ST. LOUIS — The newest generation of Cardinals baseball fans may have no idea who Whitey Herzog is but St. Louis Baseball Expert Ed Wheatley has already been doing the work to make sure this great man’s legacy is remembered even by our youngest fans.
“His roots in baseball are deep, his roots in our St. Louis community are deep. And, you know, I don't think he ever ever forgot it,” Wheatley said.
Baseball Historian and Author Ed Wheatley says from the beginning Whitey Herzog loved baseball. The seed was planted in his hometown of New Athens, Illinois.
“He wasn't Whitey Herzog then, his first name is Dorrel and this is the game ball from the state championship. They lost to Granite City. But it's signed Relly Herzog,” Wheatley said as he showed us a page from one of his books detailing baseball history.
Later he came into the name ‘Whitey’ for his light blond hair.
Along the way he watered those seeds of baseball knowledge as a player for different teams across the country.
“Made it to the major leagues, that in itself is an accomplishment,” Wheatley said.
That eventually led him home to the St. Louis Cardinals dugout where he blossomed into the incredible manager fans loved and the players wanted to go to bat for.
“When Whitey got here in the 80s it had been a long time since there had been a World Series and then he energized this town. In 82, 85 and 87, he energized all of baseball. With ‘Whitey ball’, it was more exciting, with all the base stealing, the hitting, running and everything. ‘Whitey ball’ changed baseball,” Wheatley said.
He retired in 1990 but didn’t stop caring about the community and Cardinals baseball.
“He communicated with people and they loved it,” Wheatley said.
Making his legacy the perfect example for kids detailed in Wheatley’s book, ‘Incredible Cardinals.’
Wheatley brings this book to and speaks to third, fourth and fifth graders to show them what determination can do.
“This special man, his knowledge, this deep thinker, as we've shown in the pages; that's why they won. And that's why it's important to study and know your game. Whether it's even a ballplayer or you're just a regular worker, doctor, stay-at-home mom, stay-at-home dad, whatever, you work hard. That's the moral of the story of the book, then you can be incredible, too. Whitey was one of these guys, that became incredible because of what he did to learn the game and how he functioned,” Wheatley said.
Whitey Herzog's legacy lives on in many places including Busch Stadium, in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and of course in the Cardinals Hall of Fame.