ON BEING THERE

There's nothing better than being there! I'm not just talking about a sporting event, maybe a good movie, much better in person than on video, even with High Definition, a good parade (Rose Parade), a riveting book which captures you and keeps you awake in the wee small hours of the morning, just being there makes it special. Here are a few of the Bear's thrills, recorded in person
not on Cable, not on the radio, but wow, being there.

Lets take the great and scientfic game of Hockey! Being there you feel the electriciy only a Hockey crowd can provide. Lets talk old days, I mean at the "Old Barn", the St. Louis Arena, when smoking was allowed and rowdies and drunks were beaten with billy clubs by the men in blue (police). Sure your lungs were bruised by the 2nd Hand Smoke rising to the rafters but once the puck was dropped all hell broke loose as our Blues and the bad guys barely skimmed the ice with their so sharp blades and meticulously shaved sticks! The beauty of the duo of Hull and Oates passing and scoring was comparable to a love scene between the great Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. But being there allowed for you to inhale the force of the bounty offered by the sold out stadium. So great! I'll never forget when Hullie scored his 500th goal:
It was "Blues Cup Night" and thousands of White Cups were heaved onto the ice in celebration of the "Golden Brett's achievement! Men and women embraced, women and little bitty babies cried,
(Yes, the little ones are always in evidence at these games. But being there: Priceless!

Yes, the old old Bear was at Kiel Auditorium (now Scott Trade Center Ugh!) in 1958 when the great and gifted Bob Pettit, playing against the masterful defensive center of the Boston Celtics,
put in 51 Points to lead the St. Louis Hawks to the World Championship. So many greats on the court: Bob Cousy, the long armed multi talented guard, whipping floor length passes to "Jungle Jim Lusticoff" driving for two, Bill Sharman, one of the all time free throw shooters and great jump shot entrepeneur driving us Hawk fans to yet another cold one to calm our nerves. Then the majestic hook shot of the Hawks Cliff Hagan, former Kentucky U great, barely puffed the nets and little Slater Martin took charge from his guard spot, dribbling dribbling dribbling all over the place to set up a new charge to the basket. All the while the St. Louis crowd, always a full house, roared while owner Ben Kerner, always operating on a shoestring with this franchise, chain smoked at mid court fanned by the rotund Marty Blake, his General Manager and baby sitter! What drama! Who will ever forget St. Louis's own, Ed McCauley throwing the ball to the rafters as the final gun sent the
defending champion Celtics through the crowd at the North End of the Kiel, up the stairs to the stage and behind the curtains to mourn while St. Louis Hawk fans barely left as they were afraid to erase the moment!

OK you youngsters, while you sit around worrying about needles in the butt these days, one of the greatest events ever in the Mound City took place in late September in 1944, yes 1944. I was around then, a nine year old, who knew every player by face, without uniform in the American League (8 teams then) and most of the National League. Yes, we were at war and many of the greatest players of their day were serving our country: Bob Feller, Joltin Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, probably the greatest natural hitter ever and so many more. The St. Louis Browns were going for their first pennant ever and on this day with the Brownie fans filling Sportsman's Park,. and the scoreboard featuring the game between the Washington Senators and Detroit Tigers, which would help determine who won the pennant, a part time Brownie, working in a defense job, Chet Laabs, became an instant St. Louis folklore hero delivering two homers which led to a victory asthe Tigers went down to Washington. This led to the all St. Louis World Series won by the Cardinals(Sorry to report) four games to two. Where was the Bear? Upper deck right behind the plate!
Winning pitcher Sig Jackucki, known for his robust behavior, pitched a gem and Vern Stephens, a hard hitting shortstop bashed a homer for the 5-2 win. Brownie stockholders and oft disappointed fans raced to the Rock Church, just down the road to give thanks and light candles!

