It was 1973 and all my passion revolved around the St. Louis Cardinals. I lived in Houston and used to follow them during their road games. I would go see them at Busch Stadium in St. Louis where I had the opportunity to talk with many players on the dugout during their workouts.
On one of their visits to Houston, I met the Cardinals team at the Shamrock Hotel, which was located just across from the now-demolished Astrodome in Houston. There, in the lobby of the hotel, I was talking to Joe Torre, Tim McCarver, and veteran pitcher Orlando Pena, when suddenly Al Hrabosky approached the group.