RetroSimba

Why Cardinals were inclined to acquire Ron Kline

December 26, 2019 by retrosimba

Ron Kline had an ominous start to his stint with the Cardinals, foretelling of rough times ahead for the right-handed pitcher.

On Dec. 21, 1959, the Cardinals acquired Kline from the Pirates for outfielder Gino Cimoli and pitcher Tom Cheney. Kline, 27, was expected to join a starting rotation with Larry Jackson, Vinegar Bend Mizell, Ernie Broglio and Bob Miller in 1960.

Two weeks after the trade, on Jan. 3, 1960, Kline was on a commercial flight to St. Louis to sign his contract when one of the airplane’s engines stopped working.

“Our plane had an engine conk out half an hour out of Pittsburgh and the pilot invited anybody who felt shaky to get out at Indianapolis,” Kline told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Apparently, no one accepted the offer and the plane landed safely in St. Louis.

The precarious arrival set the tone for Kline. Over the next 15 months, he experienced a series of predicaments both on and off the field as a Cardinal.

Pirates product

Kline was born and raised in Callery, Pa., a railroad junction of about 400 residents located 27 miles north of Pittsburgh. He played for a town baseball team, got a tryout with the Pirates and signed when he was 18.

After two years in the minors, primarily at Class D, Kline, 20, earned a spot with the 1952 Pirates. Overmatched, he was 0-7 with a 5.49 ERA but bonded with a veteran starter, ex-Cardinal Howie Pollet.

Kline served in the Army in 1953 and 1954, returned to the Pirates in 1955 and lost his first two decisions, giving him an 0-9 record for his major-league career.

On May 1, 1955, Kline got his first big-league win, a shutout against the Cardinals at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Boxscore

Kline developed a reputation as a hard-luck starter whose record didn’t reflect his skill. His best Pirates seasons were 1956 (14-18, 3.38 ERA) and 1958 (13-16, 3.53).

In 1959, Kline was 11-13 with a 4.26 ERA. Disappointed he was limited to 186 innings after topping 200 in each of the previous three seasons, Kline said he wanted “to pitch more often or be traded,” the Pittsburgh Press reported.

“I have to pitch to make money,” Kline told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The Pirates shopped Kline for an outfielder. After being rebuffed by the Giants in a bid to get either Willie Kirkland, Felipe Alou or Jackie Brandt, the Pirates came close to shipping Kline and shortstop Dick Groat to the Athletics for Roger Maris.

Betting on a breakthrough

Kline was shoveling snow outside his home when he got a call from Pirates general manager Joe Brown, informing him of the trade to St. Louis. Kline was recommended by his former teammate, Pollet, the Cardinals’ pitching coach.

“I saw a lot of potential in the kid,” Pollet told the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. “He has great desire and I have enough confidence in my ability to think I can make him a regular winner. He has a good fastball, but for some reason he didn’t throw it last season. He tried to be cute and too fine with his control.”

Cardinals third baseman Ken Boyer, who hit .222 against Kline in his career, was glad to see him become a teammate. “Kline gave me as much trouble as anyone,” Boyer told The Sporting News.

At spring training with the Cardinals in 1960, Kline was impressive. In 28 innings pitched in exhibition games, his ERA was 0.64.

When the season began, it was a different story. Kline had a 5.06 ERA when he got his first Cardinals win, beating the Pirates on May 2, 1960, at St. Louis. Boxscore

Let’s make a deal

The satisfaction of beating his former team was short-lived. Kline lost six of his next seven decisions. He made his last start for the Cardinals on July 10 before being moved to the bullpen.

Kline finished the 1960 season with a 4-9 record and 6.04 ERA. Three of his wins were against the Pirates. He struggled both as a starter (3-7, 5.92) and as a reliever (1-2, 6.35).

In 117.2 innings pitched, Kline gave up 21 home runs. His average of allowing a home run every 5.6 innings was the highest in the National League in 1960.

The Cardinals (86-68) finished in third place, nine games behind the league champion Pirates (95-59). While Kline faltered with the Cardinals, Mizell, traded to the Pirates in May 1960 for second baseman Julian Javier, was 13-5 for Pittsburgh.

