Brush with HOF fame...

[Howe’s Hunter]

Every year for my birthday, my parents would take me and a friend to St. Louis to see the Cards play. Usually a Saturday night, stay at the Stouffer's Riverfront Inn (where the visiting team stayed (now the Millenium)), get autographs after the game that night, get up early and then get autographs from the players as they checked out before the afternoon game on Sunday.
In 1974, it was hot as all get out. We drove the two hours in a car with no air-conditioning, and even though it was my gift, I was not in a good mood when we arrived. As I lugged my Mom's suitcase through the lobby, I was run it to by a slender gentleman, wearing a red turtleneck sweater with a huge seashell on the zipper front, white slacks and dark glasses. "Watch were you're going" I grumbled quite loudly. "Sorry, little man." Little man-humph. Then the bell boy comes running over. "You just mouthed of to the greatest base-stealer of all time. That was Lou Brock!" Instantly, I dropped Mom's bag, opened mine and started looking for a card for him to sign. By the time my friend Tad and I found appropriate cards, he was no where to be seen. But the bell boy told us he was going to dinner in the lower level restaurant, and we could catch him there. I yelled over my shoulder "We'll be back, we're after Lou Brock!" When I said that, about ten more kids all started yelling and running after us.
We tracked him down to the lower level, and could see him through the glass, sitting at a table with three others. It was decided I should be the one to ask for the autograph, so me, Tad and about ten other kids approach the table. "Mr. Brock, can we have your autograph?" I ask. He finishes slowly buttering a roll, looks at me and says "Little man, I ought to punch you in the face." then takes a bite of the roll. Instantly, the room clears of all the other kids, leaving only me and Tad, who stuck around, he said, so he could tell my parents exactly what happened when Lou Brock beat me up.
Finishing the bite, he said "Well, now that the others are gone, what did you want me to sign?" He then politely explained that it wasn't nice to disturb a ball player during a meal before a big game, then proceeded to introduce us to the manager, first and third base coaches of the Padres, who were seated at his table, and pointed out Red Schoendienst, who was seated with Dal Maxville at a nearby table.
We were still in the lobby when he had finished his meal. He stopped, told me he hoped I enjoyed the game, then walked across the parking lot, into a covered garage, that lead right to Busch Stadium.