By Sally Tippett Rains
Bert Hamby of Affton, Missouri knows a lot about “survival” and he takes the phrase “Cardinals fan” to the next level. There is not a space in his office that does not have sports memorabilia—and most of it is Cardinals. His life has always had two major themes: the Cardinals and “survival,” which he learned in part from his mom. His home filled with Cardinals items plays right into the story.
“I’m a true Cardinals fan,” said Hamby. “I have stuff sitting out but that doesn’t even include the memorabilia I have in boxes. Dozens of stubs, autographs from Stan Musial and Bob Gibson to Ozzie, Big Mac, Pujols and Molina.”
And besides the typical collectibles, he has press passes from the St. Louis All-Star Game that was held in St. Louis in 2009. And photos of being at the last game at old Busch and the first game of Busch III.
It’s really not that much different than Hendon’s Trinket City at Busch, and there’s a reason—he knew Marty Hendon. His childhood started with the inspirational story of his mother and her amazing story of survival.
“My mom had me at seventeen, dropped out of high school, and got her GED,” he said. “She basically picked her career by closing her eyes and pointing at the phone book. Her finger landed on ‘television,”’ and somehow, she made it happen.”
Once she decided on television, Cissy Hambry was determined to succeed in the media world.
“Anyone in the media knows it’s truly a game of survival of the fittest,” she said. “I certainly did not do it the easy way, but sometimes surviving the school of hard knocks is more educational than a university.”
And as her son got older, he watched her as she started in traffic at KMOV, eventually becoming the only female airtime salesperson in the market at the time, and landed at KPLR-11—the station that carried the Cardinals and Blues games. Though she had no college education, she worked hard to take care of Bert, even rising to the position of salesperson of the year, and one day she took a brave step and called the Cardinals.
“A guy named Marty Hendin in the Cardinals front office took her call,” said Bert Hamby. “And the rest is history.”
Though she didn’t work for them she worked on projects with them and established relationships that throughout her career had her working with and being around the Cardinals, which gave Bert a rare an interesting view—and lots of give-aways.
“That man had no idea the effect he had on so many lives,” she said. “Marty 100% gave Bert the most amazing childhood memories.”
And Bert continues trying to provide more amazing memories for his family, as shown in the photo, left, of his family at a Cardinals game.
One of Cissy Hamby’s fondest memories was a year the Cardinals were in the playoffs and hosted a party at Union Station. Her younger self could never have imagined she would be socializing with Hendon, Bob Gibson, Red Schoendienst and even getting to meet Jack Buck.
It was these stories about the Cardinals that played a part in making Bert Hamby a lifelong fan of the team through the good times and surviving the bad years.
“I basically had the run of Busch Stadium as a kid,” he told us. “I’d show up hours before gates opened, wander every inch of the place, watch batting practice while Mark McGwire launched bombs, and just soak it all in. Those were magical days. My favorite player growing up was always Willie McGee. As an adult, it’s a tie between Yadi and Wainwright.”
Though it started out with just Bert and Cissy, when he was very young, his mother got married to his father Carson, and they added his sister Becky and then informally adopted his sister Anna.
“My dad came into the picture when I was two and he and my grandpa are giant Cardinals fans,” said Bert Hamby. “I went to games with everyone. I took friends that I played little league with and of course they were in Heaven. It may have been a once in a lifetime experience for them, going behind the scenes, but it was just part of my life.
“I never thought that one day it could come to an end, as all great things eventually do, but it taught me to live in the moment. Enjoy everything you get along the way.”
He says if something is happening in front of him, he makes a conscious effort not to be on his phone.
He knows things can change in an instant for the good and the bad and that’s why he is so determined to help others survive.
Today he is a family man working a full-time job trying to start his own company, a company with “survival” at its core.
“I launched Bert’s Bug Out Bags on February 9 of this year,” he said. Bert’s Bug Out Bags are survival bags which he hand-packs and mails out to those who purchase them from his website.
