The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have teamed up with the Mayor of St. Louis and other civic leaders to launch #STLisLou, a season-long campaign to honor Cardinals Hall of Famer Lou Brock, celebrate the St. Louis community, and raise money for children with diabetes. The Cardinals will formally honor Brock in a special #STLisLou ceremony prior to tonight’s game against the Cubs.
“No person better embodies the spirit of our city or the importance of the Cardinals to St. Louis than Lou Brock,” said the Honorable Francis G. Slay, the Mayor of St. Louis. “Lou Brock is St. Louis and St. Louis is Lou, so we hope everyone in the ‘Lou will join us in celebrating Lou all season long.”
The Cardinals are encouraging fans to show their affection for Lou Brock all season long by sharing video messages, photographs and other messages via social media using the hashtag #STLisLou. The team is challenging fans to answer what does Lou Brock mean to you and what does he mean to St. Louis and the Cardinals? Fans can learn more about the campaign and see what others fans are posting to social media at www.cardinals.com/lou .
“Lou Brock is not only one of the greatest players to play for the Cardinals, he is also one of the nicest men to have ever worn the birds on the bat,” said Bill DeWitt III, President of the St. Louis Cardinals. “Our fans selected Lou Brock as one of our Franchise Four, honoring him as being one of the most impactful players in Cardinals history, so we have no doubt that they will seize the opportunity to share their affection for Lou via social media this season.”
DeWitt said the team also developed #STLisLou as an opportunity to celebrate the St. Louis community. “St. Louis is a remarkable community that is home to the best fans in all of professional sports,” said DeWitt. “#STLisLou is not only a chance to honor one of our greatest players, but is our way to tip our caps to this great community.”
The St. Louis Cardinals partnered with Explore St. Louis and Downtown STL to develop #STLisLou and will be working with both organizations through the season to engage fans via social media with special promotions such as “Tuesday’s Are Lou’s Day – Find Lou in the Lou!”, a weekly social media based scavenger hunt around town that will reward lucky fans with tickets, exclusive #STLisLou Lou Brock autographed baseballs and other prizes.
“It is no coincidence that our city’s nickname is the Lou,” said Brian Hall, Chief Marketing Officer, Explore St. Louis. “Lou is St. Louis. In many ways, he is the face of our community. We are excited to be part of a community wide effort to honor Lou Brock while also celebrating our amazing city and helping kids in need.”
“We hope our entire community embraces #STLisLou,” said Missy Kelley, President and CEO of Downtown STL. “St. Louis is a richly diverse community with people who care about one another and who proudly support their sports franchises in a way that is envied across the nation.”
Throughout the season, area hospitality workers and Downtown STL Community Improvement District (CID) Guides will be wearing a commemorative #STLisLou button as a show of support and chance to educate visitors about the campaign, as well as raise awareness for the #STLisLou fundraising effort to help children with diabetes.
“The team will be selling commemorative #STLisLou buttons to raise money for the special fund Cardinals Care has established in Lou’s name to help children with diabetes,” said Michael Hall, Vice President of Community Relations & Executive Director of Cardinals Care. “We hope fans will join Cardinals Care and Lou Brock in the fight against diabetes by making a donation to the fund or purchasing a button.”
All proceeds from the sale of the #STLisLou button will go toward the special fund. Fans can purchase the button for $5 at Busch Stadium in the Cardinals Team Store or in the Cardinals Authentics store, as well as at the Cardinals Authentics Store at Cardinals Nation in Ballpark Village. Fans can also purchase the buttons for $5, plus shipping & handling fees, or make a donation to the fund directly at www.cardinals.com/lou .
The team is planning a variety of other special #STLisLou promotions throughout the season to keep the campaign fresh, including a theme ticket promotion on Monday September 12th where fans who purchase a special theme ticket will receive a commemorative bobblehead replicating the #STLisLou image of Lou Brock on a Clydesdale. The image, which was drawn by local artist Dan Martin, is a fun homage to the iconic statue of Saint Louis on Art Hill in Forest Park which served as a symbol of the city prior to the construction of the Gateway Arch. In addition to the regular Theme ticket, there are a limited number of VIP packages available, which will include the bobblehead and a pre-game autograph session with Lou. More details can be found at cardinals.com/theme. A portion of the proceeds from the regular and VIP tickets will benefit the special Cardinals Care fund.
