The day the Cardinals came to town

November 1, 2007

By T. Ray Rachels

Orange County (Calif.) businessman David Kohler paid $2.35 million for the “Mona Lisa” of baseball cards, the 1909 issue of Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Honus Wagner. It made front-page headlines last Feb. 27 on The Orange County Register.

The card, about the size of an adult’s thumb, 1 inch by 1.75 inches, was printed on cardboard and one of 50 issued by a cigarette maker in 1909.

“We always said it would be the first $100,000 card — then it was,” said Kohler, 45, of Laguna Niguel. “We said it would be the first $1 million card — then it was. I’m sure someday it will be at an even higher level. The sky’s the limit.”

My hometown in Georgia had a Class A minor league baseball farm team of the St. Louis Cardinals. To us, though, it was the big leagues, and as a boy I was a fanatic follower of the Cardinals.

One spring day in the early ’50s, the major league Cardinals came to Golden Park in Columbus, working their way north from their Florida spring training camp, getting ready for opening day, and playing a game against the New York Yankees. In our town! Unbelievable!

All the Cardinals stars were there — Enos “Country” Slaughter, Red Schoendienst, and the greatest of them all, Stan “The Man” Musial.

The stadium was packed beyond capacity. There were so many fans wanting to get in, park officials opened the playing field along the first- and third-base lines. You were allowed to sit on the field, beyond the foul lines, kids mostly, and I was one of those kids. I can still feel the thrill of being there.

Musial was up to bat and fouled one our way. Piles and piles of bodies threw themselves toward the ball. Scratching, clawing, and shouting, adults and kids were all muscling in for this chance-of-a-lifetime souvenir. I ended up on top of the bodies, not the best spot, and was bumped off.

I quickly got ready to wade back in when the ball miraculously squirted out from under everybody and toward me. Opportunity knocked, so I grabbed the ball and put it in my glove (we always brought our gloves) to the chagrin of the stack of bodies, but to the applause of the stands.

A man came out of the crowd and offered me 50 cents for the ball.

“No,” I said.

He upped it to $1.

“No.”

“I’ll make it $2! $3!”

“No, mister. This ball is not for sale!”

“Name your price,” he insisted.

I looked at him with 10-year-old steel, and repeated, “Sir, Stan Musial hit this one, and it’s not for sale. I’m not selling it to anybody for any price!”

I kept it for a while, but one day our neighborhood ball got lost, so I went inside and got my Musial ball. We played with it that summer until we knocked the cover off and all its string unraveled, leaving only the hard rubber core.

In thinking back on those days, I may have had a slight hesitation about using the ball for our backyard games, but I remember not a twitch of regret about not selling it on that day the Cardinals came to town.

There are many things as well in the believer’s life that are not for sale. Here’s a brief list:

• A love for ministry, for the church, and for the people of God.

• An authentic, vibrant and nonbelligerent Pentecostal experience and practice.

• A healthy marriage and family life.

• A healthy working relationship with people.

• Good Bible study habits that produce effective, life-shaping truth.

• Careful and responsible handling of money.

• A growing personal character that reflects an awareness of being a Christ follower.

• Prayer and meditation that give background and solidarity to every other pursuit in life.

• Your good name.

“A thick bankroll is no help when life falls apart, but a principled life can stand up to the worst” (Proverbs 11:4, The Message).

“Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being” (Matthew 6:19-21).

T. Ray Rachels is superintendent of the Southern California District of the Assemblies of God.