Elliott: Henke and others remember (Mr. Rickey) Rick Hummel, 'The 'Commish'
Rick Hummell, who covered the St. Louis Cardinals for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for 50 years passed May 22 at age 77. He was respected by one and all.
May 31, 2023
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
Former Blue Jays reliever Tom Henke has been in a lot of tough situations late in games.
He pitched his 14th and final season with the St. Louis Cardinals. There was silence when he was asked about the recent passing of legendary sportswriter Rick Hummel. Henke was unaware.
After a pause, he answered ...
“I knew Rick well, he was a really nice man,” Henke said. “He was easy to talk with. We spoke a number of times after I left ... when I’d go down to visit the Cardinals after I retired.
“That’s a shame, I expect I’ll be getting an e-mail soon. When Mike Shannon (former player and broadcaster) passed we all got an e-mail. If there is news about anyone in the Cardinals family we hear about it.”
Henke pitched eight years for the Blue Jays, winning the 1992 World Series and converting 217 saves. He was with the Texas Rangers for parts of five seasons with 58 saves and one season with the Cardinals saving 36 games. In six seasons, he had 30 or more saves, his high being in 1993 when he closed 40 games for the Rangers.
The Cards made him an offer and wanted him back for the 1996 season, but he elected to retire. His first save with the Rangers came when he worked three innings Aug. 20, 1983 in a 6-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. And his final save was Sept. 30, 1995 as the Cards beat the Pittsburgh Pirates.
On the all-time career save list Henke sits 26th with 311, three behind Rob Nen and one more than Hall of Famer Goose Gossage.
“I was there only the one year but the Cardinals treat me like Bob Gibson,” Henke said. “Rick was a Hall of Famer who had long and illustrious career. Rick was a good man, He really was. My sympathies.”
* * *
Hummel, known by most as “The Commish,” even by commissioner Bud Selig or “Mr. Rickey” by others was loved and respected in two countries ... we contacted a small portion of of his friends ...
“The only time I ever saw him unhappy was when Missouri blew a late lead to spoil a bet of his, and his sour mood lasted maybe six minutes. Most people think his mood could be traced to him being a naturally agreeable fellow, but I know the real reason. Missouri plays 12 times every year, so there would always be another opportunity.” _ Ray Ratto, San Francisco.
* * *
The first time I saw this man, who would become a dear friend, was at Olympic Stadium. It was either 1978 or 1979. BUT it was a Thursday. A few years later I realized what Thursday meant: time to do the weekend notes column.
Rick was seated in the second row behind the Montreal Expos P.R. duo of Richard Griffin and Monique Giroux. He was there when I arrived, he was there after I left that night. He would pound away at his keyboard between pitches and between innings, seldom taking his eye off the game.
Once in a while he would make a comment to Richard or Monique. It was not an ordinary laptop. It compared to other machines, either a Port-a-bubble or a Teleram, depending upon whom you ask. Years later I lifted it into the trunk of an airport-bound cab one October. It must have weighed 30-to-40 pounds.
Former Cards CF and current coach Willie McGee shakes hands with Rick Hummel.
* * *
“He was known to most as “The Commish” because he ran all sorts of leagues, including March Madness, but also because he would have done a great job as the commissioner of baseball given his love and respect for the game. I always called him “Mr. Rickey” because of his contributions to baseball and his unique feel for the game. My first World Series as a full-time beat writer was 1982, the Cardinals and Brewers. I watched Mr. Rickey work. I watched the way he dealt with players, the way he asked questions. I was from the other league, the AL, but Mr. Rickey took me in. He put his arm around me before Game 7 that year and said, ‘Enjoy this, kid. There is nothing better.’ Amen, and God Bless, Mr. Rickey.” _ Tim Kurkjian, ESPN.
* * *
We heard the Expos P.R. director say on afternoon radio one day when asked what players do on the road: “well ... if museums and art galleries are closed sometimes players head downtown.” So, after Expo games Mr. Rickey and I would head to Crescent or Bishop street to proof the box scores.