After the season, the Cardinals approached the Yankees and offered to trade pitcher Larry Jackson, catcher Hal Smith and Kline for pitchers Whitey Ford and Ryne Duren and catcher Elston Howard. The clubs “surveyed the pros and cons of such a trade” before the Yankees backed out, the Globe-Democrat reported.

The Cardinals also proposed sending Kline and Bob Gibson to the Senators for pitcher Bobby Shantz, but Washington preferred an offer from the Pirates.

Also, the Cubs and Cardinals discussed a swap of pitcher Moe Drabowsky for Kline but it didn’t get done.

Flummoxed by his inability to deal Kline, Devine said, “I realize his value is down, but I’m not going to throw him out the window.”

Spitball specialist

During the winter, Kline was hunting in Pennsylvania when a gun shell blew up in his face. Fragments of the brass shell lodged in each eye, but were removed without damaging Kline’s eyesight, according to the Society for American Baseball Research.

Kline reported to Cardinals spring training in 1961 and said he planned to work on a knuckleball. Unimpressed with the result, the Cardinals sold Kline’s contract to the Angels on April 11, 1961.

After stints with the Angels and Tigers, Kline thrived as a reliever for the Senators. In four years (1963-66) with them, he had 83 saves and a 2.54 ERA.

His turnaround came when he mastered the spitball, an illegal pitch. Sports Illustrated reported Kline had one of “the finest spitballs in the American League.” In his book “The Wrong Stuff,” Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee said, “Ron Kline had a great spitter.”

Kline pitched for nine teams (Pirates, Cardinals, Angels, Tigers, Senators, Twins, Giants, Red Sox and Braves) in 17 seasons. His career numbers: 114-144 record, 108 saves, 3.75 ERA.

Posted in Games, Pitchers, Trades | 2 Comments »

Ted Simmons was grand replacement for Reggie Smith

December 23, 2019 by retrosimba

In one of the most unusual at-bats of his Hall of Fame career, Ted Simmons stepped in for the Cardinals’ cleanup hitter against a pitcher who didn’t expect to be used in relief and hit a grand slam, accounting for all the runs in the game.

Batting for another switch-hitter, Reggie Smith, who had to depart because of back pain, Simmons hit an 0-and-2 pitch from Jon Matlack over the left-field wall, giving the Cardinals a 4-0 victory over the Mets in the second game of a doubleheader on June 23, 1975, at New York’s Shea Stadium.

It was the first of six pinch-hit home runs Simmons had in the major leagues.

Ready or not

Simmons caught Ron Reed’s shutout in Game 1 of the Monday night doubleheader, a 1-0 Cardinals victory. Simmons, batting cleanup, contributed a single and a walk. Boxscore

In the second game, Simmons was out of the lineup and Ken Rudolph was the starting catcher.

The game was scoreless when Cardinals pitcher John Denny led off the eighth inning with a single to left for his first major-league hit. Bake McBride moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt.

After Mike Tyson drew a walk from Mets starter George Stone, putting runners on first and second with one out, Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst told Simmons, “I’m probably going to use you to pinch-hit. Get a bat.”

As Simmons started out to the plate, he saw the scheduled batter, Luis Melendez, headed there, too, the Associated Press reported.

Ted asked Red, “Don’t you want me to hit?”

“Yeah, but for Reggie Smith,” Schoendienst replied.

Melendez singled to left, loading the bases, and Simmons came up to bat for the ailing Smith, who was 0-for-3 against Stone.

Sink or swim

In the Mets’ bullpen, Matlack had gotten up to fulfill his routine of throwing between starts. After the Cardinals loaded the bases, bullpen coach Joe Pignatano turned to Matlack and said, “Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?” Matlack replied.

Pignatano said, “You’re in the game.”

“I was almost done with my workout,” Matlack said to the Passaic (N.J.) Herald-News. “I had no idea they wanted me to go in as a reliever. I had been throwing out of my full windup and was just about done working out of the stretch.”

Mets manager Yogi Berra said, “I brought him in because he makes them hit a lot of groundballs. I talked to him before the game and told him I might have to use him.”

Matlack, who hadn’t appeared in relief in three years, said, “Being thrown in a game like that is an unnatural situation for me.”

Cat and mouse

When Matlack, a left-hander, entered the game, Simmons, a switch-hitter, stood in from the right side of the plate. He swung and missed at the first two pitches.

