It didn’t take long for a Kentucky jury to determine a couple of Cardinals accused of doing wrong did right.
Thirty years ago, on Aug. 27, 1990, Cardinals pitcher Frank DiPino and catcher Tom Pagnozzi were found not guilty of misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct. The jury of three women and three men deliberated for 30 minutes before returning the verdicts.
Earlier in the day, a charge of disorderly conduct against Cardinals pitcher Greg Mathews was dismissed by the judge before the trial began.
DiPino, Pagnozzi and Mathews were arrested on May 19, 1990, in Covington, Ky., across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, during a late-night altercation at a gas station.
The players said they were trying to help a woman who was assaulted, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Trouble in river city
The Cardinals were in Cincinnati in May 1990 to play a four-game series with the Reds at Riverfront Stadium.
On May 18, a Friday night, Mathews was the Cardinals’ starter and pitched eight scoreless innings, but the Reds won, 1-0, on Paul O’Neill’s home run versus Ken Dayley with two outs in the ninth. Boxscore
After the game, Mathews, DiPino and Pagnozzi went to The Waterfront, a floating restaurant tied to moorings at Pete Rose Pier in Covington. The high-end steak and seafood place had stunning views of the Cincinnati skyline, a lively bar scene and a 1980s “Miami Vice” vibe.
Late in the evening, Stacey Winn, 23, of Cincinnati and two friends offered to drive the three players from the restaurant to the team hotel, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
At about 2:30 a.m., they stopped at a Covington gas station. Winn got out of the vehicle and was near the restroom when she said a man approached, made a suggestive remark and shoved her to the ground, The Cincinnati Post reported.
Defense attorneys identified the man as an off-duty police officer from nearby Dayton, Ky.
DiPino and Pagnozzi saw what happened, and ran over to help Winn and confront the man.
Winn testified the man punched DiPino, the Associated Press reported. DiPino and Pagnozzi fought back.
Covington police officers arrived, said they saw DiPino and Pagnozzi throwing punches and arrested them, the Post-Dispatch reported. The man who Winn said assaulted her was not arrested.
DiPino and Pagnozzi were handcuffed and put into the back seat of a police car. Mathews was arrested when he opened the back door of the police car.
The three players were taken to jail and released on bail.
That night, Saturday, May 19, DiPino pitched in the Cardinals’ game versus the Reds, facing three batters in relief of starter John Tudor. Boxscore
The next afternoon, Sunday, May 20, Pagnozzi caught in the series finale and drove in the go-ahead run for the Cardinals in the seventh inning of a 6-2 victory. Boxscore
Law and order
A trial date in Kenton County district court was scheduled for Monday, Aug. 27, 1990, a scheduled off-day in Cincinnati for the Cardinals before they opened a two-game series with the Reds.
Prosecutor John Fortner offered DiPino, Pagnozzi and Mathews a plea agreement, but they rejected it, preferring a jury trial, the Post-Dispatch reported.
“We brought this to trial so the jury could find out that what we did was correct,” DiPino told the Associated Press. “I just reacted as I thought any man should. If I saw the same thing happening again, I’m sure I’d run over there again.”
If found guilty, each player faced a maximum of 90 days in jail and a fine of $250.
On the eve of the trial, Pagnozzi said to the Post-Dispatch, “Manager Joe Torre told me I’m catching Tuesday (Aug. 28) if I’m not in jail.”
Justice served
On the morning of the trial, Judge Steven Jaeger dismissed the charge against Mathews. The judge said Mathews shouldn’t have been charged with disorderly conduct for opening the door of the police car because his teammates were handcuffed and Mathews’ action didn’t pose a threat, the Post-Dispatch reported.
During the trial, none of the players testified. Nor did the alleged assailant, who had been suspended by the Dayton, Ky., police department, The Cincinnati Post reported.
Defense attorney James Kidney of Newport, Ky., relied on the testimony of Stacey Winn to convince the jury the players came to her rescue and then defended themselves against the man who assaulted her.
After the jury returned its verdicts, Pagnozzi told the Associated Press, “We believed we were not guilty the whole time. I tried to do the right thing. We felt we did do the right thing.”
DiPino told the Post-Dispatch, “We believe what we did was right and we stuck to our guns.”
One of the women jurors, Pat Perry, told The Cincinnati Post, “We just did not feel they started it. They were only helping the girl. We all hoped if we were in the same position they would come to our aid.”
Being declared innocent did them lots of good. In the two game series against the Reds on Aug. 28 and 29, Pagnozzi went 4 for 8 with three doubles and three runs scored. On Aug. 30, pitching one inning of relief, Frank Dipino was also credited with a win. This is just my weak attempt at trying to be funny. The “Pete Rose” Pier should have made them change restaurants.
Thanks. The owner of the Waterfront restaurant, Jeff Ruby, was a friend of Pete Rose. Johnny Bench and Pete Rose were financial backers of Ruby’s first restaurant, The Precinct, which remains a Cincinnati landmark.