Ex-Cards step up to the tee for Southeast baseball

Bent Creek Golf Course in Jackson was the site of a mini St. Louis Cardinals reunion Monday.

Three former Cardinals whose careers all overlapped at least somewhat were the centers of attention during the second annual Joe Uhls Memorial Golf Tournament and Dinner, which serves as a fund raiser for the Southeast Missouri State baseball program.

Whitey Herzog, Jack Clark and Tom Pagnozzi spent a good part of late Monday morning mingling with Southeast supporters at Bent Creek as the trio prepared to play in the afternoon golf tournament.

Pagnozzi was also the featured speaker later in the evening for the event's dinner and silent auction at the Cape Girardeau Elks Lodge. Clark also planned to attend the dinner/auction, while Herzog -- last year's featured speaker -- was going to pass.

"I just came down to play golf. I'm going to let Pagnozzi and Clark handle the banquet," said a smiling Herzog, the legendary former Cardinals manager.

All three said they were happy to be in the area to help support coach Mark Hogan's Southeast's baseball program and generally have a good time.

"I met coach Hogan at the Cardinals fantasy camp [earlier this year in Florida]," said Pagnozzi, a St. Louis catcher from 1987 through 1998. "I heard a lot of stories about him and I thought it would be fun to come here."

Added Clark, the slugger who spent just three seasons in St. Louis as part of an 18-year major-league career, but helped lead the Cardinals to National League pennants in 1985 and 1987: "He [Hogan] was on my team at the fantasy camp. He called and said these other guys would be here, so it's a good cause."

Herzog managed the Cardinals for the entire decade of the 1980s, leading them to three World Series, including a win over the Brewers in 1982. He managed Clark from 1985 through 1987 and managed Pagnozzi from 1987 through 1990. All three were together for just that 1987 season.

"It's great to see Jack and Tom. I see them and a lot of the other guys from those teams at golf tournaments," Herzog said.

Herzog makes occasional appearances in the area because of his longtime friendship with Jack Litzelfelner, whose family owns and operates Bent Creek. The pair played minor league baseball together in 1952 in Quincy, Ill., which was then a farm team of the Yankees.

"It's always great to come down here and see Jack," said Herzog, who makes his home in the St. Louis area. "We've been buddies for more than 50 years."

The 73-year-old Herzog, who retired from managing in 1990, has over the years been mentioned regarding a possible comeback. He acknowledged there was a time when he didn't rule it out, but that is no longer the case.

"I'm too old," he said, laughing.

Pagnozzi, who makes his home in Fayetteville, Ark., not only wanted to be involved with Monday's affair to help out Southeast's baseball program, he also used it as an opportunity to catch up with three current Redhawks starters he knows fairly well from when he lived in Arizona, where the trio hails from.

Bo Jenkins played for a summer team that Pagnozzi coached, while Ernie Bracamonte and Freddy Lopez played for a squad that competed against Pagnozzi's group. And all three worked for a hitting school that Pagnozzi ran.

"I've kept up with them," Pagnozzi said. "I saw them last night."

Pagnozzi, who spent his entire career with the Cardinals -- he made an all-star team and won three gold gloves -- said it's always enjoyable to meet up with ex-teammates and managers like Clark and Herzog.

"We run into each other here and there," he said. "It's always good to see former mates."

Pagnozzi, who retired after the 1998 season, is pleased that major league baseball has finally taken some kind of position in the fight against steroid use. But he said more needs to be done on all levels.

"I'm glad they're cleaning it up, but I feel it has to be done on a lot larger scale," he said. "They have to get into college and high school. From talking to people, I know it's there. It's rampant."

Like Herzog and Pagnozzi, Clark said he always enjoys meeting up with former teammates.

"We see each other all the time, at various events," Clark said. "This is fun."

And, like Pagnozzi and Herzog, Clark still follows the Cardinals closely as he spends several months a year living in St. Louis, where he is a coach for the River City Rascals independent team.

"Absolutely, I follow the Cardinals," Clark said. "They had a great year last year and I think they're better this year. I think their starting pitching is better, and that's the name of the game."

Clark, who belted 340 home runs during a career that spanned from 1975 through 1992 -- his high was 35 for the Cardinals in 1987 -- became fairly passionate when the topic of steroids was broached. He believes players who ultimately are proved to have been using steroids should not be allowed to hold records.

"I'm like anybody else. I'm very disappointed," he said. "I hope they don't recognize records as being broken. I don't think it's fair for people to be recognized who were cheating.

"They shouldn't have the records without something next to their name, because they wouldn't deserve it. If I was on steroids, I should be in the Hall of Fame because I would have hit another 150 home runs. But that's not right."