This may be the instance that generated the Frisco/Cardinals diner menu that is in the St. Louis Cardinals Encyclopedia. Scroll to Page 3 for the photo: http://thelibrary.org/lochist/frisco/magazines/fem_1931_07/fem_1931_07_21.pdf From July, 1931, this was in the Gabby Street managerial era. Talk about some big-time names in Cardinals' history in this photo: Bottomley, Frisch, Martin, Collins, not to mention others like Ray Blades, Ernie Orsatti... "Sunny Jim," "The Fordham Flash" and "the Wild Hoss of the Osage" sure look different in suits.
Sunny Jim Bottomley was my dad's favorite ball player when he was a kid. Sonny Jim lived out his retirement life in Sullivan, Missouri. We had some close family friends from the street where I grew up here in University City who moved to Sullivan to run a paint store there, located on the main street across from the Frisco depot. I remember watching black & yellow F-units from the store's front door. We visited them several times at their home in Sullivan. Guess who lived next door - Sunny Jim! My dad was thrilled to meet him. Ken
Sunny Jim once drove in twelve runs in one game! May be a record or at least a Cardinal club record. Tom
Man, I don't know which would have been more fun: watching old F-units go by or talking with the second-greatest lefthanded batter in STL history! Good memory, Tom. Jim Bottomley co-shares the ML record of 12 RBI in a game with another Cardinal (Mark Whiten drove in 12 when he hit 4 HR in a game back in the early 1990s). I love the quote Bob Broeg attributes to rookie Sunny Jim, who approached the labeled batting rack and said to pitcher Bill " Sherdel, "Who is this Mister Fungo?"
