Last weekend in Cooperstown, N.Y., former Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog had to share the stage, willingly, of course, with fellow Hall of Famers Andre Dawson and Doug Harvey.

On Saturday night at Busch Stadium, the stage was all Herzog's, even though he tried to share it with members of his 1985 National League championship team. The Cardinals retired Herzog's No. 24, with numerous notations of that act on the Busch Stadium message boards, with the number to be permanently applied to the left-field wall, alongside the other retired numbers, in time for the start of the next season. A No. 24 also was affixed to the dirt behind second base Saturday.

Herzog said the retirement ceremony was tantamount to his entering the Hall of Fame. And that's the way it seemed, too, to a sellout house that accorded him a lengthy standing ovation after he and wife Mary Lou rode into the yard on a two-horse Clydesdale hitch.

In the dugout, current manager Tony La Russa and his players also applauded, and Herzog said having his number retired "is right up there" with his Hall of Fame honor.

Later, Herzog would say, "This really means a lot to me. Not that the Hall of Fame didn't. I know they kind of go hand in hand. You don't get your number retired unless you get into the Hall of Fame. But it actually means just as much to me. They're both honors that you never dream of that ever happening."

A proclamation from Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon's office declared Whitey Herzog Day, and the Cardinals gave Herzog a framed baby blue jersey with his 24 on it.

A dozen or so members of the 1985 team felt a part of the moment. Almost as much as Herzog.

Rick Horton, a bullpen member of that club, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, said, "It is like somebody in my family had something good happen to them. A lot of these guys are like my family. And Whitey is the leader of that group. It is like it's happening to us."

Horton, now on the Cardinals' broadcast team, said Herzog's accomplishments went beyond the field as the Cardinals began drawing 3 million fans, in actual turnstile count.

"I think what Whitey did for St. Louis was set a wider foundation for what Cardinal Nation really is," Horton said. "It's not like the Cardinals began with Whitey Herzog. Certainly, you look back to the Gas House Gang and (Red) Schoendienst and all that.

"But, along with Jack Buck, he cemented what Cardinal Nation is to a very wide area, and others have built on that since then. He was great at selling Cardinal baseball."

Outfielder Vince Coleman was the epitome of "Whiteyball" in the mid-1980s as he stole more than 100 bases three seasons in a row. "You look up Whiteyball in the dictionary and you see a picture of Vince Coleman next to it," cracked Coleman.

"I'm the one who got him there (Hall of Fame)."

But, more seriously, Coleman said Herzog gave him a career.

"To be honest with you, I don't think I would have been in the major leagues without Whitey," said Coleman, the National League Rookie of the Year in 1985. "I'd only started switch hitting in '84 and then have to come to the big leagues.

"Everyone thought I was green, that I needed more time to nurture. But Whitey had patience with me."

Coleman, most of the time, realized who he was, that he was not a power hitter, although he was powerfully built. But every once in a while, he said Herzog had to remind him.

"I would say, 'Whitey, let me just hit righthanded. I could be like Rickey Henderson and lead off with some home runs," related Coleman. 'He said, 'Yeah, if you try that, you'll be frying fish.'"

Lefthander John Tudor and slugger Jack Clark praised Herzog in his general manager's hat, for getting them to St. Louis from other clubs and Clark, in particular, for helping to get him out of Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

"This," said Tudor, who was 21-8 in 1985, "is a great place to play. And the defense was custom-made for somebody like me."

Herzog, 78, and Mary Lou probably can rest for a while now.

"Is this it?" Mrs. Herzog asked with a smile.

"The only thing left," Herzog said, "is to be grand marshal of the New Athens (Ill.) Homecoming Parade in August."

Just kidding, he added. "On that asphalt ... when it's 104 degrees ... uh, no."