“Jon Hamm Night” on Monday, August 18 against the Cincinnati Reds. Fans who purchase a special ticket will receive “their own Jon Hamm Bobblehead”. A portion of each theme ticket sold will be donated to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a charity chosen by Hamm. Tickets for the game and bobblehead start at $20.80 for tickets in the Right or Left Field Pavilion and go up to $170.80 for tickets in the UMB Champions Club. Tickets that also include a Meet & Greet with Hamm and a professional photo with him run from $60.80 to $210.80. Tickets for the game that do not include anything about Jon Hamm except for maybe seeing him walking around the stadium start at $5.
Jon Hamm was honored Monday night with his own bobblehead as part of "Jon Hamm Night" at Busch Stadium. He also threw out the first pitch, caught by Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith.
"The Cardinals have been a big part of my life since, well, I really can't remember when they weren't," said Hamm, pride of John Burroughs High (Class of '89) and a Mizzou alum.
That Cardinal connection became even stronger when he was 12 and began attending Burroughs, where his best friend was John Simmons, son of Redbird catcher Ted Simmons.
"John was a pitcher and I was a catcher. In fact, his dad bought me my first catcher's mitt," Hamm said. "Wish I still had that glove; it took me two years to break the damn thing in."
Ted Simmons said, "I know I'm supposed to say this, that all (of the success) couldn't happen to a nicer guy. But it's the truth."
When asked if he thought of playing professionally, Hamm laughed. "I had no illusions about how non-talented I was. I was good enough to play for a small high school in Missouri."
Hamm said that during the struggling 1970s, his favorite player was Lou Brock. "Then of course I fell in love with those great '80s teams with Willie McGee and Ozzie."
Hamm also gave a shout-out to a longtime STL radio host. "I was part of J.C. Corcoran-led 'Mets are Pond Scum' movement."
As to the actual doll, Hamm quipped, "I think they just re-purposed a Matt Carpenter bobblehead."
Before throwing out the pitch, Hamm impressed KMOX's Mike Claiborne, who interviewed him for the pre-game radio show. "More than just an actor. He was engaging, thoughful and really knows his St. Louis and his Cardinals."
Actress Jennifer Westfeldt, Hamm's longtime girlfriend, said Hamm was looking forward to Monday.
"Oh my God, he was so excited. This is his team, it means a lot to him," she said, adding that "after 17 years (together), I've become a Cardinals fan too."
"They have been a big part of my charity-giving, ever since I've had money to give," he said. "The more I learn about what they do and how they do it, they are some of the greatest people on the planet."
Dan Farrell, Senior Vice President of marketing for the Redbirds.
"Jon Hamm is one of the greatest ambassadors for Cardinals baseball, whether he's photographed walking down the street in his lucky Cardinals cap, or talking up the team on late night television, he's one of our biggest fans."
http://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2014/06/16/jon-hamm
Your girlfriend said that narrating the official 2011 World Series video was the highlight of your life. Does it trump all other career achievements?
Hamm: It’s interesting because none of those things happen unless “Mad Men” happened, so it’s definitely a situation where one thing is predicated on the other......But the opportunity to have a presence in the Cardinals atmosphere is very special. When they asked me if I’d consider doing the voice-over to the World Series DVD, I was like, “Are you kidding me? Yeah, I’ll do it tomorrow! Where do you want me to be? I’ll be wherever you want!”
jessicaradloff.com/wp-content/.../08/Jon-Hamm-May-2013-Cardinals-Interview.pdf
jessicaradloff.com/wp-content/.../08/Jon-Hamm-May-2013-Cardinals-Interview.pdf
Hamm called himself a decent catcher who had more smarts than talent, and he still plays, when his schedule allows, in a wood-bat men’s league in Beverly Hills......and exchanged text messages with David Freese.
“He did the narration for our World Series video, and I met him out in L.A. that winter at the GQ party,” said Freese, a fellow St. Louis native who now plays for the Los Angeles Angels. “He’s a die-hard Cardinals and Blues fan and a great dude.”
Do you purposely wear your St. Louis caps in public, knowing you’ll be photographed?
