Episode #21: I Saw Mark McGwire Break The Record

 In June of 1993 I was working for Hanson Industries who sold a group of their concrete batch plants to a  group of private investors out of Calgary Alberta. I happen to work at that group that sold. In the beginning I did not like the management change and was preparing to make a change and leave. It was a tough job in a tough industry but I hung in there and that turned out to be the best decision of my working life. It took a few years but I went from being a Plant Manager, to Area Manager, to Divisional Manager then to Vice President of Operations in 1998.

Bill Mabry was the General Manager of the company and he recognized my work ethic and ability and soon gave me the opportunity to grow into a high level position, helping to manage a $200 million/year ready mix concrete company. The job was demanding and the hours were long and arduous, requiring complete commitment. I worked tirelessly to learn the business from the bottom up and earned the opportunity to be a Vice President of this company.

This was a demanding job at a maddening pace, but there were benefits that came along with it that help to offset all of this. I had the opportunity to travel to industry related venues around the country as well as traveling to some awesome places just for the fun of it. September 8, 1998 was one of those occasions.

We had a 6 member staff meeting every Tuesday morning where we talked real business. Issues that impacted our business such as sales, equipment, personnel, budgets etc. We did not talk sports or entertainment, ever. That particular morning was different. Bill was distracted and was only slightly engaged in the information that was being reported. 

Suddenly he stops the meeting and said, 'Boys, history is going to be made tonight. How would you like to be a part of it?' We were all surprised and did not know what he was talking about. He continued 'Mark McGwire is going to break the single season homerun record held by Roger Maris and we are going to be there.' 

We all said sure, that would be great! He knew I lived the furthest away and turned to me and said 'Tony boy you better get home and pack a bag, we will be leaving shortly'. I left for the hour long drive home immediately and was just pulling into my driveway when I got a call saying the plane will be leaving DFW airport in a little less than two hours. I ran into the house, packed a bag, kissed Carol Ann, jump back into my truck and head straight to DFW airport.

I made it just before we started boarding for St Louis. We land and take a cab to a downtown hotel that was within walking distance of Busch Stadium. The entire town was buzzing with excitement. The plan was to get checked into our rooms and then meet Bill in his room. The next words out of his mouth is, 'fellas, if he doesn't hit it tonight we are traveling to Cincinnati for that game tomorrow'.

He told us that he had purchased tickets from a scalper and our seats were on the 9th row behind home plate at a cost of $1000 each and he had to pay in cash. He told Tom that he wanted him to go with him to meet the guy. This is a good choice because Tom goes about 6'5" and 270 lbs.

The transaction goes well, we get the tickets and walk the several blocks over the stadium. The entire place is crazy with fans and news media. We get to our seats an hour before the first pitch. About 20 minutes before game starts I decide to grab a bite at one of the concession stands. It is so crowded and hectic it takes me over 30 minutes to get back to my seat but I am there; 9 rows up from the backstop and see this historic event happen and it is magical! They stop the game, make a quick presentation, McGwire tips his cap to the crowd and the game goes on. 

After the game we take in the sites and sounds as we walk back to the hotel. As you can imagine it was pretty late by the time we get back to our rooms. I am way too wired up from all the excitement of the game and decide to walk over to the St. Louis Gateway Arch. It is huge and is an amazing structure. I discover upon my arrival the tour up the Arch closes at 11 pm and it is almost midnight.

I hang around the area for a while then head back to the hotel and get to bed about 1:30 am. We meet for breakfast at 7:00 the next morning at the hotel restaurant in the lobby. We are all still talking about  the game and the record breaking event. Bill walks up rather somber and looks at us like it is the day after Christmas and says 'boys we have spent a lot of company money and it is time to get back to work'. The party was over. However, I am still all smiles on the inside!

Epilog-

While McGwire had been accused of using PEDs, it had not been proven and I wanted to believe he was on the level. When it was proven that he was guilty, I was disgusted and threw away the pictures I had taken that night and had them framed with the ticket stub I kept as a souvenir. I wish now I hadn't done that. Nevertheless, this memory is a great one that I will always remember and am so glad I had the opportunity to be a part of it. 

Epilog Part 2 -

Four months after publishing this post, I was in my shop re-arranging some stuff on the shelves and I came across the framed photos and ticket stub that I thought I had thrown away. They are a little weathered due to years and years of being exposed to the heat and cold and dust but here is the one framed collage of photos. I still have the framed newspaper of the event but did not take pictures of that.

Here is a close up and enlarged view of the ticket stub

Here is Mcquire walking up to the plate before that home run hit. You can see the netting on the backstop since we were only 8 rows up from home plate. I was an awesome experience!

This last picture was taken just a bit before game time of the 4 of us - Bill, me, Chuck and Tom

 Tips on how to search for previous or missed posts of my blog-