“The first pitch was a fastball down at the knees,” said Simmons. “The second was a slider around my neck. I said to myself, ‘I wish I could have that one back.’ ”

Matlack said he noticed Simmons “was pulling out on the first two pitches” and decided to throw a curve.

“The purpose of the 0-and-2 pitch is not necessarily a waste pitch,” said Matlack. “If anything, he was supposed to hit it foul. Or, if he doesn’t swing, it sets him up for the next pitch.”

Matlack’s curve looked like a slider or cut fastball, Simmons said, and came in low and inside.

“I was on the plate, trying to protect it and hoping to at least hit a fly ball for a run,” Simmons told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Matlack said, “The pitch was a hell of a curve, I thought. It was right where I wanted it. I was surprised he even swung at it.”

Said Simmons: “I got all of it.”

After watching a television replay of the grand slam, Matlack noted, “As he hit the ball, his hands collapsed, It was almost as if he was looking for that pitch.”

Simmons’ slam enabled the Cardinals to sweep. A grateful Reggie Smith said, “We had the right man for the right job at the right time.” Boxscore

Simmons hit .377 (20-for-53) with two home runs versus Matlack in his career.

Of Simmons’ nine grand slams in the majors, seven were with the Cardinals and he hit one each with the Brewers and Braves.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Opponents | 4 Comments »

Cardinals were persistent in pursuit of Fernando Vina

December 20, 2019 by retrosimba

(Updated April 17, 2022)

The Cardinals tried for a year to acquire second baseman Fernando Vina and, when they finally succeeded, they were rewarded for their effort.

On Dec. 20, 1999, the Cardinals got Vina from the Brewers for pitchers Juan Acevedo and Matt Parker, plus catcher Eliezer Alfonzo.

Vina gave the Cardinals the consistent leadoff batter they’d been lacking and solidified the infield defense.

AL all-star

Vina was born and raised in Sacramento, Calif., where his parents settled after immigrating to the United States from Cuba. In 1989, when Vina was attending Arizona State, he toured Cuba with Team USA.

A left-handed batter with speed, Vina played for the Mariners (1993), Mets (1994) and Brewers. In five seasons with the Brewers (1995-99), Vina batted .286 and produced 559 hits in 528 games. His best season with them was 1998 when he was named a National League all-star and batted .311 with 198 hits and 101 runs scored.

After the 1998 season, the Brewers shopped Vina because he had “the highest trade value” on their roster, The Sporting News reported, and rookie Ronnie Belliard was available to replace him.

The Cardinals, seeking a replacement for departed free agent Delino DeShields at second base, became serious suitors for Vina in December 1998, according to The Sporting News, but couldn’t come up with a pitcher the Brewers wanted.

On May 9, 1999, Vina collided with Brewers teammate Jeromy Burnitz while pursuing a pop fly and injured his left knee. He returned to the lineup three weeks later, developed tendinitis in the knee and was shut down for the season after June 3.

High praise

Joe McEwing was the Cardinals’ second baseman in 1999 and batted .275, but the the club wanted a leadoff batter with a high on-base percentage and speed.

The Cardinals pursued a deal with the Dodgers for second baseman Eric Young, offering reliever Ricky Bottalico, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, but when talks stalled they turned their attention to Vina. The Cardinals offered pitcher Garrett Stephenson, but the Brewers insisted on Acevedo and the deal was made.

“He’s a legitimate top of the lineup guy,” said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa.

Vina said, “My plan is to get on base any way I can. This lineup is incredible … If I get on base, good things are going to happen.”

At spring training in 2000, Vina impressed Cardinals coach and former second baseman Jose Oquendo, who said, “He’s the best I’ve seen turning the double play, ever.”

Vina said, “Defense is a big part of my game. I don’t underestimate the momentum that can turn our way when you come up with a good defensive play or turn a double play.”

Vina also impressed Cardinals instructor Lou Brock, who cited Vina’s passion for wanting to improve his base stealing ability.

“I’ve learned more from Lou Brock about stealing bases in my first three weeks in spring training than I knew all my life,” Vina told Cardinals Magazine. “It’s incredible the little keys that can help you be that much better and help you steal more bases.”

After Vina hit .350 with a .426 on-base percentage in spring training exhibition games, general manager Walt Jocketty called him “the catalyst that we were hoping he’d be.”