Hamm: It’s more of a second thought. I’m very proud to represent the Cardinals and the Blues, and obviously they are very much a part of my everyday sports existence. But it’s certainly not a calculated thing. There are people who just sort of follow you around and want to take your picture. It’s mostly just happenstance. It’s just that I have a lot of that gear, and I’m most often wearing it. (Laughs)
from : jessicaradloff.com/wp-content/.../08/Jon-Hamm-May-2013-Cardinals-Interview.pdf
What fueled your passion as a die-hard Cardinals fan?
Hamm: I grew up in the ’70s, sort of lean years for Cardinals fans. My dad took me to a lot of games, and I just loved the experience of going to the ballpark. You kind of cast the die and start rooting. Then in 1982, we went to the World Series. I remember thinking as an 11-year-old boy that this is the greatest thing that I will see in my life. Growing up, one of my best friends was John Simmons, whose father was Ted Simmons, who played for the Cardinals for many years. Then, before the 1981 season, he was traded to the Brewers, who were in the American League then. And, of course, we played the Brewers in the 1982 Series. I have this incredible memory of this wonderful thing happening to me. But meanwhile, my best friend, whose father was playing for the other team, remembers it as one of the worst things in his life. We constantly go back and forth talking about whose experience was more valid in that particular time, but we’re still friends, so that’s really nice.
from : jessicaradloff.com/wp-content/.../08/Jon-Hamm-May-2013-Cardinals-Interview.pdf
R.B. FALLSTROM, AP Sports Writer
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jon Hamm joked that the bobble head the St. Louis Cardinals honored him with was "probably repurposed" from a Matt Carpenter model."It's great, it's fantastic. It's amazing how many people I've had ask me to get them one," Hamm said before throwing the first pitch Monday night for the Cardinals' game against the Cincinnati Reds. "That was the weird thing — aunts and uncles and friends of all stripes, so I'll probably need about 40 of them."
Bearded and wearing a white Cardinals cap at the podium, Hamm remembered watching the 1982 World Series at age 11.
He grew up in Normandy, Missouri, not far from Ferguson, where an unarmed 18-year-old was fatally shot by police and has sparked a week of protests and looting. He noted, "That's my neighborhood."
"It's a bad situation all the way around, there's no positive spin to it," Hamm said. "When all the facts come out and hopefully all the light is shown on all sides of it, hopefully the justice will be carried out."
Hamm's best friend, John Simmons, is the eldest son of longtime Cardinals star Ted Simmons. They were teammates on the high school team, but Hamm had no illusions of playing for the hometown team.
That became clear when he worked out with Cardinals players including Bob Forsch, Andy Van Slyke and Simmons in the winter.
"I was like 'Nope, I'm not as good as these guys and probably will never be," Hamm said. "Fortunately I was able to find another career."
Cardinals scouting director Dan Kantrovitz was another classmate in high school.
"I don't know if Danny was destined for a front office job," Hamm said. "I do know that our high school puts out some pretty motivated and talented kids and Danny was certainly one of them."
Portions of the proceeds from the bobblehead event went to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Hamm lost his mother to cancer and father to diabetes.
"It's an organization like no other," Hamm said. "I couldn't be more sincere when I say they are some of the greatest people on the planet."
Jon Hamm on Million Dollar Arm and his love for the Cardinals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaoslivn4nw
SI Now: Jon Hamm on his love for the St. Louis Cardinals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGEjxwvBQ00
Jennifer Hamm’s little brother
On Aug. 18 at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals beat the Reds in extra innings.
I wasn’t the only one enamored with Hollywood. All night long, I saw plenty of newspaper reporters, radio announcers and TV personalities, people who are make a living being calm, cool and collected, with goofy smiles on their faces, too. And a lot of smiling women, stadium employees and other fans who appeared seemingly out of nowhere to catch a glimpse.
In the end, he was just Jennifer Hamm’s little brother. Early in the evening, in between stadium appearances I asked Hamm about growing up in St. Louis and discovered that one of his two half-sisters, Jennifer, was in my class at Incarnate Word Academy.
His friends make fun of him like your friends make fun of you. Among Hamm’s four-person entourage was his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Westfeldt, and Jack McBrayer,...About an hour before the first pitch, the group was ushered into a conference room for a break and immediately pounced on the Imo’s Pizza.....
Ozzie Smith is about the happiest guy on the planet. Even with all the frivolity in the conference room among Hamm and his friends, Ozzie Smith walked in and the place lit up. And why not? He’s responsible for what Hamm called his greatest moment as a Cardinals fan, the 1985 “Go crazy folks!” home run against the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
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