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St. Louis lost a legend this week in former St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Rick Hummel. We here at Redbird Rants extend our sympathies to the Hummel family during this time.
For 51 years, “The Commish” Rick Hummel was a fixture at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Hired by famed sportswriter Bob Broeg in 1971 after serving with the U.S. Army, Hummel stayed with the Post-Dispatch until his retirement in 2022. In 2007, he was awarded the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for baseball writing at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
On Saturday, Hummel passed away at age 77 after a brief illness. Many around the game of baseball expressed their sympathies on the loss of a legend.
Today is a sad day for me. St Louis lost a legend in Rick Hummel. Always fair. Always in a good mood. Always wearing some kind of goofy hat and mismatched pants that made me smile. The respect and trust he earned from players is a rare thing in our world https://t.co/j0GUl5cLbW
— Adam Wainwright (@UncleCharlie50) May 22, 2023
Rest in peace, Commish. A literary legend who left an impact on St. Louis like none other. Rick Hummel served many years on our Historical Overview Committee and I am grateful we had time together in February and at his final official game last September when we took this photo. pic.twitter.com/dZEqe350c4
— Josh Rawitch (@HOFprez) May 22, 2023
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on the passing of beloved Hall of Fame writer Rick Hummel. pic.twitter.com/SrIYO9fGUG
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 22, 2023
Commish was the best. I spent a lot of time in St. Louis early in my baseball-writing career, and he was always — always — kind and welcoming. The world would be a far better place if people treated one another the same way Rick Hummel treated everyone. https://t.co/IUjd15PRdB
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 22, 2023
This is such gut-wrenching news. Rick Hummel was one of my baseball writing heroes and a friend for so many years
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) May 22, 2023
Nobody loved being a baseball writer more than the Commish. And the entire population of the press box and the sport loved him back
RIP, Rick. We'll miss you dearly https://t.co/gkAi1vnuMG
A native of Quincy, Illinois, Rick Hummel was born in 1946 and became interested in journalism at a young age listening to the radio station, WGEM. After high school graduation, Hummel attended then-Quincy College before transferring to the University of Missouri where he graduated with a degree in journalism in 1968.
During his time with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Hummel covered many famous moments with the Cardinals. These moments ranged from Garry Templeton’s run-in with the fans, to the 1982 World Series clincher, to Whitey Herzog’s resignation in 1990, later the hiring of Tony La Russa after the 1995 season, the 105-win 2004 team, and David Freese’s heroics in 2011.
There were many positive traits that made Rick Hummel so special to so many in the sports media industry. One was his commitment to detail and truth. Hummel wanted to make sure that the St. Louis Cardinals fans were the most informed fans in all of baseball. Hummel succeeded in doing that for so many years, as news formats continued to change each decade, by retaining two of the most important qualities of journalists: accuracy and trust.
With a commitment to accuracy and providing facts, Hummel held another positive trait: professionalism. Hummel not only combined his love for the game with his duty to provide trustworthy information, but he served as a gracious role model to up-and-coming journalists.
Thank you for everything, Commish. We hope you are sharing countless Cardinals baseball stories up above with Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Mike Shannon, and many more.