Key contributor

On April 3, 2000, in the season opener against the Cubs at St. Louis, Vina had a successful Cardinals debut, producing two singles, a triple, scoring a run, driving in a run and turning a double play. Boxscore

Vina, who turned 31 two weeks into the season, batted .300 for the 2000 Cardinals, scored 81 runs, had an on-base percentage of .380 and led National League second basemen in fielding percentage.

He also was hit by pitches a league-leading 28 times in 2000. He achieved the total even though he was on the disabled list for two weeks in June because of a hamstring injury and sat out 14 September games because of a rib injury.

The Cardinals’ single-season record for most times hit by pitches is 31 by Steve Evans in 1910.

Vina had three more seasons of double-figure hit-by-pitch totals for the Cardinals _ 22 in 2001, 18 in 2002 and 11 in 2003.

According to The Sporting News, “Vina is the key to jump-starting the team’s offense … When Vina gets on, it makes it easier for No. 2 hitter (J.D.) Drew to hit the ball in the hole.”

Vina had his best Cardinals season in 2001 when he batted .303 with 191 hits and 95 runs scored.

He won Gold Glove awards for his defense in 2001 and 2002.

Vina played four seasons (2000-2003) with the Cardinals, generated 570 hits in 488 games and sparked them to three postseason appearances.

Ill-advised decision

After an injury-marred 2003 season, Vina became a free agent and signed with the Tigers. In December 2007, he admitted using Human Growth Hormone, a performance-enhancing drug banned by Major League Baseball, with the 2003 Cardinals in an attempt to heal more quickly from hamstring and knee ailments.

“I tried everything rehabbing,” Vina said. “I came to a point that I was desperate.

“Was it right? No. Obviously, it was wrong. I’m embarrassed by it. Bottom line, it was stupid. I’m embarrassed now, and it didn’t help, either.”

Posted in Games, Hitters, Trades | 6 Comments »

“We Will Rise”: Tragedy, triumph in basketball heartland

December 18, 2019 by retrosimba

One of America’s most inspiring sports stories gets the attention it deserves in the newly released book “We Will Rise.”

In December 1977, a chartered airplane carrying the University of Evansville men’s basketball team crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all on board. United in their grief, the school and community were determined to rebuild. Led by a brash, talented coach, Dick Walters, the Evansville Purple Aces won their conference championship in March 1982 and reached the NCAA Tournament.

With the writing skill of a novelist and the research quality of an investigative reporter, author Steve Beaven has produced a gripping account of the true-life drama. Far more than a basketball story, the book offers rich characterization of the people involved and provides understanding and context to what happened before and after the tragedy.

Beaven and I were colleagues at The Evansville Press when I covered the Evansville basketball team during the Dick Walters years. I arrived in Evansville in May 1978, five months after the plane crash and two weeks after graduating from college, and found a school and community determined to rebuild. When the team reached the NCAA Tournament in March 1982, it did so not as a long-shot but as a peer to the best programs in the nation, having earned its way step by step through a steady series of achievements.

As someone who witnessed the rebirth of the program and the impact it had on the school and community, I can attest to the accuracy and quality of Beaven’s work.

This is a first-rate book and one I highly recommend. You can order the book by clicking this link.

Here is a transcript of an interview I did with Beaven in December 2019:

Q.: Congratulations on writing the book. What inspired you to do it?

Beaven: “I went to graduate school about 10 years ago for a master’s of fine arts in creative writing. Early on, I was talking to my adviser about possible thesis topics, and this immediately came to mind. The crash was a huge event in my hometown. Everyone who lived there remembers where they were when they heard. This was catastrophic for our community.”

Q.: From inception to completion, how long did the project take and what was the most time-consuming aspect?

Beaven: “I started the thesis in 2007, but I didn’t start writing a book until early 2016. The research was by far the most time-consuming part. I did about 250 interviews. I had thousands of documents, newspaper clips, etc. Just keeping track of so much information was a lot of work.”

Q.: What was the biggest obstacle or challenge you had to overcome and how did you do it?

Beaven: “Writing an ending was incredibly difficult because (spoiler alert) Evansville lost the big game against Marquette. So, how do I create a satisfying ending for the reader? I want to build suspense. I want the reader to feel like he/she is watching the game, eager to find out how it would end. Ultimately I used a radio broadcast to create the scene and set the tone.”

