Missed Christmas Party, And Missing Al Ferrari
Al Ferrari averaged nearly 15 points per game for the St. Louis Hawks during the 1956 NBA playoffs.
The 1-2-3 Club Christmas Party was yesterday, celebrated at River City Casino. The festivities spotlighted members who starred at the University Missouri, football royalty like Johnny Roland, Gus Otto, Mel Gray and Howard Richards.
They are among the best the Mizzou program ever produced, and among the best people you could ever meet, which is what makes them special.
And just in case you were wondering, no. The club did not have Luther Burden III walk with them, NFL draft aspirations notwithstanding.
Regretfully, this jolly scribe was unable to attend the holiday bash. But more than 400 were in attendance and the smart bet says the annual gig at the casino was terrific … See what I did there?
While a bit bummed about the missing it, I had the club in my thoughts, the camaraderie of it all and the privilege of calling these guys friends. At the same time, I was thinking about Whitey Herzog, Justin Williamson, Jim Hanifan, Kim Tucci and others, members who have passed on, who have left potholes around the table.
The loss is inevitable. Members of this club have one thing in common. “Former” is a prominent title on their bio. Spring chickens are not on the roster, but old goats - such as myself - populate the lineup. No one goes by “Prime Time.” In fact, few of us can even stay up that late.
But, thinking of the Club, those being honored, those that make it treasure, I couldn’t help but think of Al Ferrari. The “Bronco” was a foundational piece, a connection to a glorious part of this community’s sports history, a member of the 1958 NBA champion St. Louis Hawks and one of those people I mentioned earlier. He was special.
Ferrari passed away in May, 2016. I remember sitting in the church at the funeral, turning to see a lone figure sitting a few rows back. He had flown in from New Orleans that morning to be there. After all these years, you can’t mistake Bob Pettit anywhere.
Ferrari was with Pettit and the NBA Hawks from 1955-56 through 1961-62. He missed two seasons in between - 1956-57 and 1957-58 - serving in the military. Whether you like the expression or not, he was a man’s man, and he was the kind of person who made you me good about choosing to pursue sportswriting. He was one of the rewards.
If you work in sports and get lucky enough, you meet some of your boyhood heroes. They are not the athletes you deal with now, per se, not the personalities you work with every day.
They are athletes you admired when you were too young to know any better, when your world and the sports world were entirely different. They are the athletes who sacrificed to play professionally, made a living not a fortune. They felt driven, not entitled.
They were showcased, sure., But they weren’t surrounded, fed upon, worshipped.
You heard about on them mostly on the radio. They took shape in your mind and left space for your imagination. You might see them on occasion, from a distance, from the cheap seats when your dad had tickets. But they weren't on nightly television.
The only “Sports Center” was in your backyard. The only highlights hung from the bent rim on your garage, in the living color of your dreams.
They didn't have a sports drink, a clothing line or a sneaker with their name on it. They were bigger than that, much bigger. Larger than life.
If you work in sports and get lucky, you meet them years later. And you find out they were every bit of that, everything you imagined and then some. They turn out to be much more than gifted athletes and giant personalities. The men who were honored at the party yesterday are like that.
Al Ferrari was so like that.
They are genuine, caring people. They treat you like they want to be treated, like people are supposed to be treated. It has nothing to do with your station in life, or theirs. It has everything to do with dignity, faith and character. Sports used to honor those traits. Now it’s all about GOATS.
“Bronco” wasn’t a GOAT, he was a stallion. He was born July 6, 1933 in New York, NY. and grew up in one of the roughest neighborhoods it had to offer - Hell’s Kitchen. Nothing was handed to Ferrari, nothing was guaranteed.
He played basketball because he loved it, not because his Italian immigrant parents had college scholarships or pots of gold dancing in their heads. Ferrari battled for everything, on his street, at Brooklyn Technical High School and at Michigan State University.
He walked on at Michigan State and became a three-time MVP for legendary coach Pete Newell. Ferrari loved the Spartans and could still talk college basketball with you, chapter and verse.
He became a third-round pick of the Hawks in 1955, the 17th player taken overall in the 1955 NBA draft. When Ben Kerner moved the team from Milwaukee to St. Louis that same year, Ferrari came with it. He showed great promise, averaging eight points during his rookie season. He then spent the two years in the military, or his NBA career might have been more substantial.
At 6-feet-4, 190 pounds, he was too small to be a forward, too big to be a guard and just right to be a versatile asset. Before Jose Oquendo became a “Secret Weapon” for the Cardinals, before Jimmy Roberts became “Mr. Versatility” for the Blues, the determined Ferrari was a jack of all trades for the Hawks.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, when the Cardinals were mostly a second-division club, Ferrari was a workhorse piece of a team that faced the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals four times in a five-season stretch. He was in the service the year the Hawks got the best of the rivalry, riding Pettit's remarkable 50-point game and beating the Celtics for the NBA title.
But Ferrari was a member of both the 1959-60 and 1960-61 teams that won Western Division championships before losing to Boston in the finals. Those St. Louis teams featured some of the most memorable names ever, like Pettit, Len Wilkens, Cliff Hagan, Slater Martin and “Easy” Ed Macauley.
Ferrari averaged 6.8 points. 2.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists during his six NBA seasons. He was the kind of player who made those around him better, who rose to the moment, who became a Kiel Auditorium favorite.
During the 1956 playoffs, he averaged 33 minutes and 14.8 points per game. In the Western Division finals, when the Hawks fell behind the Minneapolis Lakers by 19, Ferrari scored 16 points in the third quarter alone to rally his mates to a win.
When his career ended, Al did some sports broadcasting and went into the insurance business. He and Marye Lee Ferrari made a home here and raised their son, Chris. They got involved in the community and enriched the lives of so many who knew them. Al got the most out of life, with a smile on his face and with his hands up in a defensive posture, the way Coach Newell taught him.
He is especially missed by the 1-2-3 Club brotherhood, who valued his integrity and friendship. He is missed by all who saw the Hawks play and cherish that piece of St. Louis history.
He is missed by one who grew up thinking Al Ferrari was something special, and had those thoughts so richly validated.