T-SHIRTS MARK RECORD; PENNEY'S SELLS OUT, TO GET MORE

Zara Seabaugh of Cape Girardeau was first in line at JCPenney's Wednesday to get a Mark McGwire T-shirt marking his record-breaking 62nd home run Tuesday night.

Seabaugh, who was at the store at 10 a.m., wanted to get the shirt for her 13-year-old son.

She was one of several hundred McGwire fans with the same idea Wednesday who stood in line for several hours.

The store sold all 144 of its red home run caps earlier in the day, and in the space of 90 minutes, the store sold some 3,800 McGwire home run T-shirts.

The store began selling the T-shirts at 1:22 p.m., about an hour after store employees returned from St. Louis with them, and by 3 o'clock all the T-shirts were sold.

JCPenney stores in the St. Louis area sold out earlier in the day.

Local store employees handed out tickets to keep track of the customers waiting to buy the T-shirts at the catalog desk, and at one point, the line extended nearly three fourths of the way across one of the store's main aisles.

Kevin Curry of Kelso was one of the people in line to buy T-shirts for him and his family.

Curry had attended Tuesday night's ball game in St. Louis with his mother, who was at her first baseball game.

"My mom had never been to a ball game," he said.

Some of the others in line said they wouldn't be buying T-shirts if McGwire wasn't such a great person.

"He is just an all-around good guy," said Staci Lueder of Cape Girardeau.

Nina Hill of Scott City agreed, saying she had been to eight Cardinal ball games this year and had yet to see McGwire hit a home run in a game. She has seen him hit numerous home runs in batting practice, though.

Jackson Alderman David Ludwig also was in the line. He said he had an autographed baseball from Mark McGwire as well as a number of baseball cards featuring the slugger, but he needed a T-shirt to commemorate the record.

There were five different designs, including one that sported 62 home run balls on the front.

"That was the best seller," said local store manager Don Fisher. The shirts sold for $16 to $22.

Nearly 300 customers left with T-shirts, but another 150 to 200 customers came up empty.

"We finally wound up having to take names and telephone numbers," Fisher said. Those customers will be contacted when another shipment arrives.

That will be soon as the store expected to receive 456 more caps and another 850 T-shirts in the next two days.

Fisher said JCPenney will offer new caps and T-shirts bearing McGwire's final home run figure after the season ends.

"It is amazing," Fisher said as the line grew longer and longer. At the height of the rush, as many as 300 people were standing in line.

Fisher tipped his hat to the patience of the customers. "I can't thank the customers enough," he said.