Q.: What are your personal remembrances of the Evansville tragedy and what was its impact on you?

Beaven: “I have a really foggy memory from that night. I was 10 and my dad and I had just come home from a high school basketball game. He flipped on the TV, we saw the news and he started to cry. I don’t think I’d ever seen him cry before. I started crying, too. That’s a really powerful memory for me.”

Q.: The book is journalistically honest in that it is compelling and uplifting but doesn’t sugarcoat or sensationalize. How were you able to strike the right balance?

Beaven: “The research and reporting were the most important part of the project and I wanted to be rigorously factual. When you have a really compelling story and you’ve done the research, you don’t have to be sensational or sugarcoat anything. The story tells itself.”

Q.: What has been the most rewarding aspect to you in writing this book?

Beaven: “I’ve interviewed the families of lots of people who were on that plane. They were so incredibly kind and gracious to me. Elderly parents and aging siblings who talked to me for hours on end, invited me into their lives. The players would be in their early 60s now and their families are carrying around a lot of hurt and suffering for decades and they were willing to share that with me.”

Q.: This is primarily a baseball blog, so I have a couple of baseball questions. You went to the same high school, Reitz Memorial in Evansville, as Don Mattingly. What insights can you provide about him?

Beaven: “First, I’ll say that injuries have left him far, far underrated. You could make an argument that over a five- to seven-year span he was the greatest overall hitter in baseball. And I grew up right across the street from the Memorial baseball field. I went to every one of his football and basketball games, too. Once, when I was maybe in fifth grade, he joined my sisters and I when we were sledding and it felt like a brush with greatness, even though he was probably only 15 at the time.”

Q.: Can you share with us a favorite personal baseball anecdote?

Beaven: “There is a very strong Iink to baseball in the book. Marv Bates was the University of Evansville play-by-play guy for radio. He also called Evansville Triplets baseball games. The Triplets were Detroit’s top farm club. Marv was a local icon. Sometimes he would recreate Triplets road games as they happened, live from the studio in Evansville, using all kinds of sound effects and details from the old ticker tape wire service. He made recordings from each of the ballparks early in the season and later used them when he recreated games. He had clips of trains going by, race cars from a stadium near a track. I mean, he was very detailed. These were part-time jobs for Marv. He taught high school social studies during the day. He did the broadcasting gigs because he truly loved the city and those teams. He was on that plane.”

Q.: Final question. Why should someone read this book?

Beaven: “This is really a book about community. We experienced the loss together and we celebrated the success of the new team together. Ultimately, I think it’s an uplifting story.”

Posted in Uncategorized | 8 Comments »

How Mike Matheny became a Cardinals catcher

December 15, 2019 by retrosimba

The Cardinals wanted Joe Girardi to be their backup catcher but settled for Mike Matheny.

On Dec. 15, 1999, the Cardinals signed Matheny, a free agent, after failing in their bid to get Girardi, who went to the Cubs.

The Cardinals’ No. 2 choice turned out to be a No. 1 catcher.

Matheny became the Cardinals’ starter in 2000, helped them become division champions and won a Gold Glove Award for his defensive excellence. Matheny played five seasons for the Cardinals, who got to the postseason in four of those years, and won the Gold Glove Award three times.

In a nifty twist, Girardi became a free agent after the 2002 season and signed with the Cardinals to be Matheny’s backup in 2003.

Prayers answered

After five years (1994-98) with the Brewers, Matheny was a backup to Blue Jays catcher Darrin Fletcher in 1999 and hit .215 in 57 games.

“Matheny is an intelligent, studious catcher with a quiet motion behind the plate and an easy rapport with the pitchers,” The Sporting News noted, but his weak hitting was keeping him from being a starter.

“It’s a simple matter of the requisite bat speed being absent,” The Sporting News concluded in September 1999. “Barring a miraculous transformation at the plate, his destiny is to be a backup catcher.”

When Matheny, 29, became a free agent after the 1999 season, the Brewers showed interest, but not the Cardinals.

