RESERVATIONS DUE 9/6: "Double Down with Don" September 9th... Exclusive 'Eddie Gaedel Night' Engagement

Don Larsen felt so bad about missing our June luncheon due to a scheduling snafu, he offered to come back and do an event with the fan club as soon as possible.

"Why wait til next year?", we decided, "when the biggest publicity-generating event in fan club history is September 9?".  As you know, at Busch Stadium on that Friday night, 30,000 fans will pass through the turnstiles with a box under their arm containing a limited-edition Eddie Gaedel Bobblehead. And 30,000 fans will have conversations among their family, "Who were the St. Louis Browns??"

Granddads will explain to grandkids. And so on. And the memory of the St. Louis Browns will have been preserved in one great leap. (And just in the nick of time while we are down to only 17 living Browns players).

So we decided to "Double-down with Don".  We're bringing Don into town (from Idaho).  Don will be representing the Browns on the field and in the broadcast booth that evening on KMOX radio.

But first, Don will be appearing at a special event.  And you are invited! But space is limited.

In other words ... DONT THINK!  It's Don Frickin Larsen and a free Eddie Gaedel Bobblehead!  ACT!  And when you hear the special venue where this pregame party will be taking place (SEE BELOW) ... I know you are going to flip.  And when you hear how you will be riding in style to be dropped off directly at your stadium gate you are going to flip (plus breathe a sigh of relief knowing that downtown hassles will be at a minimum).
So here are the dirty deets:  

Location: The Tiny Bar (Eddie Gaedel-themed bar voted The Riverfront Times Best New Bar of 2015) 

1008 Locust at 10^th Street 

Downtown St. Louis

Time: 

Friday, Sept. 9

2:30 to 5:30pm 

              

Deluxe trolley to the ballpark (gates open at 6:00 p.m). The trolley service provides roundtrip transportation from the Tiny Bar to Busch Stadium and back to your parking location.

Parking:

Two convenient surface lots and one garage available within two blocks.

Here's what you get:

Meet & Greet Don Larsen & Corrine Larsen

Live Interview of Don by Benjamin Hochmann of the Post-Dispatch

World's only Browns-themed bar
Appetizers catered by Art of Entertaining® and two (2) not-so tiny drinks from the Tiny Bar 
Your photo professionally taken with Don Larsen (w/ Polaroid­® ~ no charge)
Two (2) autographs (your item or Polaroid)

Round-trip deluxe trolley ride

Short video presentation on the only perfect game in the 111-year history of the World Series 

Just $60 tax-deductible!!!*

Reservations:

For the ballgame and the Eddie Gaedel Bobblehead and to sit with fellow Browns fan club members, make reservations direct with the Cardinals at: www.cardinals.com/browns  or call 314-345-9000. Ballgame ticket is only $25 per person for BFC members.  7:15pm start time.  

For the meet and greet with Don and Corine Larsen: The tax deductible reservation is $60 per person.

Make your tax deductible reservation with a check of $60 per person payable to the “St. Louis Browns Historical Society” and mail to:

     John Rappold

     St. Louis Browns Fan Club

     13525 Chatham Manor Dr.

     St. Louis, MO   63128

     E – mail   Jrjr21937@yahoo.com

Questions:

Vicki Martin  -  314-852-1402

Bill Rogers  -  314-892-8632

e-mail  -  stlbrowns@swbell.net

Don Larsen . . . . Eddie Gaedel

Two guys with a couple of things in common -  they both played for the St. Louis Browns, and they both achieved baseball immortality from ONE GAME.

Cut and paste the following reservation form to a blank sheet of paper and then print.  

---

Make ________ reservation (s) for the Larsen Meet & Greet gathering @ $60 each.                             $_______

Your Name:        ___________________________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________________________________

City: _______________________________ State: _____  Zip:________________________

e-Mail: ___________________________________________________________

We'll be waitin for ya!

Mail check payable and mail to: 
                          St. Louis Browns Fan Club

John Rappold

                          13525 Chatham Manor Dr.

                          St. Louis, MO   63128

                          E – mail   Jrjr21937@yahoo.com

Generous donation to Don and Corine's travel expenses provided by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Please note that the Double Down with Don will take place at the Tiny Bar plus the 2nd floor breakout space.  Elevator service inside the Tiny Bar to the 2nd floor.

