I look forward to seeing my ‘baseball mom’ again

By Ed Daniels

If you have ever had a person who treated you like a daughter or son – and she wasn’t your mother – consider yourself blessed.

For me, my aunt, Frances Grey of St. Louis, is that person.

When we were too young to drive ourselves to Busch Stadium, Aunt Fran would drive my cousin and me to the local shopping center. From there we would hop on the Redbird Express and head downtown for the Cardinals game.

When the game was over, that was her cue to get in the car, and head back out to get us.

She never complained and always had some extra bucks to slip in your pocket.

In the summer, as soon as school was out, I would make my itinerary, and it would include several weeks at the family home in suburban St. Louis.

I would stay up late, and wake up later. It could be 1 o’clock in the afternoon, and my breakfast would be ready, courtesy of Fran.

Two sandwiches, piled with bacon, with a quart of orange juice. Still the best breakfast I ever had.

As the years have gone by, time has robbed Aunt Fran of much of her mobility. But, in her early 90s, she was still walking up the stairs at Busch Stadium.

The staff at the stadium marveled at this little lady, less than 5 feet tall, who was still a dynamo.

She liked the Cardinals, I guess, but she loved the casino. She would hit the slots, and the buffet, and always seemed to come home with some cash.

She said before she would go to the casino, she would pray. I thought, how could God, fair-minded as he is, not listen to this wonderful lady?

And, she always covered for my cousin and me. 

In our teenage years, we weren’t as responsible as we are now (you can laugh). One time, the cops were called. But, she covered for us.

That’s my girl. She’s been so for more than 60 years.

When I was a kid, my heroes weren’t Saints or Tigers or Greenies. They were Lou Brock and Bob Gibson.

When Gibson pitched, there was no need for analytics nor a pitch clock.

Gibson threw it up there, with smoke, and you either hit it or you didn’t. In 1968, his earned run average was 1.12. That is pure legend.

Brock was the master base-stealer, but overlooked was his incredible ability to perform on the biggest stage.

He hit .391 in the World Series. In the ’60s, the Cardinals played in three of them and won two.

I got to see years and years of Cardinals baseball because Aunt Fran welcomed me into her home. When my mother called to see when I was coming home, Fran always told me to stay as long as I wanted.

That is pure legend.

In June, we will go up for a ball game. But the trip will be much more than that. It will be Italian food on the Hill, frozen custard at the world-famous Ted Drewes, and a trip to a place that it is absolutely out-of-sight good – the Missouri Baking Company.

And, I will get another chance to hug my girl.

If you ever have someone like that in your life, make sure they know how much they mean to you.

Ed Daniels is the sports director of ABC26 WGNO. He can be reached at [email protected].