St. Louis general manager Walt Jocketty “thought he had a good chance to sign Joe Girardi,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Girardi was with the Yankees from 1996-99 and played in three World Series for them before becoming a free agent. Though the Cardinals offered more money than the Cubs did, he signed with Chicago to be near his home.

Pitcher Pat Hentgen, whom the Cardinals acquired from the Blue Jays in November 1999, urged them to sign Matheny.

The Cardinals gave Matheny a one-year deal for $750,000 and planned to have him back up incumbent starter Eli Marrero.

“I like to think I’m an unselfish player and will be helpful whether I’m playing or not,” Matheny said. “That doesn’t mean I’m not interested in playing, because I am.”

An Ohio native who attended the University of Michigan, Matheny was residing with his wife, Kristin, and four children in Weldon Spring, Mo., about 25 miles from St. Louis. Kristin grew up in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield and she and her husband had decided to raise their family in the area.

“She must have some powerful prayers because we really didn’t think about the Cardinals being interested in us,” Matheny told the Post-Dispatch.

Fighting for a job

A couple of weeks before spring training began in 2000, the Cardinals signed another free-agent catcher, Rick Wilkins, creating competition for Matheny. Wilkins had been in the big leagues for nine seasons (1991-99) and hit .303 with 30 home runs for the 1993 Cubs.

If Matheny didn’t hit, Wilkins gave the Cardinals an option.

“I wish I could take a little of the enthusiasm I feel when I’m behind the plate and have it when I get into the batter’s box,” Matheny told the Post-Dispatch. “I just love being behind the plate, all the strategy that goes unseen there, but I’m working on revamping my swing and improving on the things that have held my statistics back.”

The Cardinals entered spring training committed to Marrero, 26, as their starting catcher. Marrero, diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 1998, hit .192 in 114 games for the Cardinals in 1999, but management expected him to be stronger and better in 2000.

Initially, all three catchers struggled to hit in spring training. Two weeks before the season opener, their batting averages were .091 for Matheny, .100 for Marrero and .217 for Wilkins.

“I put a lot more pressure on myself early on than I should,” Matheny said. “I was trying to do too much and open eyes … Then I started to panic, trying to make up for lost ground.”

A hot streak near the end of spring training earned Matheny the backup job over Wilkins, who was sent to the minor leagues. Wilkins “was very much in the picture until Matheny had a stronger last week offensively,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

On March 29, 2000, manager Tony La Russa informed Matheny he was on the Opening Day roster. “It was like making the big leagues for the first time,” Matheny said.

Taking charge

When the Cardinals opened the season on April 3, 2000, at home against the Cubs, the starting catchers were Matheny and Girardi. With his father and brothers attending from Ohio, Matheny contributed a single and a double and scored a run in the Cardinals’ 7-1 triumph. Boxscore

Experiencing an Opening Day in St. Louis for the first time, Matheny said, “I can honestly say it was about the most fun I’ve ever had playing in the game.”

Hitting and fielding well and displaying a quick release on throws, Matheny supplanted Marrero as the No. 1 catcher. In May 2000, The Sporting News declared, “Matheny continues to exceed expectations.”

On July 1, 2000, Marrero tore a ligament in his left thumb. A couple of weeks later, Matheny cracked a rib but continued to play. He wore a flak jacket and had his chest taped before every game. Carlos Hernandez, acquired from the Padres at the trade deadline, gave the Cardinals insurance at the catcher position.

Matheny hit .261 with 47 RBI in 128 games for the 2000 Cardinals and led National League catchers in number of runners caught attempting to steal (49). He sat out the postseason after he severed two tendons and a nerve in his right ring finger while using a hunting knife he received as a 30th birthday gift.

After their playing careers, Girardi and Matheny became big-league managers. Girardi won a World Series championship with the 2009 Yankees and Matheny won a National League pennant with the 2013 Cardinals.

Posted in Games, Hitters, Trades | 6 Comments »

How baseball Cardinals made a pitch to Joe Namath

December 13, 2019 by retrosimba

A quarter-century after he recommended Stan Musial to the Cardinals, Ollie Vanek tried to get Joe Namath to sign with them.

In 1937, Vanek was manager of the Cardinals’ farm club in Monessen, Pa., when he gave a tryout to Musial, 16, a prep player from nearby Donora, Pa. The Cardinals followed Vanek’s suggestion and signed the left-handed pitcher.