It was one laugh, one story after another and sometimes some arguments. Usually either Mr. Rickey or Hall of Fame bar tender Warren (Skip) Snair gave the final verdict.
The only time I remember having a serious argument with Mr. Rickey was a debate where he claimed Jack Clark, the Cardinals first baseman was a more talented player than Expos outfielder Andre Dawson. I was pro Dawson. Years later I reminded him. He denied he ever took that stance and said he had voted for Dawson for the Hall of Fame.
* * *
“I started my baseball career with the Cubs - the same division as the Cardinals in the early 1980s to mid 1990s … When I think of St. Louis from that era here is who I think of when I think of the Cardinals: Whitey Herzog, Ozzie Smith, Joaquin Andujar, Vince Coleman, Tommy Herr and Hummel.” _ Ned Colletti, former Dodgers GM.
* * *
The night Kirk Gibson went deep, Mr. Rickey and I adjourned to The Shortstop on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. He was in a foul mood. You see Mr. Rickey would place a bet once in a while: over/under, parlays or give or take the points.
Man he was grumpy that night. I kept pestering him. Did Gibson’s late homer ruin his lead. Nope. Machine problems. Nope.
Finally, he admitted why he was angry: the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. I’m unsure if they lost or failed to cover but they cost Mr. Rickey money. He headed off to the washroom and the bartender slid past.
“Could you do me a favor? Ask my pal how the Wake Forest Demon Deacons did today?” I asked.
A couple of minutes later the bar man dropped the line. Mr. Rickey glared at him, stared at me and broke into laughter. Snit over.
* * *
“Whenever I was around the Commish I thought, I could do this for another 100 years and I’d never know as much or be as good.” _ T.J. Quinn, ESPN.
* * *
The Blue Jays went into Busch Stadium for a three-game weekend series in 2011 under manager John Farrell.
The Friday game was a busy night: the Cards introduced their first round pick (22nd overall) INF Kolten Wong from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Mr. Rickey introduced me to Ben Frederickson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Rick Hummel intern. No kidding.
“Others came before and the internship continued after,” Frederickson told after Hummel passed. “It’s still up and running. Every year the paper has a sports intern from the Missouri journalism school that is paid for by the St. Louis chapter of the Baseball Writers Association. It’s the Rick Hummel internship.”
Lead ball writer Derrick Goold is largely responsible for the recruiting efforts and interview process, according to Frederickson.
“That says a ton about Derrick and his relationship with Rick,” he said. “They are two of the best to ever write baseball in my opinion and to watch them work together was one of the most impressive things I’ve had a chance to see.
“I don’t think I’d have my dream job today without it. It introduced me to pro sports and, more importantly, let me work with pro journalists.” .
Before his arrival in St. Louis, skipper Farrell said something like “I think I can navigate the treacherous waters of a double switch.”
On Saturday, Farrell tried to make the double switch on his second trip. Crew chief Tim McClelland was working third base and made like former NBA shot blocker Dikembe Mutombo, who used to wave his finger after swatting a ball away. No, no, no.
The Jays swept the series by 5-4, 6-3 and 5-0 as the wins went Jason Frasor, Carlos Villanueva and Ricky Romero, as Jose Bautista, Juan Rivera, Edwin Encarnacion and J.P. Arencibia went deep for Toronto.
Albert Pujols and David Freese didn’t play that series, but both were in the lineup as St. Louis beat the Texas Rangers in the World Series.
Frederickson said the summer of 2011 cemented his desire to do what he now doing. He grew into a big-time columnist at the Post-Dispatch. I read him and think to myself, “I couldn’t carry this guy’s laptop.” Of course, I couldn’t carry Mr. Rickey’s either.
“The internship helped me start relationships with some of the same writers and editors I am now blessed to call colleagues and dear friends, family, really,” Frederickson said. “Commish was family to me. He always helped me feel like I could do this. He always shared whatever he could, whether it was knowledge of the game, expertise of the job, a helpful history lesson, introduction or some encouragement.