“The idea came from my time as a 19 Delta Cavalry Scout with 1-36 Infantry Battalion from 2001 to 2006,” he said. “I spent hundreds, maybe thousands of miles ‘humping a ruck,’ and I learned real quick what actually worked and what was just dead weight in a survival backpack.”
If you wonder what a 19 Delta Cavalry Scout is, it’s a high-skilled job in the U.S. Army which specializes in in reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition. They are basically the ones who move ahead of the infantry to gather important battlefield intelligence. Since they are out in the field tracking enemy movements, they need to have survival skills.
And “humping a ruck” is a slang term for carrying an often-heavy backpack long distances.
Going ahead of the pack in the midst of constant danger requires the utmost in survival, and he used his knowledge of survival skills to start his Bert’s Bug Out Bags”
But where did the name come from? He says the term “bug out bag” is used for a pre-packed bag you can grab and go if you have to get out quickly when things, as he says, “go sideways” as he learned from being in the Army.
A bug out bag generally should be equipped to help a person survive for at least 72 hours. He says he added “Bert’s” because… “well, it sounds right.”
“And I work at being a full-time dad,” he said. “But the basement office is always humming. We’ve got stuff getting delivered constantly. My dining room table stays pretty busy with constant deliveries.”
On any given day he will receive packages filled with the items he will put together for the bags. He is very diligent about making sure everything works because he knows it will be important during an emergency; that’s why he includes batteries. For example, if there’s a flashlight he gets the batteries and tests it before it goes into a bag.
What about his family? How do they feel about all the piles of items in various places in the house?
“I’ve got a wonderful woman (his wife, Rachel Gagliardi-Hamby) in my life who’s incredibly supportive, and the whole family pitches in,” he said. “My youngest and oldest think it’s the coolest thing ever. My middle one just thinks I’m a huge nerd, which… I guess that’s fair.”
His family often help assembling the bags or unpacking the boxes.
“I’ve got a very strong-rooted family,” he said.
“I wanted to build a bag that wasn’t full of gimmicks—just practical, multi-purpose gear that a regular person could actually use in an emergency. You shouldn’t need to be a survival expert or rich to have a real chance at getting to safety. Whether it’s a natural disaster, your car breaks down, or something worse, this gives you a fighting shot. This isn’t political. It’s about being ready when it counts.”
We looked it up and he is right about not having to be rich to buy his bags. The survival bags are very reasonably priced and all one would have to do is check out other companies that offer items for survival. And the actual bag they come in is a high quality item.
“My $125 is the best price you will find, and my bags actually have twice the amount of items as my next competitor,” he said, adding “And all my items are actually useful.”
Hamby has worked hard to include everything he thinks would be important in an emergency, because sometimes you only have a few minutes to survive and he wants to help others be ready for any circumstances.
“The bags are built for anyone who’s ever thought, ‘I really should be more prepared, but I wouldn’t even know where to start,’ says Hamby. “Every item has a purpose, and I include a survival guide with pro tips so the tools actually get used correctly. No expert knowledge required.”
As he works on his bags, he is surrounded by his Cardinals memorabilia and memories of having his birthday land on Opening Day four of the 20 times he has attended.
“I was there for ‘62’ by Big Mac and Ozzie’s last game,” said Hamby. “I was there in game Six and Seven of the epic 2011 World Series against the Rangers and Tony LaRussa’s first and last game as the Cards manager.”
Most of the Cardinals memories would not have happened if not for his mother’s “survival” skills so many years ago and he is proud to carry on the family tradition in a new way.
If interested in finding out more about Bert’s Bug Out Bags, you can reach Bert Hamby at BertsBugoutBags.com, on Facebook or Instagram, email him at hambybert@gmail.com, or call (636) 497-8560 and leave a message.
We have a podcast!
Author
-
Sally Tippett Rains started her sports media career at KMOX Radio Sports (writing/producing for Bob Costas, Jack Buck, Bill Wilkerson) in the late 1970′s, early ’80′s then switched to book writing and charity work while raising their children.
She also wrote "Choose Happy; Find Contentment in Any Situation," which comes in Black & White or Color versions.
