ST. LOUIS -- The inspiration came around 15 years ago while driving around town making sales calls. Dan McLaughlin, early in his tenure as the Cardinals' primary television play-by-play voice, was sitting alongside a Fox Sports Midwest colleague who was fighting to hold back tears.
The man explained how his young daughter, Caroline, required special needs services that the family feared it could not fully afford. It was a reality that McLaughlin refused to accept, and one he boldly believed he could change.
"Ever since I was little, I've always had a real soft spot for kids who have a disability," McLaughlin said.