The Final Word – Sporting Greatness

by Diane Lowrey
R-T Editor
If ever I need a good laugh for the day, all I have to do is go to my list of Yogi Berra quotes.
Yogi Berra, the New York Yankees catcher known for his lively wisecracks, died last week at the age of 90. While he was an excellent player, being named to the Baseball Hall of Fame as well as being an 18-time all-star and a member of 10 World Series title teams, his biggest claim to fame may very well be his contribution to the American language. The many expressions and phrases he used over the years remain memorable, mostly because they never really made much sense. Which is why I loved them so much.
Perhaps his most well-known phrase was “It’ Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over.” (Duh?). I loved his work as a pitchman for MasterCard, who took advantage of Berra’s way with words and had some of the most successful television commercials ever. Him telling us that using a MasterCard “is just as good as money” always put a smile on my face.
A good friend of mine, Bill Clark, recently shared a list of “Yogisms” with me, many of which I had forgotten. Some of my favorites include “No one goes there nowadays, it’s too crowded”; “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore”; and, my all-time favorite, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” He also shared information that he received from former Trenton resident and Royals baseball scout Jerry Lafferty, relating a story he had heard from his father about the time Yogi Berra and another St. Louis native, Joe Garagiola, played baseball in Trenton.
According to Jerry, Yogi and Joe were members of a St. Louis American Legion baseball team that played in a tournament at Trenton. The game was played on a field in front of the C.F. Russell Stadium, where the football field is now. Jerry said that while Yogi was known as a great catcher and outfielder, he could also hit the ball pretty well. Stories have it that Yogi hit a home run over the outfield fence, hitting the roof of a building on the other side. Legend has it that the home run was the longest ever hit at that field.
I also heard the story from another Trenton man, Arnie Arneson, and questioning some other old-time ballplayers in the area, they, too, have related a similar story. So I have to think that Yogi really did play in Trenton at one time. At least it makes a great story.
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One other touch of semi-sports greatness happened to me over the weekend as well. At least it was exciting for me. After spending the day at Roots, Blues and BBQ in Columbia, my husband and I headed downtown to our favorite hangout to catch the Missouri Tigers football team play Kentucky. As we were sitting there waiting for the game to start, a gentleman came and asked if he could sit in the empty chair next to me. As I looked at him, I kept thinking I should know who he was as he looked very familiar. So, never one to be shy, I introduced myself to him and, in turn, he told me his name – Lynn Hardy.
Now, if you were a Missouri basketball fan back in the late 1980s (1984-88 to be exact), Lynn Hardy is a name you will remember. He played basketball for Coach Norm Stewart with teammates such as Doug Smith, Derrick Chievous, Mike Sandbothe, Lee Coward and Greg Church. His best years were his sophomore and junior seasons, when as the starting point guard he helped lead Missouri back to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year season as a sophomore and to a Big 8 championship during his junior year.
I found Lynn to be a very nice individual, much the same way I found another MU basketball player, Steve Moore, when I met him a couple of years ago. We had a great conversation, talking about the Tigers of course and, in particular Coach Norm Stewart and Derrick Chievous, both of with which he still has a close relationship. With the football Tigers not playing that well, the conversation with Lynn was certainly a welcomed distraction.