Cardinals mourn death of coach, a “passionate teacher”
PITTSBURGH — Dave Ricketts shaped generations of catchers as a coach for the St. Louis Cardinals and will be remembered for his “passion”, his “zeal for life” and a contagious eagerness to teach, friends, teammates and pupils said Sunday after learning the longtime coach had died early Sunday morning.
“I learned a lot from him,” said Cardinals third-base coach Jose Oquendo. “I learned how to teach. He was a friend and a good mentor. He had a great passion for teaching, and he knew how to get his point across in a unique way. He made sure you understood it. If he needed to repeat it 100 times or 1,000 times, he would do it until you got it done.
“He didn’t quit on anybody.”
Ricketts, who played for the Cardinals in the 1960s and returned later as a coach and instructor, died a day after his 73rd birthday. He had been battling cancer. He lived in St. Louis.
A native of Pennsylvania, Ricketts finished his major-league playing career as a Pirate and went onto coach for the Pirates at the major-league level. Former Pittsburgh pitcher and current broadcaster Steve Blass remembered as the hardest-working coach he’s had been around in 49 years with the game.
“He was totally dedicated to the game, to the team he worked for,” Blass said. “I’ve never seen a coach work harder than Dave Ricketts. … He had a zest for life and that was a part of his personal life and we are all better because it spilled over into his professional life.”
Ricketts worked closely with such catchers as Mike Matheny and Yadier Molina, and those around the clubhouse said both Gold Glove-caliber catchers gained some of their work ethic from Ricketts’ tireless work with them. Jeff Murphy, the Cardinals’ bullpen catcher, knew “Mr. Ricketts” since he was drafted and described how Ricketts “didn’t care if you were a first-round pick or a free agent, whatever you were he wanted to get the best you had.”
Ricketts won a World Series with the Cardinals in 1967.
Arrangements for services were not immediately available Sunday morning.
Manager Tony La Russa placed Ricketts in the category of the Cardinals’ Mount Rushmore of coaches, which includes longtime minor-league instructor George Kissell, the keeper of the Cardinal Way, and Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst. It was the young catchers who worked mostly with Ricketts, but it was the entire organization that benefited from Ricketts’ presence.
“Sometimes the word ‘great’ gets over-used, and it’s a shame,” La Russa said. “There have been some truly great Cardinals who have come through the organization, but I don’t know anyone greater or more beloved than Dave Ricketts.”
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
Thank you Dave. You will be missed.
In this age of here today, gone tomorrow when it comes to Cardinal rosters, Dave Ricketts’ name is instantly memorable to those of us who came of age as Cardinal fans in the 60s. Not only was he an unheard-of luxury in today’s game - a third-string catcher who hardly ever got into a game - but he also managed to stick to the major-league roster for all or parts of 5 seasons, a rare accomplishment today in Cardinal Nation.
With others such as Bobby Tolan, Phil Gagliano and Ed Spiezio, he was part of a veteran bench that was an under-appreciated factor in the Cardinals’ championship runs of the 60s.
For some of us who are not fantasy league managers, the fact that you really can’t tell the Cardinal players without a scorecard on any given day makes following the game far less enjoyable.
When it comes to the Good Guys, Mr. Rickets is at the top of the list. He has been teaching my daughter to catch for 5 years and you could tell he love every minute of teaching. Mr. Ricketts never charged a dime, he did it out of the love of the game. He worked with a numeber of young softball and baseball players at the batting cage. He was an outstanding teacher and became a good mentor to these young adults. Mr. Ricketss will truely be missed at the batting cage.
In the spring of 1983, when I was 12, my Dad took me down to St. Pete for spring training. A friend of my Dad’s was good friends with Whitey and the staff so we spent the entire week on the field and in the clubhouse!! Can you imagine how great for a 12 year old, and right after the WS win? Anyway, we went to breakfast with Mr. Ricketts, and in fact I have a photo of him and myself. I recall him being one of the nicest people of all that we met and have since enjoyed reading all the comments from players about him over the years. Thanks for all you did for our Redbirds, Mr. Ricketts.
I think it speaks to how classy the organization has been, and how great these men must be, that all Cardinals fans know the names of Dave Ricketts and George Kissell, the guys that do the work behind the scenes and teach the fundamentals and the “Cardinal Way”. I wonder who we’ll be talking about in 20 or 30 years, former Cardinals who stuck around to teach the youngsters, or the superstars who will always be seen at the ballpark like Brock, Gibson and Musial have. Horton, Benes and Eldred? Larry Walker? Oquendo? Matheny? Ozzie, Vince or Willie? I wish we had some coach that could teach base stealing, I know we don’t have the best speed but I don’t think we run enough with what we have either.
Dave was a terrific human being and will be missed by all who knew him!
During his Duquesne basketball years, Dave held the NCAA successful consecutive free throw record. He and his brother Dick were stalwarts in the halcyon era of Duquesne basketball. RIP!
In the 1970s, when the bullpens at old Busch Stadium were down the foul lines, the kids (including myself) would inevitably scurry to the Cardinals bullpen, scorecard and pen in tow, in hopes of snagging a few autographs. As the bullpen coach, Dave was always first on the scene before every game. I cannot remember a single instance in which he didn’t include signing a dozen or so autographs as part of his set-up procedure. And he was always, unfailingly nice about it — really a class act. He really, really reflected well upon the organization. Deepest sympathies to his family.
I was a 10 year-old baseball addict attending my second Cards game when I approached Dave Ricketts for an autograph near the bullpen. He politely declined because they were getting ready to play the national anthem, but he threw me the ball he was using. What a thrill! Cardinal Nation will miss this wonderful man, player, and coach. RIP Mr. Ricketts.
Dave was a great role model and friend. He helped me with many of the successful sports celebrity dinners that we did over 24 years at Maryville University. He would often come into my office and we would talk for hours about things that made a difference in young peoples lives. I will really miss him!
Dave Pierce
Athletic Director/Maryville University Retired (2001)
I could not have agreed more with the way Russ H put it. I think it is safe to say that the Cardinals are the most classy organization in sports. The fans appreciate the game and they appreciate more than just the overpaid superstars of todays game, Cardinal fans appreciate as Russ put it the people who do the “behind the scenes work”.