Former ESPN analyst and college football icon Lou Holtz was hanging out at Detroit Tigers spring training this week and, as Holtz is wont to do, he started spinning stories about baseball and his love of the game. One such story detailed St. Louis Cardinals love and loss in a moment that would make any fan groan.
Holtz said he was a big St. Louis Cardinals fan growing up because his name was Louis (that's so Lou). A neighbor took him to the Cardinals-Pirates game and he was standing by the Cardinals dugout. He was watching first baseman Nippy Jones, third baseman Whitey Kurowski and second baseman Red Schoendienst playing pepper. The ball was mishit and it rolled to a young Holtz. Holtz, not thinking anything about it, tossed the ball back to the trio, who laughed, signed the ball and gave it back to him.
Pretty cool moment, huh?
Well, that moment didn’t last very long. We’ll let Holtz finish the story.
Not sure I could ever forgive a parent who threw a baseball that valuable down a sewer. Why were they playing with it? Why wasn’t it locked up in a glass case? And why the heck was Holtz’s dad pitching underhand? Was he a star rec league softball pitcher trying to relive the glory days?
This is a truly sad story for a young Lou Holtz, but a dandy tale to spin for an aging one. Thanks for sharing Lou and we're sorry for your loss.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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