My husband and I were at the game in 2011 where he had his first major league at-bat (a hit, no less!), so I feel like we have a special bond with him. Too bad he doesn’t know it!

But Stan was definitely the great one, and delivered game after game that we attended. Besides that he lived not far from us and built a bowling alley right there in our neighborhood. I got to bowl in a kids league there on Saturdays and was privileged to shake his hand as I received my trophy for who knows what one year and that was a thrill! He took time to make sure every kid got to shake his hand and he asked each of us our names, made us all feel special, and was so generous with his time. His restaurant was a little too pricey for our family, so I never had the privilege of eating there. But I was at his last game, and have the filled-out scorecard and the autographed 8 x 10 photograph to prove it.

I grew up in St. Louis in the 50s and 60s and was at the 1964 Pennant winner sitting in the Pavilion seats as everything that had to happen for us to win, happened. Until the 2011 season, it was my favorite year ever….i was in the 8th grade and got to watch every single World Series game in my classroom since we were the oldest kids in school, and the school only had 1 TV. Gibson was historic in that series and my mom’s all-time favorite cardinal.

There have been many amazing Cardinals through the years, but Stan will be tough to top as the greatest one of them all, not just because of his baseball prowess but because of the man he was. Keep his memory alive and share his stories with friends and the next generation. He is the kind of celebrity you want your children to emulate and aspire to be like.

RIP great one.