Cubs and Cardinals fans put aside their longstanding and occasionally boisterous rivalry Saturday following the death of St. Louis pitcher Darryl Kile in his Chicago hotel room.
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Fans from all over the Midwest, and from as far away as Los Angeles and Virginia said they were in shock. Cardinals red jerseys mingled with Cubs-blue caps as the fans commiserated together.
“This is a time to put the rivalry away,” said Max Marquez of Chicago, who wore a “St. Louis Sucks” T-shirt.
Others agreed.
“The animosity between the Cubs and Cardinals fans just went kaput. It just disappeared,” said Cubs fan Anthony Smith, a factory worker from Mattoon who was standing with his friends outside Wrigley Field after the cancellation of Saturday’s game.
Referring to the death of longtime Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck earlier in the week, he said: “You can’t harass them because they lost two people that meant a lot to their organization in one week. That would be like losing Harry Caray and Ryne Sandberg at the same time.”
Hours after the announcement, several fans still sat in neighborhood taverns and restaurants, some with red eyes.
“It’s been a hell of a week,” said Carri Coffee of Webster Groves, Mo. “I’ve been crying for days and then this happens.”
Coffee said Chicago supporters consoled her after hearing the news. One Cubs fan even gave Coffee a baseball she said she caught during batting practice, saying: “This means a lot more to you than it does to me.”
Doug Atkin, 44 and his two friends from Los Angeles wanted to make a “pilgrimage” to Chicago to see a Cubs game at Wrigley, so they flew in from Los Angeles Friday night for Saturday’s game.
They had just sat down with their bratwurst when Cubs catcher Joe Girardi announced the game had been called because of a “tragedy in the Cardinals’ family.”
“Everyone just sat in disbelief,” Atkin said. “People sat around in shock for about 15 minutes.”
Although a few fans grumbled about the postponement, most supported the decision.
“You never expect to come to the ballpark to hear something like this,” said Dave Moses, who brought his family to the game from Chesterfield, Mo. “It’s such a nice day, you have a great rivalry. Now I’m not sure there’s a whole lot to get excited about this weekend.”
While some fans said they would skip Sunday’s game, Coffee vowed to be there. Her Cubs friends, she said, plan to honor Kile by wearing red.
“Baseball is such a big part of our lives,” said Coffee, who said she attends about 75 Cardinals games each year. “I think Darryl Kile would want the team to go back [Sunday] and play. And just by being there, the fans can show the team that we support them and feel their loss.”
Outside the Tribune Tower on Michigan Avenue, Justin Wilson and eight of his friends peered into the WGN studios watching a televised news conference.
Wilson, who said he works at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium, and three of his friends were holding signed baseballs they said Kile had thrown to them before Friday’s game.
“[Kile] was just out there having a good time,” Wilson said. “He’s the nicest guy out there. We noticed today he wasn’t out there but we thought maybe he was not out there because he was pitching tomorrow.”