident that Kevin Reiter will be back for the River Otters when training camp opens on October 10.
“Reiter has a try-out with the Chicago Wolves,” explained Dan Silver of the River Otters media relations department. “He is under contract with us, but if he impresses at the Wolves camp they could offer him a contract. Last year he tried out with Springfield [Massachusetts]. It is not uncommon for UHL players to have uncontracted try-outs with AHL teams.”
This past weekend, Reiter and the Chicago Wolves traveled to Peoria to play the new Blues AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. Although the Rivermen lost to the Wolves, 6-5 in a shootout, Reiter saw no action. But was on the bench as a third-string, or “emergency” goaltender. The Wolves played Monday night in Des Moines, Iowa, the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars. Reiter saw playing time, but allowed three Iowa goals and was benched after half a period.
Entering his second professional season with the River Otters, Reiter’s biggest moment last season was his record-setting 65 saves for the River Otters in a 3-2 double-overtime victory against Fort Wayne in game 5 of the 2005 Colonial Cup Playoffs. Although he was the team’s backup goaltender last season, Reiter tied the River Otters regular-season franchise record with 52 saves in a game late last season against Kalamazoo. He also finished third in the UHL among all goaltenders in 2004-05 with five shutouts.
Reiter remains the only signed goaltender currently on the River Otters’ pre-season roster. Other goaltenders will be trying out with the team when training camp gets underway at St. Louis Mills’ Ice Zone.
The River Otters have two exhibition games that will take place on October 14 and 16. They will play the Quad City Mallards on October 14 in Davenport, Iowa. They will return on October 16 and host the Rockford IceHogs at the St. Louis Mills’ Ice Zone at 6:30 p.m.
Single game tickets for the River Otters began to be sold at the Family Arena on Friday and will continue throughout the weekend. Opening night for the River Otters will be Friday, October 21 against the Motor City (Detroit) Mechanics at the Family Arena.
RIVER OTTERS ADD TWO ROOKIE GOALTENDERS
Ryan Senft and Corey Wogtech Expected to Compete For Roster Spot
The Missouri River Otters of the United Hockey League agreed to terms with Ryan Senft and Corey Wogtech, two young goaltenders looking to earn a spot on the team.
“We’re excited to see both of these goaltenders in our training camp,” River Otters Head Coach Kevin Kaminski said. “We expect a fierce competition for our second goalie spot with Ryan and Corey both competing with Brenden Cuthbert.”
Senft, 21, spent last season with the Amherst Ramblers of the Maritime Junior ‘A’ Hockey League (MJAHL). In 53 games, the 6’3’’, 210-lb netminder went 22-22-6 with a 3.39 goals-against-average, a .910 save percentage and 3 shutouts. He was awarded MVP of his team and won MJAHL Player-of-the-Week twice during the season. He’s had stints in the Canadian Major Juniors with the Saskatoon Blades, trip-City Americans, and Prince Albert Raiders.
Wogtech, 23, is a St. Peters, MO native. He played in seven games with St. Scholastica (NCAA) last season, going 1-5-0 with a 4.08 goals-against-average and a .906 save percentage. In 2004 he was named St. Scholastica Freshman-of-the-Year and Team MVP.
Senft and Wogtech join a growing roster of River Otters that includes: Goaltenders Kevin Reiter and Brenden Cuthbert; Defensemen Tim O’Connell, Tyler Butler, Jared Newman, Roman Vasut, Brian Heckendorn, Mark Lindsay, and Leif Thorkelson; Forwards Brad Church, Frank Littlejohn, Lars Pettersen, Damian Surma, Mark Odut, Brad MacMillan, Dmitri Toupikov, Ryan Scapinello, and Richard Paul.
The Rivers Otters first exhibition game is scheduled for Friday, October 14 against the Mallards at the Quad City Sports Center with a face-off at 7 PM CDT. On Sunday, October 16, the River Otters will host the IceHogs at the St. Louis Mills IceZone in an exhibition game. The game is scheduled to start at 6:30 PM CDT. General admission tickets will cost $6 and will be available at the IceZone starting at 10 AM the day of the game.
The River Otters start their 2005-06 Colonial Cup quest Friday, October 21 at the Family Arena against the Motor City Mechanics. The River Otters are proud hosts of the 2006 UHL All-Star Classic on Wednesday, January 25. Tickets for the UHL All-Star Classic are scheduled to go on sale Friday, October 21. To order 2005-06 Missouri River Otters season or group tickets, please call the River Otters front office at (636) 896-4200, or visit the River Otters online at www.riverotters.com.
