Growing up a Cardinals fan

When the steroid controversy flared up back when home runs became a dime a dozen, I stopped followed major league baseball. However, like a legion of other boys of my generation living in the middle-USA, I grew up a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. Before expansion began in 1961, there were not really any other teams to compete for fans over a huge section of real estate. No Kansas City, no Texas, no Atlanta, etc. It was the Cards, or nothing. Generations of middle-Americans grew up rooting for the Cards, mainly because they were the "only game in town." The other big plus they had going for them was the fact that their games were broadcast on KMOX, which could be heard at night over most of their fan base. We had a beat-up old radio that stayed in our room, and I would turn it on at night at a very low volume and listen to Cardinals games surreptitiously. Way back then the announcers were Harry Caray and Jack Buck, both of whom went on to become “legendary” broadcasters. It made for some very pleasant memories.

I first really took hold as a Cards fan during the 1964 World Series, which St. Louis won in seven games over the Yankees. One of my best friends was a big Yankee fan, and it was fun to rub it in to him.