NEW ATHENS, Ill. — Whitey Herzog was one of the most popular sports figures in St. Louis history and on Tuesday, sports fans were mourning.
Former Cardinals Manager Herzog passed away at 92 after a short illness.
Herzog is in the Cardinals Hall of Fame and the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. In the 1980s, he guided the Cardinals to three pennants and a World Series title.
Herzog was from New Athens, a small Illinois town about 50 minutes southeast of St. Louis. 5 On Your Side spoke with people who grew up with Herzog long before he was known as the "White Rat."
Besides being one of the Cardinals' most successful managers of all time, he was known for being a friendly, generous and "all-around good guy," according to many people in New Athens.
The Bullpen Bar & Grill in New Athens is where everybody knows everybody and half a dozen people who each knew Herzog and his family from growing up there.
On Tuesday, all anyone wanted to talk about in the town of slightly less than 2,000 was the local celebrity Herzog who managed the Redbirds from 1980-1990.
"We got very good memories of him, of the family in a small town," Bryan Rausch who was the Herzog's paper boy for a time said. "That's how you get to know people."
Everyone who walked through the Bullpen door seemed to know Herzog and the team he led to three World Series in 1982, 1985 and 1987.
"I would tell everybody, 'I delivered a paper to Whitey,'" Rausch said.
The New Athens High School alum was also a basketball star known for his generosity.
"The most memorable thing that I remember is that in 1982, when the Cardinals were in the World Series he personally came down and hand-delivered World Series tickets to all of his classmates that he played baseball and basketball with in high school," said Dennis Breithaupt who has lived in New Athens since 1957 when his family moved there for high school.
A legacy of giving is also seen at the Whitey Herzog Field in Belleville.
For this man known by many, his family knew him best.
Herzog's cousin-in-law Jim Newman told 5 On Your Side inside his Hiway Lumber Company store at 601 South Clinton St. that he was planning to see Herzog the day he passed. To see him one more time, but also to support his cousin Mary Lou Herzog, his surviving wife.
"We didn't make it," Newman said.
Mary Lou and Whitey were high school sweethearts.
"Mary Lou in the 6th grade sent Whitey a valentine that she'd like to see more of him," Newman said.
High school. That was when Vern Moehrs had the unfortunate fate of playing against Whitey for Waterloo High School on the baseball diamond.
"There was no comparison," Moehrs said."Their team was so much better than our team."
Moehrs made his way to the Bull Pen like everyone else on Tuesday. It's also a favorite of the city's mayor, Joe Behnken.
Behnken opened his home to us and told us his favorite story about Herzog which is when he was still with his travel baseball farm team and they were heading to a game via New Athens.
"As they pass the local tavern ... Whitey pointed to the tavern and said, 'I can tell you everyone that is sitting in that tavern this afternoon,'" Mayor Behnken said. "Plus, I can tell you what stool they're sitting on and what they're drinking."
MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred put out a statement Tuesday afternoon saying in part that Whitey Herzog was one of the most accomplished managers of his generation and a consistent winner with both 'I-70' franchises."
The Herzog family is planning a private celebration of life service after a period of grieving.