October 6, 1956  -  On this day in 1956, baseball history was made. Don Larsen pitched the first perfect game in the World Series against the rival Brooklyn Dodgers. Yogi leaped into Don's arms as the game ended, and now this image is one of the most iconic in history and will be shown at our reception on September 9.  Join us!

RESERVATIONS DUE 9/6: "Double Down with Don" September 9th... Exclusive 'Eddie Gaedel Night' Engagement

Don Larsen felt so bad about missing our June luncheon due to a scheduling snafu, he offered to come back and do an event with the fan club as soon as possible.

"Why wait til next year?", we decided, "when the biggest publicity-generating event in fan club history is September 9?".  As you know, at Busch Stadium on that Friday night, 30,000 fans will pass through the turnstiles with a box under their arm containing a limited-edition Eddie Gaedel Bobblehead. And 30,000 fans will have conversations among their family, "Who were the St. Louis Browns??"

Granddads will explain to grandkids. And so on. And the memory of the St. Louis Browns will have been preserved in one great leap. (And just in the nick of time while we are down to only seventeen living Browns players).

So we decided to "Double-down with Don".  We're bringing Don into town (from Idaho).  Don will be representing the Browns on the field and in the broadcast booth that evening on KMOX radio.

But first, Don will be appearing at a special event.  And you are invited! But space is limited.

In other words ... DONT THINK!  It's Don Frickin Larsen and a free Eddie Gaedel Bobblehead!  ACT!  And when you hear the special venue where this pregame party will be taking place (SEE BELOW) ... I know you are going to flip.  And when you hear how you will be riding in style to be dropped off directly at your stadium gate you are going to flip (plus breathe a sigh of relief knowing that downtown hassles will be at a minimum).
So here are the dirty deets:  

Location: The Tiny Bar (Eddie Gaedel-themed bar voted The Riverfront Times Best New Bar of 2015) 

1008 Locust at 10^th Street 

Downtown St. Louis

Time: 

Friday, Sept. 9

2:30 to 5:30pm 

              

Deluxe trolley to the ballpark (gates open at 6:00 p.m). The trolley service provides roundtrip transportation from the Tiny Bar to Busch Stadium and back to your parking location.

Parking:

Two convenient surface lots and one garage available within two blocks.

Here's what you get:

Meet & Greet Don Larsen & Corrine Larsen

Live Interview of Don Larsen by Benjamin Hochmann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

World's only Browns-themed bar
Appetizers catered by Art of Entertaining® and two (2) not-so tiny drinks from the Tiny Bar 
Your photo professionally taken with Don Larsen (w/ Polaroid­® ~ no charge)
Two (2) autographs (your item or Polaroid)

Round-trip deluxe trolley ride

Short video presentation on the only perfect game in the 111-year history of the World Series 

Just $60 tax-deductible!!!*

Reservations:

For the ballgame and the Eddie Gaedel Bobblehead and to sit with fellow Browns fan club members, make reservations direct with the Cardinals at: www.cardinals.com/browns  or call 314-345-9000. Ballgame ticket is only $25 per person for BFC members.  7:15pm start time.  

For the meet and greet with Don and Corine Larsen: The tax deductible reservation is $60 per person.

Make your tax deductible reservation with a check of $60 per person payable to the “St. Louis Browns Historical Society” and mail to:

     John Rappold

     St. Louis Browns Fan Club

     13525 Chatham Manor Dr.

     St. Louis, MO   63128

     E – mail   Jrjr21937@yahoo.com

Questions:

Vicki Martin  -  314-852-1402

Bill Rogers  -  314-892-8632

e-mail  -  stlbrowns@swbell.net

Don Larsen . . . . Eddie Gaedel

Two guys with a couple of things in common -  they both played for the St. Louis Browns, and they both achieved baseball immortality from ONE GAME.

Cut and paste the following reservation form to a blank sheet of paper and then print.  

---

Make ________ reservation (s) for the Larsen Meet & Greet gathering @ $60 each.                             $_______

Your Name:        ___________________________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________________________________

City: _______________________________ State: _____  Zip:________________________

e-Mail: ___________________________________________________________

We'll be waitin for ya!

Mail check payable and mail to: 
                          St. Louis Browns Fan Club

John Rappold

                          13525 Chatham Manor Dr.

                          St. Louis, MO   63128

                          E – mail   Jrjr21937@yahoo.com

Generous donation to Don and Corine's travel expenses provided by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Please note that the Double Down with Don will take place at the Tiny Bar plus the 2nd floor breakout space.  Elevator service inside the Tiny Bar to the 2nd floor.

