Forever Imprinted
Ernie Broglio will forever be remembered for his inclusion in the Cards/Cubs rivalry. His son, Vince Broglio, shares stories from Ernie’s Cardinal career and the infamous trade for Lou Brock.
By Vince Broglio
There is a cool breeze circling the front yard, the type of breeze only found in northern California during the summer. I’m crouched behind a makeshift home plate as one by one my friends step into the imaginary batter’s box and one by one flee in fear, cowering at the sight of their first curve ball. I catch each one with a laugh and throw it back to my dad. He’s smiling, seemingly scrounging for something in his glove, preparing to introduce them to their first knuckle ball next. Knowing what’s coming I laugh harder. It becomes impossible to differentiate between the summer breeze and the whiffs of their bats.
That’s how I remember Ernie Broglio: playing catch, laughing, being my dad. In St. Louis and Chicago, he’s remembered differently - he’s the man traded for Lou Brock.
***
There was a worse trade involving my dad. That’s been forgotten over the years with all the stories of Brock-for-Broglio. Before he ever even donned a Cardinals uniform, he was in the Giants minor league system. Following the 1958 season, the Giants sent him to St. Louis for Hobie Landrith, Billy Muffett, and Benny Valenzuela. “A can of salmon for a can of salmon” is how reporters described it at the time. Landrith would become a back-up catcher, Muffett played only 5 games for San Francisco, and Valenzuela never played in the majors after the trade.
But Dad, he developed into one of the best pitchers in the National League, finishing third in the Cy Young voting and ninth in MVP voting in 1960. He led the National League in wins, the first Cardinal to do so in fourteen years, his 21st and last coming on the day my sister Nancy was born.
I was too young to remember much of his time with the Cardinals. I would hear stories about how Stan Musial took him under his wing to teach him how to be a major leaguer and a Cardinal, saw him featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, gazed at the Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax autographed photos adorning our walls.
In fact, the only chance I ever had to see play as a Cardinal, I didn’t even get to see him pitch!
The Cardinals were playing the Giants in 1964 and my dad brought me to Candlestick to watch. I hung out in the clubhouse before the game, meeting all those players whose signatures I knew. At some point, it was time for everyone to get ready and I was whisked away to the seats. Dad led the Cardinals to victory, striking out five Giants in a complete game performance. The only problem was I didn’t get to see much of it at all. During the game, I tried to find a bathroom, got lost in the concourse and couldn’t find my way back to the seats!
***
1964. That was a pivotal year in my dad’s career. In the middle of the season, he was traded for Lou Brock. The consequence of that trade is as well-known as any in baseball history. Not only did Lou become a hall of famer, retire with 3,000+ hits and the record for most stolen bases in baseball history, but the Cardinals won the 1964 and 1967 World Series.
Neither dad, nor the Cubs saw similar success. Hindered by shoulder injuries, dad would play in just 59 games for the Cubs, compiling a 7-19 record over three years for a team that never won more than 76 games in a season.
Cubs fan never forgave him for the trade. In fact, one of Dad’s favorite stories to tell was that after his career ended, the Cubs invited him to come to Wrigley for an Old Timers game. “When they introduced me,” he laughed, “the fans gave me a standing boo.”
It was a stark contrast to how he was treated by the Cardinals. After the Cards beat the Yankees in the ‘64 World Series, Musial and the team called Dad collect from Stan’s restaurant where they were celebrating their world championship.
They told him they wished he could be there and that they missed him. He hung up, touched that on such a great day, they were thinking of him. Then he turned to us and with a chuckle said, “They couldn’t have paid for the call themselves?”
***
People ask me sometimes if he hated it, being remembered as the wrong end of what is consider the worst trade in baseball history. I always give the same answer he gave me and to anyone else that ever asked…absolutely not!
He loved the Cardinals, he loved Lou, and he loved the fact that because of that trade he would always be remembered. In fact, with a laugh, he would say that he hoped to die before Lou because “as long as Lou Brock is alive, they have to remember me too!”
Dad kept in touch with Lou, at least once a year they would talk. I always found it very special that Lou invited my dad and myself to his 70th birthday party in St. Louis. They celebrated - of course - at Busch Stadium during a night game. Once again, I had the chance to meet all those players whose signatures hung up on the wall in my dad’s office and I understood why after all those years, and even after such a maligned trade, Dad always considered himself a Cardinal first.
***
I’ve always believed that people gravitate to water. There is a calm that the water imparts, through its undulating waves and flowing currents. Maybe that, and not Lou Brock, is what really brought my dad from the beaches of the Pacific Ocean, to the banks of the Mississippi and then the shores of Lake Michigan.
The ocean, not the diamond, called me, my baseball career ending in high school as surfing became my passion. When I am out there, I feel the calm, the breeze engulfing me and my board, and I smile, and I laugh, thinking of catching curves and knuckle balls from the great Ernie Broglio.
Since 1983, Vince has dedicated his life to perfecting the art of surfboard shaping and operates Vince Broglio Surfboards in Santa Cruz, CA. You can find him on Instagram at @vbsurfboards