Signing the National Anthem in Busch Stadium

In 1898, Edward C. Becker purchased the St Louis Cardinals baseball franchise (at that time it was the St Louis Browns) from the founder Mr. Vander Auhe. 100 years later and in honor of this former owner, I (Edward’s great-grandson) got to sing the national anthem in 1998 on a hot August evening when the Cardinals took on the Atlanta Braves.

Many extended family members from all over the country and friends converged on St Louis as we celebrated the event.

My loving brother, Bob, tried to jinx me at the last moment. In the hotel elevator on the way to the stadium, my brother said, “Now, is it proof through the flight or proof through the night?” Nice…real nice.

It wasn’t a stellar job, but one person stopped me afterwards and said, “I’ve never heard the audience be so quiet for the National Anthem from begining to end. It was very special.”

Additional Note:
Since the event, I’ve had two total strangers recognize me in a crowd as singing the National Anthem that day. Just last year some 7 years after I sang, I had someone say, “I was there the day you sang the National Anthem, I’d never heard it sung with such passion.”