Passing of Lou Brock

[stlcardsfan]

My all time favorite. I was 8-10 years old when he was stealing bases like crazy in the mid 70s. Every kid in the neighborhood loved him. Too young and Missed his late 60 WS heroics. A true class act. RIP Sweet Lou.

[kmac32]

One of the worst trades the Cubs ever made but that was the Cubs then. As a lifelong Cub fan, you couldn’t help to not like Brock. A really awesome ball player in his time.

[marzoumanian]

Truly a kind, down to earth man with an incredible gift. Thank you, Lou, for honoring your chosen sport with your amazing talents. RIP, humble Lou.

[GasHouseGang]

That's sad to hear. So many memories of him stealing bases and creating rallies for the Cardinals. He was a great ambassador for the game.

[cardinalcollector]

I was born in St. Louis and discovered the Cardinals when I was 6 years old, in 1967. It was always Lou Brock and Bob Gibson for me. Those guys were my childhood heroes and that never changed. Lou Brock was a class act and one of the most beloved Cardinals ever. Its hard to find a picture of him not smiling. He is one of the few players that you rarely hear anything negative about.

I had the fortune of meeting Lou several times at card shows, mostly in St. Louis. He was one of the few signers that would walk the floor and talk to dealers afterwards. I had a table at a Lou Brock signing once and Jackie Brock, Lou's wife was looking for neat Lou Brock items. She bought several magazines from me that had Lou on the cover. 30 minutes later, here comes Lou himself. I said "Hi Mr. Brock, your wife was here earlier and bought a few items from me" He said "Oh yeah! Really! That's Great!" then he leaned in a little closer and lowered his voice a bit and said "How much did she spend?" Every dealer within earshot burst out laughing.

Its a sad day in Cardinal Nation. RIP Lou.

[brian1961]

Ken, while you're correct that the Brock-Broglio trade has gone down as the epitamy of "worst trade ever!" discord, you must stop and ask yourself, why didn't the Cubs organization with their college of coaches (Bob Kennedy was finally made manager in 1964), ownership, and general manager ever have a vision for the greatness that was lurking within Mr. Brock? Were they all that blind, or just ignorant, or plain stupid??? Would Lou have EVER blossomed with the Cubs, as he immediately seemed to do with the pennant contender, and eventual world-champion Cardinals? It's not as if the Cubs were flat-out door-mat lousy in '64, finishing 8th in the league, ten games below .500.

The Cubs were 3 years away from their own resurgence, and perhaps Lou would have taken off. However, Leo Durocher could be a difficult taskmaster, and tough to play for. For example, for a time, Adolpho Phillips seemed primed for greatness in '67, but I think when he slumped, Leo just dismantled him mentally, and he was ruined. Lou Brock was a sweet, gentle man and I think Durocher ate these kind of personalities for lunch. He did great with Willie Mays and Billy Williams, but I personally don't think Lou would have gone on to the greatness that awaited him in St. Louis. Red Schoendienst handled him perfectly, and with great teammates, the previously frustrated Brock became Lou Brock, baseball All-Star, base-stealer extraordinaire, World Series batting and stealing star, and first ballot (I would think) BBHOFer.

Reminds me of another Chicago player from a different sport----Phil Esposito. With the Black Hawks, the coach and general manager's vision of Phil was to feed Bobby Hull the puck---as often as possible. Bobby would give it back to Phil when he got tied up, which was often, but for the most part, Phil Esposito, along with Chico Maki, were Bobby's assist teammates on the HEM line (Hull-Esposito-Maki). After the '67 season, Espo (with a few celebratory beers down him) really warned General Manager Tommy Ivan not to screw up the greatest Black Hawk team ever. With Phil's meager showing in the '67 Playoffs against the Maple Leafs, Tommy Ivan remembered Esposito's tart warning to him, and smugly traded the young star but whippersnapper to last-place Boston, to join Bobby Orr. Ivan sent away Kenny Hodges and Freddie Stanfield, young players the Hawks seemed to have no vision for and were nobodies to them, just as they had sent away "nobody" John McKenzie. EVERY ONE OF THOSE FORMER BLACK HAWKS CAME ALIVE AND BLOSSOMED with the Boston Bruins the following season, joining Bobby Orr, Captain John Buyck, and Rookie of the year Derek Sanderson to quickly become "THE BIG BAD BRUINS" who would win 2 Cups in 70 and 72. Wait da go, Ivan, you idiot. But again, would those former Hawks have ever jelled in Chicago? I do not think so.

Just as Lou Brock needed to come to St. Louis to become the legendary player he would be.

Rest in piece, Mr. Brock. May God rest your soul, and comfort your family and many fans at this very, very sad time.

Sorry for LONGGGGGGGG post. ---- Brian Powell