When scout Charley Barrett invited Jim Bottomley to try out with the Cardinals in 1920, there was just one problem. Bottomley, an Illinois native, didn’t know where the old Cardinal Field was located.
So his taxi driver – sensing Bottomley’s uncertainty in the unfamiliar city – took him for a joy ride around St. Louis and watched as his cab fare gradually climbed.
From that moment on, it was smoother sailing for Bottomley as he adjusted to life in the Gateway City.