October 6, 1956  -  On this day in 1956, baseball history was made. Don Larsen pitched the first perfect game in the World Series against the rival Brooklyn Dodgers. Yogi leaped into Don's arms as the game ended, and now this image is one of the most iconic in history and will be shown at our reception on September 9.  Join us!

The Orioles are Tortoises

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-baltimore-orioles-are-baseballs-slowest-team-in-decades-1470261727

Browns Make First Line of New York Times Article Today

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/30/sports/baseball/chris-sale-white-sox-throwback-jerseys.html?_r=0

Achieving Baseball Immortality

Don Larsen and Eddie Gaedel have a couple of things in common: they both played for the St. Louis Browns, and they both achieved baseball immortality because of their participation in a single game -  Eddie with his pinch hitter appearance in St. Louis, and Don with his unparalleled World Series performance.

"A perfect night to remember the St. Louis Browns" would be a perfect theme for the evening of

September 9, 2016, when Eddie Gaedel's short career (which culminated in his recording a perfect lifetime on-base percentage!) is being recognized through the release of 30,000 bobbleheads.

It marks the 65th anniversary of the only 65 pound player in MLB history, and it occurred right here in St. Louis as part of a desperate attempt by Bill Veeck to save the team. The event will, hopefully, also direct some attention to a 9 year old kid named Billy who "loaned Eddie Gaedel the shirt off his back" to make baseball history, and went on to become owner of the St. Louis Cardinals as part of one family's three generation commitment to Major League Baseball in St. Louis.

Don Larsen should be included in all this. I think a serious effort needs to be directed toward weaving the Don Larsen appearance into this narrative, rather than have it occupy a parallel track on an unrelated and disconnected story line that weekend, where it could become a distraction from a long planned event honoring the "littlest Brownie of them all."

Click on Photo to Enlarge

From what I have read, Larsen's largely unremarkable career, both in St. Louis and afterwards, was totally and rightfully obscured by a perfect, one-day date with destiny in the World Series, in a Yankee uniform, that  guaranteed his immortality. One game, lasting fame: just like Eddie Gaedel!

Mark your calendar for the weekend of Friday, September 9. You can join the Browns Fan Club for special seating and a great discount ticket offer to see the Cardinals host the Brewers.

It’s Eddie Gaedel Bobblehead Night at Busch Stadium for the first 30,000 fans entering with a ticket.  You can purchase a ticket today for the Right Field Loge seats for just $25 each.

To purchase these exclusive tickets, visit cardinals.com/browns or call 314-345-9000.  The deadline to purchase is August 9^th.

Watch for more details on how, when and where you can meet Don Larsen over the September 9 weekend. 

May 16, 1954. Memorial Stadium in Baltimore was packed for the Sunday afternoon doubleheader between the Orioles and the Yankees. Don Larsen went the distance for the Birds in the second game to garner his first win of the season, holding the Yankees to three hits in a well-pitched 6-2 victory. 

Maybe the New York powers-that-be recalled that victory when they later acquired Larsen in a 17-player off-season trade. Win or lose, the Baltimore fans were excited to be watching Major League baseball in their new stadium.

Browns Exhibit to Undergo a Move with Renovation of Scottrade Center

What will be done to Scottrade? Walls behind concession stands will be cleared out to allow for a view of the ice, the team store will be beefed up, and... and this may be the nicest part... there will be an outdoor biergarten that may very well be open year round on Clark. If Clark wants to become main street for St. Louis sports any more so than it already is, this'll help.

Taxpayer funds being spent on sports stadiums is a hot button topic, and them being

spent on building new stadiums for teams that can damn well afford it is a waste. Scottrade, however, is city owned and its bonds are paid off. The Blues can't afford $160 million worth of renovations, and since it's not their building (they do manage it) it's not technically their responsibility. Renovations could bring a ton of new events to downtown St. Louis and the neighboring hotels and establishments. Could it be a wash?

Yes. Is it better than plunking down over a billion or so bucks for a football stadium along the north riverfront? Probably so.

Sievers and DeWitt

The Donald Barnes Desk

Where they signed those 1944 World Series share checks!

