Compiled by Staff
As of the writing of this article it has been two months since Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog passed away at the age of 92 on April 15, 2024. Cardinals fans of a certain age felt as if they all knew him personally, and were stunned to hear of his death; as he had just appeared at Opening Day. Though he did not ride around on the cars, stadium announcer John Ulett introduced him and the video camera focussed on him in a special suite. Herzog could not just stand and wave he had to walk down the stairs so the fans could see he wanted to greet them.
The family held a private tribute to their patriarch this past week at a church in Chesterfield with the three speakers being Whitey’s two sons David and Jim and his oldest grandchild. Among those whoo came to pay their respects were George Brett, Tony La Russa, Ozzie Smith, Ted Simmons, Rick Horton, Al Hrabosky, Mike Matheny, Glenn Brummer, John Tudor, Tommy Herr, Gene Gieselmann, Jim Riggleman, Bill DeWitt Jr and Bill DeWitt III, John Mozeliak, and Josh Rawitch (president of the Baseball Hall of Fame). Many of those were former players that he had managed, and many Cardinals employees were also there.
There have been rumblings that the Cardinals will have a public celebration honoring Herzog when the Royals play at Busch Stadium in July. No official announcement has been made.
Whitey meant everything to us personally and he and his wife Mary Lou meant a lot to our family. My first job was covering the Royals in Kansas City when he was the manager and we both came to St. Louis about the same time.
Recently we spent some time with Mary Lou at their house in Sunset Hills, Missouri and were happy to see she is getting along very well. She was looking forward to seeing about 35 family members total who would be town for the memorial and she showed us a photo that the entire family was able to take with Whitey in it. She said she thought she would be ok at the service — until her kids and grandkids spoke– saying that might be emotional.
The family is proud to know that not far from their home is a wheelchair accessible playground at Watson Trails Park that Whitey Herzog helped build along with Rainbows for Kids and the City of Sunset Hills.
Though Whitey Herzog managed World Series teams and went on to become a Hall of Famer, he always maintained a happy family life. He raised his kids in a modest ranch house in Kansas City and the family often went back to visit. Once he came to St. Louis to manage the Cardinals he became a member of the St. Louis community and bought the home which he and his wife continued to live in, but they never forgot their roots both from their hometown and Kansas City.
Mary Lou told us what most people did not know at the time; he had been sick in the winter and on Opening Day he was not in the best of shape, but he was bound and determined to make it. His health began failing shortly after that.
The Herzogs had been married 70 years. It was a pretty good run as they spent most of their life in the Midwest, not that far from their hometown of New Athens, Illinois where they went to high school and got married
And maybe it was a coincidence that the home he and Mary Lou raised their kids in in Kansas City just went up for sale by Kansas City Realtor, Reece Nichols. Though they sold it in the 1980’s after moving to St. Louis, the previous owners kept some of the fun additions that Whitey had in the lower level, including a bannister made of baseball bats, a Kansas City Royals bar and photos on the staircase. These features are shown in the photo to the left.
They held an open house on Sunday. To see the house CLICK HERE.
To read a nice tribute to Whitey check out this edition of Cardinals Magazine.
Remembering Whitey Herzog in the St. Louis Cardinals Magazine
Cardinals Magazine did a special tribute to Herzog and Stan McNeal was the author of the article.
“I got to know Whitey about 10 years ago after I started writing for the Cardinals,” said McNeal. “I was fortunate to be able to visit him at his home to do a couple of interviews, including one shortly before his 90th birthday.
“While everyone talks about his amazing recall, and it truly was, I was struck by how much he continued to enjoy watching and talking baseball. We did the interview while watching a playoff game, and a month shy of 90, he was able to give me great answers and keep up with the game at the same time. It was like watching the game and talking with a buddy, a very very knowledgeable buddy.”
Herzog has been featured on the cover of Cardinals Magazine many times and as McNeal said on a broadcast, “this will be the last time” so it is a collector’s item in itself.
He said he felt lucky to be able to do the article.
“Working on the Whitey tribute was a privilege really,” he said. “I got to talk with several of the people who were closest to him, including three (his youngest son, Jim, his neighbor Dennis Gier, and his friend Mark Favazza of the restaurant on the hill) who took him on a road trip to Cooperstown for the induction ceremonies last year.”
The road trip was mentioned in the article and the four friends bound for Cooperstown to see Scott Rolen be inducted had a great time.
“From talking with those close to Whitey, it became clear why Whitey was loved by so many – not just because of baseball,” said McNeal. “But because he was such a bighearted and generous individual. I really think our coverage shows a side of him that most baseball fans didn’t get to see.”
To find out how to get a copy of the Cardinals Magazine featuring Whitey Herzog on the cover: CLICK HERE
In case you missed our original obit story on STLSportsPage, to read Rob Rains’ feelings, facts and a few photos, CLICK HERE.
