The man in the picture isn’t recognizable.
Heck, even his last name — screaming in capital letters across his back — isn’t necessarily recognizable. To many Cardinals fans, he’s an obscure Cardinal, yet captured in perpetuity in one of the franchise’s greatest images.
His name is Carl Warwick. And there he was — there he is! — at home plate, standing alongside 1964 teammates Curt Flood and Dick Groat, congratulating Ken Boyer on his World Series grand slam. The image is even on the cover of a recent book titled “’64 Cardinals.â€
Boyer’s famous slam flipped the Yankees-Cardinals series during Game 4. The Cards proceeded to win it all in Game 7.
Warwick is now 87. When he visited Busch Stadium recently, for the 60-year reunion for the ’64 team, I told Warwick about the photo and how neat it is that he’s forever frozen in it.
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“It is!†he said with a smile as wide as a strike zone.
He doesn’t speak in long sentences anymore. His body and mind are going through some tough stuff. His wife of 66 years, Nancy, is his “caregiver and with him every step of the way,†explained Warwick’s daughter, Julie Kent. “You know, the weekend (in ºüÀêÊÓƵ) was tough with daddy because he really wasn’t sure what we were doing, why we were going on an airplane. He did great with all of (the Cardinals’) help with having a golf cart to get around — even though he doesn’t think he needs help.
“My favorite part of the weekend, and it still brings tears to my eyes, was watching them go around the field in the golf cart, him waving — I know how special it was for him in 1964. A very emotional weekend knowing it’s their last trip at 87.â€
The Cardinals hadn’t been to the World Series in 18 years. But entering Game 4 in 1964, ºüÀêÊÓƵ trailed two games to one. And by the sixth inning, the Yankees led 3-0 … and the Cardinals had just one hit, a single.
So, to lead off the inning, Cardinals manager Johnny Keane called for Carl Warwick.
In Game 1, Warwick hit a pinch-hit single (that drove in the go-ahead run in the win).
In Game 2, Warwick hit a pinch-hit single.
In Game 3, Warwick drew a pinch-hit walk.
And in Game 4 … well, let’s let Harry Caray describe it from the national radio broadcast: “Right-handed batter waiting, veteran of the National League … One strike and no balls on Carl Warwick, the pitch on the way — there’s a hot shot to left field, a base hit!â€
No, there wasn’t an exit velocity metric for Warwick’s hit, but if anything, on the radio broadcast, that thing sure sounded like it was smacked.
And soon after, with the bases loaded, Boyer drilled his historic grand slam, which gave the Cards a 4-3 lead.
“A brand new ballgame, just that quickly!†Caray gleefully said.
Really, a brand new series. Instead of dropping to three games to one, the Cards won and tied the series, 2-2.
With Bob Gibson pitching all 10 innings, ºüÀêÊÓƵ won Game 5 at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees stormed back with a Game 6 win in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
And in Game 7, Gibson pitched another complete game and the Cardinals won the World Series.
Sixty-four. A season implanted in the hearts of so many ºüÀêÊÓƵans. The season of Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio. Boyer’s MVP. Flood’s Gold Glove. Mike Shannon’s rookie campaign. Tim McCarver’s clutch hits. Bill White’s homers. Bob Uecker’s tuba. And the grit of Gibson and the gang during the impossible comeback — 11 games back of Philadelphia on Aug. 23, 6½ games back on Sept. 20 — to win the pennant on the season’s last day.
Eight players from the ’64 team are enshrined in the Cardinals’ team Hall of Fame.
But there was also the perfect part-time player who ascended in October, a la Dane Iorg in 1982, Tito Landrum in 1985, Jose Oquendo in 1987, So Taguchi in 2006 and Allen Craig in 2011.
The Cardinals weren’t Warwick’s first team, nor his last team, but he actually played for them twice in his six-year career. He was on five franchises, hitting a career .248.
“We couldn’t even vote,†said his wife, Nancy, “because we didn’t have a six-month residence any place!â€
Nancy and Carl first crossed paths at Texas Christian University.
“He met her in the library,†Julie said. “She was studying, he wasn’t.â€
Sitting beside her husband in a Busch dining room — while wearing a Cardinals jersey with WARWICK 17 on her back — Nancy said she wasn’t aware of her future husband’s campus reputation.
“I didn’t know what an All-American was,†Nancy said. “I thought he was just a good ol’ guy.â€
The Warwicks have two daughters, Karla and Julie.
“My dad was playing with the Dodgers when my mom was pregnant with me,†Julie said. “I was born and my dad was at the stadium before a game. Sandy Koufax ran out to the outfield to tell him he just had another girl. Ten days later, the Cardinals were in town — and he was traded to the Cardinals.
“He loved baseball. He never saw Black and white. He made great friends with Bob Gibson and Jimmy Wynn. At the 50th reunion, a player said they were on the road and late at night they checked into a hotel. And they wouldn’t let the Blacks stay there. My dad went inside and talked to the manager of the hotel and somehow worked it out.â€
After baseball, the Warwicks lived in Houston, where Carl had his best season, hitting 16 homers for the 1962 expansion club. He worked in real estate and helped with numerous baseball-related endeavors. He turned 87 in February.
“It’s not easy (on my mother),†Julie said. “We all live close, so my sister and I are there to give her time to go play bridge.â€
After my chat at Busch with Carl and Nancy, I had one final question for the old ballplayer.
So, do you have your World Series ring?
He slowly held up a hand. And there it was.