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Inductee: Missouri native & 22-year big-leaguer Jerry Reuss ‘was one of the lucky ones’

(Courtesy Stl Cardinals)
(Courtesy Stl Cardinals)

Quick, remember the moment you knew what wanted to be in life? Jerry Reuss does. He was 8, and had just attended his first St. Louis Cardinals game at old Sportsman’s Park.

This was, of course, long before he led St. Louis County’s Ritenour High School to the 1966 and 1967 Missouri state baseball championships and years before he pitched a no-hitter and won a World Series.

The “electric” atmosphere outside the ballpark on a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon fascinated him, as did the Cardinals crisp, white uniforms.

“On the ride home, I said, ‘I want to be a major-league ballplayer. My brother, Jim, said, ‘Don’t we all? The odds of making it are one in a million,’” Reuss said. “I responded, ‘Well, there has to be one. And why can’t that one be me?’”

Reuss succeeded, pitching 22 seasons in the big leagues from 1969 to 1990, and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct the left-hander among its Class of 2016.

The Enshinement Ceremonies presented by Killian Construction begin with a 4 p.m. reception followed by a 5 p.m. dinner on January 31 at the University Plaza Convention  Center in  Springfield. For tickets, call 417-889-3100.

Overall, a red StL or blue LA hat often rode atop his blonde hair while Reuss rode a wicked, two-seam fastball to a 220-191 record in 547 starts. He pitched for eight teams, beginning with the Cardinals (1969-1971), but rose to national fame with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1979-1987). He won at least 14 games in 10 seasons between 1971 and 1985, and finished second to Steve Carlton in National League Cy Young Award voting in 1980. Overall, he struck out 1,907 in 3,669.2 innings and was a two-time NL All-Star.

Then-Dodgers left-hander Jerry Reuss pitched a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants on July 27, 1980.
Then-Dodgers left-hander Jerry Reuss pitched a no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants on July 27, 1980.

In his Dodgers days, Reuss tossed a no-hitter on June 27, 1980 – he was Bill Russell’s throwing error away from a perfect game – and, a year later, helped beat the New York Yankees to win the World Series in six games. Reuss started Game 1 and the pivotal Game 5, in which his complete-game five-hitter outdueled Ron Guidry in a 2-1 victory. He’ll never forget the flight back to New York for Game 6.

“From my window seat, I saw a huge glare of lights and thought that it might be St. Louis,” Reuss said. “It was then I retraced the steps I had taken and remembered the people who had helped me get from the ball fields of St. Louis to the World Series. How fortunate I was to be born in a perfect time with a God-given talent that turned into a career.”

Jerry Reuss (2nd row, third from left) helped Ritenour High School to a 1966 state championship.
Jerry Reuss (2nd row, third from left) helped Ritenour High School to a 1966 state championship. (Courtesy of Reuss)
Jerry Reuss helped Ritenour High School win a 1967 state baseball title.
Jerry Reuss helped Ritenour High School win a 1967 state baseball title. (Courtesy of Reuss)

Reuss had been a first-round draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1967. What mad him special?

“No. 1, his size. But, No. 2, his ability to listen and comprehend what you were talking about,” said his Ritenour baseball coach, Lee Engert. “In 45 years of coaching, I wanted players to listen but I also thought it was important that coaches listened, too. He understood the importance of listening. And he always worked above and beyond 100 percent.”

Reuss reached Triple-A Tulsa at age 18 in 1967, mentoring under Hall of Fame pitcher and then-manager Warren Spahn, and won his St. Louis debut on Sept. 27, 1969 at Montreal. He remained a Cardinal until April 1972.

“By watching Carlton and (Bob) Gibson,” Reuss said of the two Hall of Famers, “I learned the things to do and the things not to do. I could see how to handle wins and shake off losses.”

Jerry Reuss began his career with St. Louis.
Jerry Reuss began his career with St. Louis.

Reuss pitched two seasons in Houston, working 279 innings and 40 starts in 1973, and spent six seasons in Pittsburgh, appearing in two NL Championship Series.

A 1979 trade to the Dodgers rebooted his career. Back in the starting rotation, Reuss employed a cut fastball to compliment his two-seamer. It allowed him to focus less on strikeouts, more on command. As a result, Reuss averaged only 2.1 walks per nine innings in his Dodgers tenure.

Jerry Reuss was a key figure in the Dodger's 1981 World Series run. (Courtesy Dodgers)
Jerry Reuss was a key figure in the Dodger’s 1981 World Series run. (Courtesy of Dodgers)
From left, that's Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, Steve Garvey and Jerry Reuss. (Courtesy of Dodgers)
From left, that’s Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, Steve Garvey and Jerry Reuss. (Courtesy of Dodgers)

Fortunately, Reuss hasn’t taken himself too seriously. He recently penned an autobiography titled, “Bring in the Right Hander.”

Even of his no-hitter, Reuss jokes, “Hey, I had to get 28 outs. Anyone can pitch a perfect game. There’s been 13 of them.”

And, of his World Series victory in which Guidry retired 14 of 15 batters before coughing up back-to-back home runs in the seventh, Reuss said this: “I remember walking to the dugout after the top of the seventh, we’re down 1-0 and I thought, ‘Get me a run or two, and I’ll hold it.’ I guess I should have asked earlier.”

The 1975 National League All-Star team. (Courtesy MLB)
The 1975 National League All-Star team. (Courtesy MLB)

Reuss also pitched for the Cincinnati Reds, California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and retired after starting the final regular-season game of the 1990 season, for the Pirates. He left to a standing ovation.

“That’s the way great ballplayers should finish their careers,” Reuss said. “I truly was one of the lucky ones.”

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Enshrinement Ceremonies 2016 presented by Killian Construction

What: Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Enshrinement

When & Where: 11 a.m. reception presented by Meeks The Builder’s Choice at the Hall of Fame, 3861 E. Stan Musial Drive; 4 p.m. reception & 5 p.m. dinner & event on Jan. 31 at University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center

Missouri Sports Legend: University of Central Missouri athletic director Jerry Hughes

Class of 2016: Mizzou Tigers football coach Gary Pinkel; former big-league pitcher Jerry Reuss, longtime NFL coach Gregg Williams, Springfield native and retired PBR bull rider L.J. Jenkins, Kansas City Chiefs center Tim Grunhard, St. Joseph native and Olympic gymnastics silver medalist Terin Humphrey, Kansas City native and St. Louis Cardinals linebacker Eric Williams, longtime Kansas City Royals scouting director Art Stewart, Evangel University men’s basketball coach Steve Jenkins, West Plains native and former Texas Christian University baseball coach Lance Brown, former University of Missouri and Olympic track and field standout Natasha Kaiser-Brown, Missouri Southern men’s basketball coach Robert Corn, St. Louis University High School racquetball coach Joe Koestner, Missouri State University sports information director Mark Stillwell, John Burroughs High School football coach Jim Lemen, The John Burroughs School football program and the Mizzou Tigers’ 1966 Sugar Bowl team. The John Q. Hammons Founder’s Award will go to Med-Pay, Inc., owned by Gordon and Marshall Kinne, and Ken Meyer of Meyer Communications is the recipient of the President’s Award.

Special Achievement Awards: We also will recognize 100 high school, college and professional athletes who won national awards in 2015.

Tickets: Call 417-889-3100. Individual tickets are $150. Tables of 10 are $1,500 and include associate sponsor recognition in the printed program and autographed prints. Sponsorship opportunities such as congratulatory ads also are available.