Four years later, at spring training in 1941, Musial had a damaged left shoulder and no longer was a prized prospect. Vanek was manager of the Cardinals’ farm club in Springfield, Mo., and offered to convert Musial from pitcher to outfielder. Musial, 20, thrived under Vanek’s guidance and was called up by the Cardinals in the last month of the 1941 season, putting him on a path to a Hall of Fame career.

Vanek “was a good man and responsible for my start in St. Louis,” Musial recalled to the Associated Press in 2000.

Car money

In 1960, 23 years after he discovered Musial, Vanek was scouting for the Cardinals when he made an offer to Namath, a junior at Beaver Falls High School, about 40 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Namath, 17, was a prep standout in football, basketball and baseball.

“Until my senior year, baseball and basketball were my best sports and, even when I was a senior, I still wanted to play baseball professionally,” Namath said to Playboy magazine in 1969.

“I was just a really outstanding power-hitting outfielder,” Namath said. “I could throw and I could hit.”

Vanek scouted Namath at a tryout camp in Ohio and said, “He was a pretty good prospect as an outfielder,” The Sporting News reported in January 1965.

The Cardinals were the first baseball team to offer Namath a contract, but he and Vanek differed in their recollections about the amount.

Vanek said the Cardinals offered a $5,000 signing bonus. “I believe we’d have signed him if we had raised the bonus to about $15,000,” Vanek said.

Namath said the Cardinals did propose $15,000.

“The St. Louis Cardinals wanted to sign me for $15,000 when I was a junior in high school,” Namath told Playboy. “When my dad (a steelworker) asked me what I planned to do with the money, I told him I’d seen this great-looking convertible. He didn’t exactly think it would be such a great idea if that’s all I wanted.”

College choices

The Orioles, Athletics and Cubs joined the pursuit of Namath when he was a senior. Namath said the biggest offer, $50,000, came from the Cubs.

“When I got those offers, I sure as hell wanted to take the money and run,” Namath said, “but my mom and dad wanted me to go to college. So did my three older brothers.”

Namath turned his attention to college football scholarship offers.

“I could have been an outstanding professional baseball player, but I don’t think I could have reached the heights that I have in football,” Namath said.

After Namath graduated from high school, he was planning to play football at Notre Dame, but “changed his mind,” The Pittsburgh Press reported.

“There were no girls at Notre Dame,” Namath told Playboy. “Man, they told me they had a women’s college right across the lake. What was I supposed to do? Swim over to make a date?”

Namath appeared headed to Maryland but changed his mind again, according to The Pittsburgh Press.

He committed to play for Alabama and head coach Bear Bryant. According to the Associated Press, Alabama assistant coach Howard Schnellenberger closed the deal. Schnellenberger had coached one of Namath’s brothers at Kentucky.

Bound for Broadway

Namath excelled as Alabama’s quarterback. Bryant called him the “most talented young man I have ever seen,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

When Namath was a senior in 1964, the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) were rivals and were bidding against one another for talent. The leagues held their 1965 drafts in November 1964. Namath was the top pick of the AFL’s New York Jets and the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals.

Namath said Bryant advised him to start contract talks at $200,000.

“The first team I talked with was the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals,” Namath told Playboy. “When they asked me what I wanted, I was embarrassed, but I told them $200,000. They agreed to it. I almost had a coronary right there.”

On Jan. 2, 1965, the morning after Namath, 21, played his last game for Alabama in the Orange Bowl versus Texas, he signed a three-year $400,000 contract with the Jets, making him pro football’s highest-paid rookie.

It may surprise some to learn the Cardinals matched the Jets’ offer.

“The final sums offered by both teams were about equal,” Namath said, “and the quarterback situations were about the same. The Jets needed a quarterback bad and so did the Cardinals because their guy, Charley Johnson, had a two-year service obligation to fulfill.”

Namath said he chose the Jets because of team owner Sonny Werblin, who convinced him the AFL would become a better league than the NFL, and head coach Weeb Ewbank, who had coached quarterback Johnny Unitas with the Colts and impressed Bryant.

Werblin told The Sporting News, “This boy is Joe DiMaggio. He’s Gregory Peck, Clark Gable and Frank Sinatra. When he walks into a room, you know he’s there. He has that little something extra.”

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