Redbird fever took flight recently as staff and residents at Village North celebrated Cardinal baseball by showing their colors and enjoying a special lunch. For many residents, memories of their favorite team go back a long way.

Ken Nenninger, 82, was part of the Knothole Gang. Knothole gangs came about naturally as professional ballparks were first being built with wooden fences. Kids found the holes in the fences where knots had popped out to watch the games for free.

The St. Louis Cardinals are recognized as sponsoring the first "Knothole Gang" club. A quote, from Baseball Though a Knothole -- A St. Louis History by Bill Borst tells the story. "W.E. Bilheimer, a St. Louis insurance man, introduced the idea of a "Knothole Gang." With each $50 worth of stock purchased (in the Cardinal franchaise) went one bleacher seat that was opened up free of charge for the city's youth." This was the beginning of the 1917 season.

"Grade school children were given free passes to sit in the left field up past the foul line of Sportsman's Park, and the pass was good all year," says Nenninger. "I felt like a top dog showing that pass at the gate to get in.

Nenninger's father tested him before being allowed to go to games. "Dad and I walked to Sportsman's Park, and one day he said, 'I'll beat you home.' He did beat me home, but then he was sure I knew how to get home by myself and I could be allowed to go to the games alone."

Shirley Wash, 82, sports a license plate on the back of her wheelchair that says "#1 Fan." As a girl, she met friends and rode the streetcar from south St. Louis to see baseball games as part of the Knothole Gang. "Later, I made friends with a girl who lived behind the stadium and we could sit on her porch and see the game from there."

Clarence Arnold, 91, another Knothole Gang member, remembers the trouble he'd have catching games right after school. "School let out at 3 p.m. the same time as the games started. If we hurried, we could run up to Easton Avenue and catch the streetcar. If we missed it, we'd have to walk six or seven blocks and would miss the first couple of innings. The streetcar ride cost 3 cents for 12 and under."