Nephew recalls time spent with baseball legend

According to baseball-reference.com, nearly 20,000 baseball players have played in the big leagues.

Of those, only 235 have reached baseball’s pinnacle of being inducted to the Hall of Fame.

One was born in El Dorado.

Lou Brock, who terrorized pitchers and defenses alike with his speed, was inducted into Cooperstown in 1985, getting elected in his first year of eligibility.

Otis Sherman, Brock’s nephew who resides in El Dorado, remembered the Cardinals legend, who died earlier this month.

“Back in the day, Brock lived in Louisiana,” Sherman said. “Brock and I would play out in the yard. He had, I believe, a bicycle rim on a tree for a basketball goal, so he and I shot basketball. I played a little bit in high school.”

“Well, Brock loved baseball. He knew he was five years older than I was. He couldn’t beat me in basketball. But when we got through playing basketball, we would have to play baseball. He would pitch some to me, and I would strike out,” he continued.

“He would go up to bat, and I would pitch some to him, and he would hit every one that I threw him.”

Brock went to college at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he helped the baseball team win the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ baseball championship during his junior year.

He signed with the Chicago Cubs in 1960, making his debut in the big leagues a year later before getting to play full time in 1962.

In 1964, he was traded to the Cardinals in what turned out to be one of the most one-sided trades in baseball history.

Brock helped St. Louis win the first of two World Series in the 60s, as the Cardinals beat the New York Yankees in seven games.

The Cardinals would win the Fall Classic again in 1967 over Boston in seven games, but fell to Detroit in seven games a year later.

In the World Series, Brock hit .391 for his career, including marks of .414 in 1967 and .464 in 1968.

Brock's 14 stolen bases in the World Series also ties him with Eddie Collins for the most in history, and his seven steals in 1967 and 1968 are records that still stand today.

Once Brock was established in St. Louis, Sherman would make trips to see him play.

“I used to go to baseball games in Houston whenever I got a chance when St. Louis played,” Sherman said. “I had a friend and we would go from El Dorado to the Astrodome. We would find the hotel they were at and find Lou Brock. My uncle. He didn’t brush me off like I was a nobody. We enjoyed each other’s company.

“I went to St. Louis to see a game. He told me when I get there, go to the gate, tell them my name, and I have a pass waiting for you. I go to my seat, and I would be sitting next to his wife. She was expecting me.”

Sherman’s father worked for Brock, and when he returned to El Dorado with his health failing, he and his son reunited. As time passed, Sherman’s relationship with Brock was also rekindled.

“My dad and my mom divorced when I was a senior in high school,” Sherman said. “My dad went on and worked all over the United States. He got sick and he came back to El Dorado. He reached out for me, and we reunited.

“I didn’t want to do it like that because I thought he had done me so wrong, but I listened to what my wife told me, and she told me not to act like that. That wasn’t the right way.

“So we reunited and he lived across town from where I lived. I’d go by there and holler at him. His sister, Geraldine, came from St. Louis, and she and I put him in the nursing home. My dad and I got tight, and I would go by every day to see him.

“He knew I was working, and when I got off, I would go to the nursing home. He was doing as well as he could be expected, but he got bad and then he passed. I was communicating with Brock about the situation. He didn’t have any insurance or anything like that and Brock said, ‘Don’t worry about a thing. I got it. I’ll take care of everything.’ So he did. Brock and I got tighter. We called each other.”

For baseball fans, Brock is considered one of the game’s top weapons, tallying 3,023 hits and 938 stolen bases, a record that stood until Rickey Henderson broke it in 1991.

For Sherman, he is a family member who is remembered fondly.

“We had a few real bright days together,” Sherman said. “He came down when my dad passed. He and his wife spent some time. He took time to talk to everybody.”

During an El Dorado City Council meeting Sept. 10, Council Member Billy Blann acknowledged Brock’s passing four days earlier and his El Dorado roots.

Blann advised the El Dorado Historic District Commission to make sure that a newly adopted citywide historic preservation plan includes a project with a dedication to Brock.

(News-Times' reporter Tia Lyons contributed to this story.)

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