“How he went about the job was a remarkable lesson if you watched, and I did watch. He took the work seriously but didn’t take himself too seriously. He had the respect of all. He showed up, knew the game, showed readers all they wanted to know about, showed his grace, smarts, sharp wit and keen writing. We are going to miss Commish every day, more than we know. We can honor him by remembering and passing on his lessons.”
* * *
“Rick was the standard for baseball knowledge. He was a living, breathing Baseball Encyclopedia with a tremendous personal touch. He made every room better when he walked in, including Pop’s in East St. Louis and, of course, the New Missouri Bar and Grille. He probably knew more people who worked in baseball or covered ball longer than anyone — and to a person they respected (or revered) him. He was old school with an open mind. Trips to St. Louis will never be the same again.” _ Phil Rogers, Eden, Utah, formerly Dallas and Chicago.
* * *
Mr. Rickey, who knew every nickname of every college and some high schools, was fascinated that two CFL teams at the time were named the Rough Riders.
“C’mon now, how does that happen? Nine teams and two have the same nickname,” he’d ask me oh 500 times.
I explained that the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Ottawa Rough Riders were originally in different leagues and then they merged. One nickname was one word, the other was two words.
We’re not sure on the year this happened, but we remember it happening like it was last week. The late Harold Ballard was either buying the Hamilton Tigers-Cats (in 1978) or selling them (1989).
The Tiger-Cats sale price was $1 CDN (plus debt). Mr. Rickey phoned from St. Louis.
“I want to buy the Hamilton team,” he said in an exclusive interview, “it’s $1 Canadian ... I have 65 cents US in my hand.”
When the laughter died down, he added: “And if the deal closes I am going to re-name the team the Roughest Riders.”
* * *
“Nobody bridged friendships among scribes, broadcaster, coaches and umpires like The Commish. He was the Pied Piper of MLB humanity.” _ Richard Griffin, Toronto, formerly Montreal.
* * *
Early in the summer of 1993 my boss, Wayne Parrish, sent me to do a feature. The Jays were on the road. “The Phillies look like an interesting team, why not check in on them when they are in St. Louis next week?” We had no idea that it would be a Philadelphia-Toronto World Series.
Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog said, “It’s tough when the Phillies writers come to town. First day they ask 1,000 questions. Next day a lot less and the third day after being at the New Missouri Bar and Grille, you have to ask them questions.”
Mr. Rickey and I went to the Grille that night, a newspaper and a baseball bar.
I looked up and there were two of the four umpires -- Eric Gregg and John Kibler behind the bar serving customers.
Mr. Rickey knew one and all.
* * *
“First time I saw the Commish in action was at a doubleheader in St. Louis. Doubleheaders are always a mess to write. Well, I shoved two games into one story and was leaving the press box and the Commish was still writing. I picked up the paper the next day and he had written two stories on the DH, one for each game. I told myself, ‘So that’s how you cover a doubleheader.’” _ Paul Hoynes, Cleveland.
* * *
Former umpire Joe West was on the phone the other day around 4:30 PM EST, “Sorry I’m phoning so late -- but it’s only 10:30 here ... I’m in Hawaii, I got your message last night and figured you’d be sleeping.”
West was calling to talk about our mutual friend Rick Hummel.
“We hated to lose him, he was a good friend of the umpires,” West said. “He’d be interviewing an ump and Rick would ask ‘Are you sure you want to say it that way?’ There was a tiff between Ed Montague and Rick. Ed said it, gave Rick the green light, but after it was in print he said he didn’t say it.”
There was a series when the Cardinals were visiting Wrigley Field and West was umpiring. Mr. Rickey wanted his friend Trifon, owner of the New Missouri Bar and Grille, ejected. West had visited the Bar and Grille once.
“Trifon was acting like the arrogant guy he is, standing up in the first row wearing his Cardinals jersey,” West recalled. “People were booing him because he had a better seat than they did and he was a Cardinals fan. I kicked him out between innings after setting it up with security before the game.
“Trifon went up to some suite, he didn’t care,” said West. West’s wife Rita played high school hoops in St. Louis and later for Missouri. Hummel covered Rita at both places before covering baseball. “Rick used to tell me if my wife got over centre court she’d shoot.”