Cardinals Chairman DeWitt to Speak at St. Louis Browns Banquet

Cardinals Chairman DeWitt to Speak at St. Louis Browns Banquet

Annual Baseball Luncheon set for Thursday, June 9 at Sheraton Westport

St. Louis, MO May 17, 2016 -

The St. Louis Browns Fan Club announced that Bill DeWitt, Jr. will address fans at their annual luncheon scheduled for Thursday, June 9 at the Sheraton Westport Chalet Hotel in St. Louis. DeWitt, managing partner and chairman of the St. Louis Cardinals, won two World Series - in 2006 and 2011 - during his time as owner.

As son and nephew of Browns’ owners, DeWitt  grew up in and around the Browns clubhouse as a young boy and has numerous stories about the Browns of that era which he will share for the first time at the annual luncheon of die-hard “Brownie” fans.

The luncheon will also celebrate the 100th anniversary of the DeWitt family’s first involvement in St. Louis baseball.  

In 1916 DeWitt’s father, William O. DeWitt Sr. began with the Cardinals selling soda pop and later, under the mentorship of Branch Rickey, moved up to become treasurer and assistant secretary of the club.  In 1936, DeWitt Sr. jumped at a chance to join the Browns in senior management, switching front offices at Sportsman’s Park.  DeWitt stayed with the Browns in various capacities as both employee and for a short time, owner, until the team left for Baltimore in 1954.  DeWitt’s 18 years with the team makes him the longest-serving executive in Browns history.  Together with his brother Charles, who served 14 years as traveling secretary and scout, the DeWitts gave 32 years of their lives to Browns baseball.  In addition, Mr. Dewitt Jr.’s great uncle, Jay Sowash, was a prominent figure in the early days of the Muny (high school-age) League in St. Louis.

DeWitt, Jr. had his own moment in Browns history on August 19, 1951 when as a Browns’ batboy he was called upon to lend his uniform to midget Eddie Gaedel, for a pinch-hitting stunt.  Gaedel was secretly signed by the St. Louis Browns and put in DeWitt’s uniform (with the number "1/8" sewn on the back). Gaedel’s one official at-bat was a walk on four pitches.  

DeWitt/Gaedel’s uniform is currently on display at the St. Louis Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Ballpark Village next to Busch Stadium.

Bill Rogers, President of the Browns Historical Society and Fan Club, said "We're excited that Bill can join us. Out of 6 surviving players of the Eddie Gaedel ‘small person’ event, only 2 survive - Frank Saucier, the batter he replaced, and Bill DeWitt, Jr., bat boy. Ned Garver and Roy Sievers were both in the ballpark but not playing in that particular game.

“Former Browns player, Don Larsen, is unable to attend our June lunch due to a program conflict. We're working with Don to attend an event later this year." Rogers added. Sievers will attend the luncheon, however.  

In addition to the Cardinals, DeWitt also owned or invested in four other major league franchises: Baltimore Orioles, the Cincinnati Reds, the Texas Rangers and the Cincinnati Stingers hockey club.

DeWitt’s son, Bill Dewitt III, is currently President of the Cardinals.

Tickets are available for the June 9, 2016 luncheon at $48 per person. To order on-line, go to http://2015browns.blogspot.com . By mail, send a check and payable to St. Louis Browns Fan Club, PO Box 510047, St. Louis, MO 63151-0047.

Information

St. Louis Browns Historical Society & Fan Club

Bill Rogers

PO Box 510047

St. Louis, MO  63151-0047

Tel: 314-892-8632

stlbrowns@swbell.net

 http://thestlbrowns.com

Blog: http://2015browns.blogspot.com

History of Browns Presented at Forest Park, April 21

The St. Louis Browns Historical society presents the "St. Louis Browns" on Thursday, April 21.  The program gets underway at 4:00 p.m. at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. 

The Browns Historical Society officials presenting include Bill Rogers, President and COO and Emmett McAuliffe, Vice President of the society. 

While the Browns moved to Baltimore, thousands of fans continue their memory of the team. The Browns were one of the most colorful teams in the history of baseball and particularity St. Louis. 

Enjoy an afternoon at the museum and learn more about the Browns from the experts. 

The Browns Historical Society will hold its annual luncheon open to the public on June 9, 2016 at the Sheraton Westport Lakeside Hotel. Information is available at 314-892-8632 and http://thestlbrowns.com.