FanPost Friday: Reliving Your Most Memorable Games

In last week’s edition of FanPost Friday, I invited you to share the most memorable Cardinals game you had been, writing about the game in a FanPost here at VEB. I asked for any details you had of the game and an account of what made it so memorable to you. As an incentive to get you to share, I added that I would feature some of my favorite FanPosts on the site. Well, here’s the thing: I liked them all. So today, we’ll take a look at the FanPosts you wrote! I hope you all enjoy learning some things about your fellow fans.

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Willie McGee Day, Rick Ankiel and my Brother Tom - by nathan,degraaf

It was the day Willie McGee was inducted in the Cardinals Hall of Fame and the day of Rick Ankiel’s first win in the Majors. The two young brothers, in the same age-range as Ankiel, drank cold beer and enjoyed ballpark food as they witnessed a beautiful curveball on a beautiful day at Busch Stadium - a game they attended with free tickets. After the game, the brothers enjoyed a steakhouse dinner; could you ask for a better day? Tom, Nathan’s brother, passed away about four years ago, and it’s clear that his memory is very alive in the heart of his brother.

Probably Game 4 of the 1996 NLCS - by chessed

It’s hard to top a come-from-behind win - especially one in the postseason. Chessed and his wife took in this game about 17 rows from the field, although this game would have been memorable from the standing room. In Game 4 of the 1996 NLCS, Dimitri Young and Royce Clayton worked together to tie the game at three in the bottom of the seventh inning. The following inning, after a deep fly ball hit by Ron Gant (an out that chessed’s wife thought was out), Brian Jordan actually put one out to give the Cardinals a 4-3 lead over the Atlanta Braves. Dennis Eckersley closed out the game and a St. Louis victory.

The most memorable Cardinals game I have ever been to - by CRThrelkeld

After coming from Tennessee to help with a move, CRTHrelkeld was in St. Louis on April 14, 1998, awaiting a flight back home. He and his uncle picked a great day to go to the ballpark. In a game with the Arizona Diamondbacks (commemorated by a promotional pin that CRThrelkeld still has), Mark McGwire went deep three times to lead the Cardinals to a 15-5 rout.

The best game I ever saw was....a Cardinals loss! - by Dn3524

An 11-inning pitcher’s duel. Mets and Cardinals. Busch Stadium. 1985.

Dn3524, then 14 years old, was in total agreement when his father told him that they would be attending every game until the Cardinals officially clinched the NL East. In the series opener of a three-game set at Busch Stadium, John Tudor took the hill for St. Louis against Ron Darling. Zeroes occupied the run columns, as both Tudor and Darling had it all working. It wasn’t until the top of the 11th inning that the streak of zeroes would end. With two outs and Ken Dayley on the mound for St. Louis, Darryl Strawberry launched a ball off the video board in right field to account for a solo run that felt like 10 runs. The Mets won the middle game of the series before the Cardinals took the finale and clinched the division crown. I guess the baseball gods wanted this father and son to take in as many baseball games as they could.

My most memorable games! - by creaux

At 10 years old in 1994, creaux and his family attended a game in mid-July and saw the Cardinals cruise to a 10-0 win. This family definitely had a good plan, bringing iced tea and sandwiches from home. It’s hard to beat a baseball game that your team is winning and some of your favorite refreshments!

Creaux also added that the Johan Santana no-hitter in 2012 and Jason Heyward’s division-sealing grand slam were also memorable. Have fun catching the Cards out west this summer!

Most Memorable Cardinal Game - by Milo33

Milo33 has a very special story to go with his first Cardinals game. At around eight or nine years old, he was in awe of the size of Busch Stadium and got to take in a game against the Braves. He remembers the sounds of the game, too, and it I personally can’t think of a much better sound. After the game, his dad took him around to one of the player exits. Not long after reaching the exit area, a visiting player signed his new duffel bag and asked a few questions before a handshake capped off their encounter. That visiting player was none other than former All-Star Dale Murphy. Wow.

my most memorable game - by so_cal_cards_fan

First off, I’m glad your shared your most memorable game with us! Secondly, I’m sorry you wish you didn’t remember it.

So_cal_cards_fan attended Game 4 of the 2004 World Series with one of his friends. He saw Jeff Suppan’s slip up way up behind the visiting dugout; these $300 tickets were the ‘cheap’ seats. After the Red Sox won the game and the World Series, perhaps another stab to the heart, he had to spend a day in St. Louis without any notable plans, as his tickets to Game 5 were useless and his flight was not until the next day. Seeing all of the happy Red Sox fans around St. Louis only added to the gloom.

I can think of two - by Perry

He saw Bob Gibson’s final game and the Templeton game. It would be very hard to clear those out of mind! Perry, who grew up a Reds fan, also remembers when the Cardinals scored 10 runs in the fifth inning of a game in the late 1960’s. The game was at Crosley Field against his Reds, and the Cardinals outburst led to a 10-8 win.

Memorable game - by Blue and Red

At a game with his friends from Romania, Blue and Red witnessed a Cardinals win in a 13-inning affair. It was September 19, 2014. The beer sales had been closed, and the crowd became notably disgruntled as the the innings passed. Then, in the bottom of the 13th, Tony Cruz drove in Matt Adams to walk-off the Milwaukee Brewers. Blue and Red remembers how hard Adams had to push himself to make this happen.

Sometimes losing can still be fun! - by Dead Leg United

Dead Leg United saw Albert Pujols hit two homers, including a grand slam, and Carlos Delgado launch two long balls of his own to reach the 400-homer plateau. The Cardinals held a 7-1 lead at one point, but the Mets rallied to come back and win, 8-6. This game was in August of 2006.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the Cardinals got the upper-hand over the Mets and the rest of the league that year..

Thank you all very much for sharing! We’ll have to do this again sometime.