Five things I'll remember about Curt Simmons Day

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER 1. Bobby Shantz Talk about good guys. I began the day as a lifelong Curt Simmons fan and my first sports hero did not disappoint me. However, I ended the day as a fan of Shantz (pictured in the back of the limo below), who will turn 87 in September but looked like he was in good enough shape to take the ball and get people out in the Blue Mountain League game that was taking place at Simmons Field.Curt simmons 006 He is mostly associated with the Philadelphia Athletics, but he won a World Series with the Yankees and had some good stories about Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin to tell. He's the pride of Pottstown and he has that humble, down-to-earth Eastern Pennsylvania charm. As a Cardinals fan, one of my favorite trades of all-time was the one that brought Lou Brock from the Cubs to St. Louis. But I am sorry that Shantz was part of the deal because I would have loved for him to be a member of the 1964 Cardinals World Series champs. 2. Freddie Schmidt Schmidt is the oldest living ex-Phillie and Cardinal, but even at age 96 he is still full of life. I was in the same car as Shantz and Schmidt going through the parade route and when I wasn't throwing out Tootsie Rolls to the kids along the parade route, I was listening to Schmidt and Shantz tell each other old war stories. Great stuff. Schmidt was a member of the 1946 World Champion Cardinals and Schmidt was telling the story of Enos Slaughter scoring from first base on Harry Walker's single for the game-winning run in Game 7 of the World Series. Red Sox shortstop Johnny Pesky took the blame for holding on to the ball too long before making the relay throw.Curt simmons 005 However, Schmidt (with me on the right) blames it on the center fielder who he said took too long to get to the ball in the first place. I asked Schmidt how big was his biggest seasonal payday in baseball and he said $5,000. Schantz said $25,000. But these guys stories are -- like the commercial goes -- priceless. I was honored to be in the same car with them. 3. The great singing of the Whitehall High School Chorale. This day was not only a great showcase for Simmons, Egypt and Whitehall Township, but Whitehall High School shared in the glory. Athletic director Bob Hartman officially retired Simmons' Zephyrs baseball jersey with No. 47. And the high school band played along the parade route and then during the hour-long ceremony in the park pavillion, the Whitehall High Chorale just sang beautifully. "My Country 'Tis of Thee" was superb, but I especially enjoyed "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." You can hear some of it during the video put together by Donna Fisher on our website. Good, classy singing. Loved it. 4. Phillies organization was impressive Because of Curt Simmons, I have been a Cardinals fan ever since I knew what baseball was. and the Cardinals didn't disappoint with a nice advertisement congratulating Simmons in the commemorative program book that was well worth the $3. But I must say that the Phillies organization was very, very impressive in how they supported this entire event with Scott Palmer, Larry Shenk, Dallas Green, the Phillie Phanatic and team president David Montgomery all showing up. It's great to see that the organization did not forget someone who has been very loyal to them. For them to come up and participate on the same day that a home game was being played was just classy, very classy, and even this Cardinals fan has to admit that the Phillies were winners on Saturday in Egypt even if they didn't win against the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. 5. Egypt showed what it was all about. I was there the very day that the idea of Curt Simmons Day came up and organizers wondered from Day One what the response from the community would be. They found out that the response was tremendous and it was wonderful to see so many people from at least four different generations showing respect for the community and one of the community's most significant people. Hats off to the people who put this whole thing together and I know first-hand that hours and hours of planning went into it. But most of all, hats off to the people of Egypt and the surrounding communities that made sure to show their community pride and make everyone feel proud, not only of Curt Simmons, but of the place where they live. It was a good day all the way around.