And then there was that very first playoff game with the Minnesota Vikings in town to take on our St. Louis Rams back in Ninety Nine! St. Louisans had been used to our new team taking it on the chin and even Dick Vermeil's emotional coaching had not produced results, but with the acquisition of the greatest ever Marshall Faulk and the emergence of an unheard of QB, the Rams made it happen. This day was the test. Could these upstart Rams really be for real? The first drive said it all as the Rams took the ball down the field hearalded by the sell out, standing room only crowd, well greased with every concoction ever invented, was threatening to blow the roof off of the domed stadium that was so criticized when we were losing, but now was "our house!" It was Bruuuuuce, Faulk, Warner, Pace, London Fletcher, rookie Holt, the steady and heady Timmerman leading the Rams to stupendous rout of the Vikings. Later the team was to bring home the coveted Super Bowl Trophy but that first playoff win was breathtaking!

Who will ever forget their first trip to New York City, just about the most exciting city on the map.
Do you want to go to Yankee Stadium? Do you want to climb the Empire State Building? What about the ferry to the Statue of Liberty! No way! Take me to a Broadway Show! Sure you bet!
How about seeing Yul Brenner doing his dance in the King and I? One of the greatest eveings of my life was having dinner at the Four Seasons, courtesy of my old collegue John Faust, drama teacher par excellence and developer of some of Broadway's finest. What a restaurant,oft seen in movies! The food was well delicious! From thereby limo over to the Shubert Theater (I naturally had on my shades) and then The Greatest Little Whorehouse in Texas! Small theaters with great stars, choreography, and electricity exuding thru every pore! I'll never forget seeing "Chicago with the great Jerry Orbach (Law and Order) and Jill Hayworth and world cup dancer Chita Rivera. But what made it even more special was the still glamorous Ginger Rogers, marching down the aisle to much applause and sitting only two rows in front of us and son Gregory mooning over Bonnie Franklin during the intermission. (My question was: Who's She?) One of the most prolific shows I ever saw was "Ain't Misbehavin!" and sure enough our own Ken Page was in one of the leads.I almost ran down the aisle with glee after some of the "Fats" Waller songs were blasted out by Ken and the wonderful late Nel Carter. I haven't been to New York for many years but I'll guarantee you I'll be on Broadway if I ever get back there!

What do you say to a President? In 1980, my President, Jimmy Carter, was down in the dumps.
Good Americans were being held hostage by upstart Iranian radicals and we couldn't get them out of there. A failed attempt at rescue led to disaster. Jimmy was in trouble and eventually would lose the election. Around September of that year, I received a rather wierd call at my home from someone indicating they "were calling from the White House" to invite me to a "day at the White House" for briefing and and a session with the President. I thought this must be one of my Republican friends (some of my best friends are Republicans) pranking me! I called back the number given and sure enough, little old me and about fifty other St. Louisans were heading for the Big House! When the day came, we flew to Washington and immediately were ushered out to the White House where for most of the day, we were briefed by members of the President's cabinet.
I'll never forget the reception at noon when we were treated to some really good "stand up" food but what I'll never forget was the flavor of the tea, the best I have ever tasted. No kidding! It was so good. About 3:30 while the Secretary of Defense spoke, he appeared, President Carter was on his way to the East Room! Immediately the Secretary left the podium and the Presidential Seal
was affixed. But then came the bombastic announcement: THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!" We (all Democrats) rose to attention and the President strode to the platform and for
forty five minutes we received a minor briefing which made us all feel like, well very super patriotic.
Following a question session, we were all given the honor of shaking hands with the Commander-In-Chief and when it was my turn to go by the Pres, I whispered to him: "Mr President, your doing a hellova job!" (Too many of my fellow Americans didn't agree in November) He smiled and in his usual very humble way replied: "Thank You!" What a day and guess what it didn't end in the White House! Flying back to St. Louis my day continued on its mysterious journey. Seated on my left was none other than the Attorney General of MO and later Governor, Senator and more lately the
US Attorney General, John Ashcroft. I forgave him for being a Republican and we talked mostly sports all the way back to St. Louie! For a lover of politics, our government and our Constitution, this was too too much!

Yes, being there, the smells, the cheers, the music, the words, the crowd and most of all ferocious
interaction of we humans is more than the old Bear can take. I'm out of here!