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 It gave the Cards a 4-3 victory over the hated New York Yankees. It was October 11, and I was in my parent’s kitchen doing homework. When shouts came from the living room, I ran as fast as I could and slid on the living room floor like I was sliding into home. The Cardinals went on to win the series four games to three, and I was hooked forever. 
They won the Series again in ’67, and then lost in ’68. They did not reach the Fall Classic again until 1982, when they beat the Brewers in seven games. Then came the travesty of ’85 when the worst call in sport’s history (ESPN’s assessment, not mine) robbed us of another World Series title. They lost again in ’87, and then were crushed by the Red Sox in 2004.
This year the Cards started the season as favorites to win the National league pennant. But a series of injuries and several streaks of seven and eight losses in a row left that question in serious doubt. When they limped into the postseason, many analysts doubted they would win a game. But they got past the Padres and then defeated the Mets in one of the most dramatic seventh games in recent post-season history.
But no one thought they could beat the superior Detroit Tigers.  One national sports writer predicted that Detroit would win the Series in three games (it takes four to win). However, five games later the Cardinals had won their tenth World Series – the second most titles in baseball history.
I watched the first two games of the Series and then boarded a plane for meetings in South Africa. I was half way around the world when the Cardinals won. I had waited 24 years for this, and when it finally happened, I could not even get the highlights on the television.
Sometimes life is not fair.
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