West traces the relationship between writers and umpires back to Bob Hunter who covered the veteran Los Angeles Dodgers. He would tell complaining newcomers to the beat: “How can you expect a civil answer from some guy you have never met before. Go down before a game or series, stop in, say hello.”
“Rick was a breath of fresh air,” West said. “We’ll all better off because we had Rick Hummel as a friend.”
* * *
“Rick had the best baseball ingenuity of anyone I’ve ever known. He could have easily been a bench coach. He was that brilliant. He was a beautiful human being and fabulous mind. There may be no one like him ever again.” _ Bob Nightengale, USA Today.
* * *
Philadelphia scribe Paul Hagen, remembers that after Cardinal home games, Rick was a nightly presence at the New Missouri Bar and Grille, across Tucker Street from the old St. Louis Globe-Democrat building adding that “the joint was neither new or as fancy as the affection of adding the extra “e” to Grill would suggest, which made it a perfect sportswriter-type bar.”
“There he was in full Commish mode. He held court,” Hagen said. “When he said ‘Sprinkle the infield’ everybody knew it meant we needed another round. This was back when he was drinking. After he stopped, the only thing that really changed was that he substituted club soda for vodka.”
Hagen said Hummel had an encyclopedic knowledge of sports, but not strictly baseball.
“He knew when the star basketball player at, say, Drexel was expected to return to the lineup after an injury or the strength of schedule in the next month for example, Texas Tech football,” Hagen said, “He followed more than the power conferences, but the smaller schools as well, because he was a sports fan and also because he enjoyed having a wagering interest in any number of athletic contests on any given night.”
Hagen recalled during a postseason watching a Monday Night Football game in a bar in Cincinnati. With time running out, the team he was backing scored late.
“The only thing that can kill me now is if they run back the kickoff for a touchdown,” he noted happily.
You guessed it. Ninety-eight yards later his investment had tapped out.
Hummel was old-fashioned in the best possible way, according to Hagen.
“In an arena that featured more than its share of snark and cynicism, he was courtly,” said Hagen. “In a profession stereo typically populated by Oscar Madisons, he was a Felix Unger.”
You see Hummel for several years wore a coat and tie to every game. Given how steamy St. Louis can be in the summer, though, he granted himself the write to ditch the tie if the game time temperature exceeded 80 degrees.
“He could be critical but was never nasty about it,” Hagen said. “Negatives were reinforced by facts. He understood the game at a level that impressed managers and made them feel comfortable opening up to him.”
Hagen pointed out how Hummel was incredibly dedicated to his craft, saying “before the internet, he packed not only a suitcase but a separate duffel bag that contained every sort of reference book imaginable. Media guides, score books, the all-important extra power cords. You name it.”
Hagen was unsure how heavy it was “but I can personally attest that it felt like there was an anvil in there. There wasn’t, of course, but it wouldn’t have been a complete surprise. Commish was determined to be as prepared as humanly possible. And I guess you never know when you might have to shoe a horse.”
* * *
“Commish is gone. Hate losing him. In major league baseball’s post-season seating chart, St. Louis and Milwaukee had adjacent seats. So, every October, I found myself sitting next to the Commish. The Brewers were in the AL back then so it was the only time I got to spend time with him. What a great experience for me. I got to know him as a person and pick his brain about the game. We became great friends and I was the better for it. We had just a few cocktails together. Loved that guy. He was the best.” _ Tom Haudricout, Milwaukee.
* * *
One night at closing time at the New Missouri Bar and Grille it seemed to be a good idea for me to buy a black jacket with gold trim. The name of the bar was on the back the jacket atop a map of the state of Missouri.
Needless to say I only wore it a couple of times. Once I threw it in the bag when we took the kids to Disney. We were on the thruway and I stopped to look at a huge map.
All of a sudden -- in broad daylight -- it felt like a gun was in the middle of my back.
I raised my arms slowly and ... and slowly I turned ... expecting to be robbed or shot.
