All these years later, he still laughs about it: The ugly start to his St. Louis Cardinals days, the 1-7 record and a stinker of an earned run average. And, with the way Andy Benes tells it, it’s as if he wanted to punch a wall, if not his catcher. That is, until that catcher,… Read more »
News
Sport: Baseball
Alan Benes
At Thanksgiving of 1995, months after his big-league pitching debut with the St. Louis Cardinals, Alan Benes realized that his possible rookie year could be, well, interesting. A call had come in for his older brother Andy, an accomplished big-league pitcher himself who suddenly had a chance to sign a free-agent deal with the Cardinals.… Read more »
Erma “Bergie” Bergmann
At age 19 St. Louis native, Erma Bergmann was asked to try out professionally for the All American Girls Baseball League. Ms. Bergmann made the team and was recruited to play for the Muskegon Lassies in 1946. This was the first time in U.S. history that women played professional baseball. Pitching in this extraordinary baseball… Read more »
Lawrence “Yogi” Berra
St. Louis native Yogi Berra is a cultural icon whose fame transcended the baseball diamond. “Yogi-isms” such as “it ain’t over till it’s over” and “a nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore” have found their way into the vernacular. People think Yogi is funny, but as his old manager Casey Stengel once said, “They say… Read more »
1990 Billings High School State Championship Baseball Team
It was a memorable spring of 1990 for Billings High School, its baseball team and those who called the Christian County community home. The Wildcats enjoyed an unblemished start to their baseball season and stood on the brink of a historic accomplishment heading into the Class 1 state tournament finale at Simmons Field in Columbia.… Read more »
Dick Birmingham
Dick Birmingham is an internationally known coach and clinician. He is the president of Dick Birmingham Sports, a company specializing in baseball instruction at all levels. He was the head baseball coach at Hillcrest High School in Springfield, Missouri for 25 years and served as the Hillcrest American Legion baseball head coach for 18 years.… Read more »
2006 & 2007 Blair Oaks High School Baseball State Championship Teams
Brian Ash had never heard of Blair Oaks High School prior to becoming baseball head coach in 2005. But it didn’t take long for the rest of the Missouri high school baseball community to become familiar with the Falcons. In 2005, Ash began to lay the foundation for success, leading Blair Oaks to a 15-7… Read more »
Robert “Buddy” Blattner
His professional baseball career was launched in 1938, joining the Cardinal organization and playing for the triple-A club in Columbus, Ohio before graduating from high school. He made it to the major league with the Cardinals in 1942. His stint in St. Louis was cut short by military duty in World War II, serving over… Read more »
Jess Bolen
An outstanding high school player in the 1950’s, Jess took the helm of the Capahas, semi-pro baseball team in 1967. In his 44 years of coaching, Jess Ray Bolen, Sr. has amassed an incredible 1,384 wins against only 372 losses. His teams have won 17 state/regional tournaments and have gone to the National Baseball Congress… Read more »
Ken Boyer
Boyer was one of baseball’s finest all-around third basemen. He was also a coach and manager in major league baseball who played from 1955 to 1969 for four teams, primarily the St. Louis Cardinals. The captain of the Cardinals from 1959 to 1965, he was named the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player in 1964… Read more »
Phil Bradley
One of the most decorated athletes in University of Missouri annals, Bradley lettered in football at MU from 1977-80 and in baseball from 1979-81. Bradley was the quarterback for the Tigers and took them to three bowl games. He was a three-time Big Eight Conference “Offensive Player of the Year” and set the conference total… Read more »
George Brett
George Brett just finished the greatest career in Kansas City Royals history. Brett is the club career leader in every offensive category except stolen bases. He finished his career with a .305 batting average, collecting 3,154 career hits (11th on the all-time list), won Royals’ Player-of-the-Year honors eight times and has been invited to 13… Read more »
Lou Brock
One of baseball’s all-time superstars, Lou Brock starred for 19 years in the big leagues. Of the 18,000 players to play Major League Baseball, Brock is the only player to record more than 3,000 hits and steal more than 900 bases in a career. He continues to hold the National League’s all-time stolen base record… Read more »
Bob Broeg
Bob Broeg is a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan. His love for the team began when he was a young boy. His parents subscribed to all four of the daily newspapers in St. Louis so the young Broeg could follow the Cardinals closely. Broeg’s journalism career began in Boston at the Associated Press bureau.… Read more »
Lance Brown
He could have flung aside his ball glove and walked away at age 18 when life tugged on the back of his jersey. After all, Lance Brown graduated from West Plains High School in 1960 with a bum pitching arm and without so much as a scout or college recruiter on his heels. In fact,… Read more »
Charles Brown
Charlie Brown is only the second person to honored with the President’s Award. A graduate of Lebanon High School and the University of Missouri, Brown has long been active in sports around Missouri. He served as the district and national chairman for Mizzou’s Tiger Scholarship Fund, and served a ten-year term on the University of Missouri Alumni… Read more »