I started working for the Cardinals in 1986 as a switchboard operator and customer service rep. I worked full-time+ during the season and part-time in the off season. Watching the Cards this post-season has brought up a lot of fun memories from those days at the old Busch Stadium. Here’s a random collection of memories from those early years:
First Day: my friend Kevin got me the job which was awesome! He failed to tell me that the day I started was Country Western Day… a promotion for fans who came to the game in country western attire they received a discount on their ticket and a free concert after the game. For the employees, this meant they could wear jeans and CW attire. The ticket office showed up in a horse-drawn hay wagon. I showed up in my nerdy, white linen suit. Nice dorky, first impression!
Bullet-proof glass and cigarettes: All calls to the Cardinal offices, other than Charge line orders, went through the phone number 314-421-3060 answered by three of us. On a slow day we took 3-4K calls; medium busy 4-6K, and a really busy cay would be 7-8K calls! We sat in a 10 x 10 room off the lobby at 250 Stadium Plaza. We were behind bullet-proof glass and had a drawer for deliveries like you see at a Walgreens drive-thru (very customer friendly huh?). The other two ladies smoked from 8-5, non-stop. No, I’m not kidding. Sort of MadMen-esque!
Tony Pena and Willie McGee: the players parked in the West garage and came through our lobby to enter the stadium. We had to buzz them in. Lots of the players would just nod or smile and walk by, some would chit chat. Tony was a talker! He would hang out and shoot the breeze with us, he was really friendly. He had this crazy gold ring that spelled the letters T-O-N-Y in diamonds. I think he wore it on his middle or ring finger but the four letters stretched across all four fingers. He let me try it on once! Now Willie McGee was very humble and shy. He’d walk through, head down and he’d simply wave with his right hand. One time when he came through, I put my head down and mimicked his wave…he actually paused, smiled and laughed. That was a big reaction from Willie!
Jack Buck and Mike Shannon: in 1987, I worked in the promotions department. We handled all the give-aways at the games like cooler bag day, pennant day etc. One of my jobs was to write the radio copy for the ‘drop-ins’ Jack and Mike would read through-out the game. I have to say, it’s pretty cool to be driving home at night and hear Jack Buck and Mike Shannon reading verbatim the words you wrote!
Tito Landrum: there were five us that shared an office in the promotions department, including the guy who played Fred Bird. It was like a hilarious, quasi-grown-up kindergarten! Tito was good friends with John Kendall (Fred Bird) so he would come and hang out in our office. He got a kick out of answering our phone. He wouldn’t tell the caller they were talking to Tito Landrum but it sure entertained us! So if you ever called the promotions department looking for a donation for your group in 1987, you may have spoken to Tito Landrum! He also gave Monica, the other girl in the office, and I special attention since we were the only women in this crazy, testosterone-filled office. He brought us lunch one day and we had a picnic on the field. Pretty cool!
Deidre Hall and Tommy Lasorda: All calls to the club-house had to be announced. We were not allowed to simply transfer the calls. One day a woman called for Tommy Lasorda. I asked her name and she said Deidre Hall! I gasped…then said ‘one moment please’ and called Tommy. He took the call. OMG I was a HUGE ‘Days’ fan! That was a big moment for me!
Tommy Lasorda and Chaka Khan: From 1988-90 I worked in the sales department. My female bosses were only 10 years older than me, so we got along really well and socialized quite often. After five and before the game would start, we often grabbed a few margaritas at LaSala’s downtown. One night when the Dodgers were in town, we were having margaritas with some fella’s that were also friends with Tommy. After the game we all went to Charlie Gittos for dinner, and of course Tommy walks in with his SlimFast cooler bag! There were probably 10+ people in the group. The cocktails continued after dinner we hit AJ’s at the Adams Mark. We are all standing there, including Tommy Lasorda. The DJ plays Chaka Khan “I Feel for You.” This is my all-time favorite song so I had to dance. I asked every guy in our group to dance and they all said NO! I had no choice but to ask Tommy if he would dance with me…and he said YES! Hilarious! Afterwards, my boss, SueAnn, said everyone in the place was staring at us and wondering who Tommy was dancing with!
Stadium Diagram Photo Above: Every year we produced these large seating diagrams to help us sell season tickets, group tickets and party rooms. Every year AB put several million dollars into the stadium in capital investments to add new seats, party room etc. So the diagram changed every year. The one in the photo is from 1992, the Cardinals 100th Anniversary year. Instead of just throwing them out, my friend and I decided to take them home. I imagine this is one-of-a-kind. Pretty cool memento from my days at Busch Stadium.
It's pretty neat that you meet Willie McGee. He was my favorite player back then. I met Ozzie Smith once when my wife and I were at Westport. He had a bar/restaurant there at the time. We were in one of the back hallways on our way to Robatas. Down the hall and walking toward us was a black couple and the man looked like Ozzie Smith. I said to Peg, "I think that's Ozzie Smith!" When we passing each other I wanted to be cool and not bother him with an autograph request but I just had to ask him if I could shake his hand. He smiled and said, "Sure!" Peg and his wife just rolled their eyes.
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