“I live right there where I pointed,” said the old traveller, “almost in the middle of the state.”
* * *
“Rick Hummel’s dedication to the game and his craft rubbed off on all of us fortunate enough to share a press box with him.” _ Jim Henneman, Baltimore.
* * *
Let’s see in addition to the Grille ... we did close down a few places: Derek’s, DJs, Grumpy’s, the original Runyons, the new Runyons, O’Neill’s, The Shortstop and a couple of hotel bars.
After a day game I’d ask when I was ready to leave I’d ask “how much longer?”
And Mr. Rickey would answer “half an hour ... either way,” a line he used when I’d ask if he was ready to leave a press box.
* * *
“There was a reason ‘The Commish’ was so universally liked. We happened to have been born just a day apart (he was older by one day) and he once told me that made us brothers from another mother. Besides his amazing baseball acumen, he was a great journalist who knew what his readers wanted, and he gave it to them. In the press box, he was funny, kind, gentle and dedicated. He was a friend to everyone. In our business, he was absolutely one of a kind.” _ Jim Reeves, Fort Worth.
* * *
Working at the Post-Dispatch for 51 years, overing the Cardinals for 50 years, he covered countless Cardinals playoffs, three World Series champions, 35 World Series and the past 42 All-Star games, which began and ended in Dodger Stadium.
There was the Mark McGwire home run chase attempting to catch Roger Maris’ single-season home run record. If we had a dollar for every time we saw a visiting writer (guilty) go over and ask him for help ... we’d be rich. Not once did I ever hear him turn someone away with “sorry too busy.”
* * *
“Rick was a very eloquent writer. He sure had a way with words. He was always cheerful, welcoming visiting media and he sure could play a neat hand of cards.” _ Danny Gallagher, Toronto.
* * *
One of Rickey’s dear friends was Serge Touchette of Montreal, who said upon hearing of Hummel’s passing: “We lost a good friend, period. We lost too many of them lately. I loved that man, he was such a good friend.”
Rickey like a lot of writer knew that Touchette did not drive, despite the fact his father owned a car lot. So Rickey would call and say “Serge we play at day game at Shea, should be in around 10 PM ... or we’re coming in from Denver, might not be there until 1 AM.” Of course Serge was not their and the insults from the visiting writer would start the next day.
* * *
“It’s hard to imagine our world and our profession without Rick Hummel elevating it the way only he could. No one I know loved being a baseball writer more than the Commish. And because he constantly exuded that love, the baseball world loved him back. Players. Managers. Coaches. GMs. Owners. Scouts. Umpires. They all knew and loved Rick. And then there were all of us, the writers who gravitated toward him every time we shared a press box with him. As a writer and as a friend, he could make you laugh and make you smarter. And it seemed as if he always did both every time our paths were fortunate enough to cross. There was no one like him. And I can’t imagine there ever will be.” _ Jayson Stark, The Athletic.
* * *
Mr. Rickey won the 2006 J.G. Taylor Spink award for meritorious contributions to baseball writing and was honoured at Cooperstown. In 2021, the award was renamed the BBWAA Career Excellence Award.
The new Busch Stadium, opened in 2006 and the next year Mr. Rickey sat in the Bob Broeg-Rick Hummel press box. And Mr. Rickey’s picture hangs in the hallway leading to the Cardinals press box along with Jack Buck and Tim McCarver.
I used to tap Mr. Rickey’s picture for deadline luck. (Please have the guy I am writing about be at his locker within 10 minutes ... not 60).
* * *
“For more than a half-century, generations of Cardinals fans were very fortunate to be able to pick up the morning paper and read Rick Hummel’s coverage of the Cardinals. There is no one who loved the game and provided better insight into baseball than Commish. Renowned for his tireless work ethic, profound story-telling and impartial coverage, he was universally respected and trusted by everyone in the game. After covering baseball for the Post-Dispatch for 50 years, including three local World Series championships, he’ll forever be revered in St. Louis as much as the Cardinals, the Arch and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard.” _ Grassroots Baseball co-founder Jeff Idelson, retired Hall of Fame President.