About Lou Brock
If it’s been said once, it’s been said a million times. The Cardinals’ acquisition of outfielder Lou Brock from the Chicago Cubs on June 15, 1964, ranks as perhaps the greatest steal in baseball history. St. Louis traded pitchers Ernie Broglio and Bobby Shantz and outfielder Doug Clemens in exchange for Brock and pitchers Jack Spring and Paul Toth. Over the course of his career with the Cardinals, Brock established himself as the most prolific base stealer in baseball history to that time. His 938 stolen bases stood as the major league record until Rickey Henderson bettered the mark in 1991. Brock’s total remains the National League standard, and he holds the major league record with 12 seasons of 50 or more steals.
Brock led the N.L. in thefts on eight occasions (1966 to 1969 and 1971 to 1974). He set the season record with 118 in 1974, bettering the mark of 104 by Maury Wills during the 1962 campaign. In 1978, the N.L. announced that its annual stolen base leader would receive the Lou Brock Award, making Brock the first active player to have an award named after him.
But Brock was more than a base burglar. He was a career .293 batter with 3,023 hits. Seven times he batted at a .300 or better clip. In 1967, Brock slugged 21 home runs and had 76 RBI from the leadoff spot. He also had 52 stolen bases to become the first player in baseball history with 20 homers and 50 steals. The following year, Brock topped the N.L. in doubles (46), triples (14) and stolen bases (62), the first player in the Senior Circuit to do so since Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1908. Brock joined the 3,000-hit club Aug. 13, 1979, with a fourth-inning single off Dennis Lamp of the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium. Brock and Musial are the only Cardinals members of the 3000-hit club.
Brock paid immediate dividends in St. Louis, batting .348 for the balance of the 1964 season and propelling the Cardinals from eighth place in the N.L. to a World Championship over the New York Yankees. The Cardinals won the World Series again in 1967 over the Boston Red Sox and were N.L. champions in 1968. Brock was at his best in postseason play. His .391 career batting average (34-for-87) is a World Series record, while his 14 stolen bases are tied for the most all time with Eddie Collins of the Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Sox. On the Cardinals’ career lists, Brock ranks first in stolen bases (888 – Vince Coleman is second with 549); second in games (2,289), at-bats (9,125), runs (1,427), hits (2,713), doubles (434) and total bases (3,776); fourth in triples (121); fifth in walks (681); and eighth in RBI (814). He was a six-time N.L. All-Star. Brock is second only to Musial in total hits.
Brock has remained active in baseball since retiring as a player following the 1979 season. He worked in the Cardinals’ broadcast booth from 1981 to 1984; was a base running consultant for the Minnesota Twins in 1987, Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988 and Montreal Expos in 1993; and has served as a special instructor for the Cardinals (base running and outfield play) since 1995. He was a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee in 1985. In 2015, Brock was voted by the fans as one of the teams Franchise Four, joining Stan Musial, Bob Gibson and Rogers Hornsby as one of the most impactful players who best represented the history of the St. Louis Cardinals. No one embodies the spirit of St. Louis or the importance of the Cardinals to St. Louis more than Lou Brock.
The Cardinals Care Lou Brock Fund & Cardinals Care
Cardinals Care, the Cardinals’ charitable foundation that supports children, has established a special fund in the name of Lou Brock to help children with diabetes. The Lou Brock fund proceeds will support the American Diabetes Association’s Camp EDI – The Ed and Gloria Hirsch Camp for Children with Diabetes, a one-week resident summer camp held annually at the YMCA’s Trout Lodge in Potosi, Missouri. Besides the typical camp activities, such as swimming, canoeing and arts and crafts, campers participate in daily “wellness classes” and diabetes education with members of their medical staff. The campers learn diabetes self-management skills and the importance of counting carbohydrates, diet and exercise. They also learn to be more independent in their diabetes management while at camp. Most importantly, they are able to interact with other children who relate to the challenges of living with diabetes.
Cardinals Care was established to give fans a way of teaming up with Cardinals players and the organization to help children in our community – both on and off the baseball field. Since it was established in 1997, Cardinals Care has distributed nearly $21 million to support St. Louis area non-profit youth organizations and built 22 youth ball fields in local disadvantaged neighborhoods. 2016 marks the 13th year of Cardinals Care’s innovative Redbird Rookies program, a free baseball league for kids who otherwise might not have the opportunity to play. In addition to providing all the uniforms, gloves, bats, balls and other equipment needed for each team, Redbird Rookies also provides extensive off-field support in the areas of health, education, mentoring and the cultural arts for each of the nearly 4,500 kids who participate in the program each year. Fans can team up with the Cardinals to help children in our community by donating to Cardinals Care at cardinals.com/donate. Fans can donate to the Cardinals Care Lou Brock fund directly at cardinals.com/lou
