If you are unaware of what the above pictures are, it's a pretty safe bet you weren't a Cardinal fan in the 1980s. From 1985-1988, the Cardinals and the Mets each won the NL East twice. It was an incredibly heated rivalry as the two teams battled for divisional supremacy.
On April 18, 1987, the two teams did battle in St. Louis. The Cardinals fell behind 5-0, only to score five in the fourth inning, capped off by a bases loaded walk to Tom Herr. Fans rejoiced at the Cardinal comeback by littering the field frisbee-style with the seat cushions given out as promotional souvenirs. There were so many thrown on the field that there was actually an announcement made that the Cardinals would have to forfeit the game if it continued.
After the field was cleaned up, the Cardinals took the lead in the sixth on an RBI double by Herr, only to see the Mets score two in the top of the ninth to take an 7-6 lead. The Cardinals tied it in the bottom of the ninth in typical Whiteyball fashion as Ozzie Smith walked, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Herr, stole third and scored on the wild throw by the catcher.
In the tenth, the Mets took the lead once more, only to see the Cardinals tie the game on a Tom Pagnozzi single, load the bases, and, well, that's when this happened.
A little trivia here...Question: How many home runs did Herr hit in his career? Answer: 28 (which also was Herr's uniform number). I'm not sure how many of those I saw in person, but I know I saw at least one of them. And unlike just about everyone else who was there, I still have the seat cushion to prove it!
What a fun memory.
ReplyDeleteOne "give away day" memory that sticks with me was the hat day (Easter Sunday) that Jon and I went to the Blues game ... and Brett Hull scored a hat trick! It was a blizzard of white hats falling from the rafters.
:) Mary