"Celebrate good times, c'mon!"
St. Louis was rocking that season to the soulful tune as the Cardinals won the World Series, beating the Milwaukee Brewers in seven exciting games.
I was lucky enough to attend two of those games at Busch Stadium.
As usual, there were plenty of stars, but my favorite was the slickest fielding shortstop who ever slid a glove on his hand: Ozzie Smith.
This is a sure sign of aging, but the major-league game seemed more fun then.
Today, the players are outstanding, especially the hitters. And I don't have a problem with the temporary confusion of the playoff situation. The more fans who have hopes of postseason play, the better.
But the game has been hit by the loss of perhaps its two classiest players.
Kirby Puckett, who grew up in the Chicago projects where Comiskey Park now stands, had to retire from the game he truly loved because of glaucoma.
Puckett was an outstanding player and a great ambassador for the game off the field. He was loyal to the Minnesota franchise when he could have sold his exceptional talent elsewhere for more bucks.
Now, another of the great guys in the game, the "Wizard of Oz", is ready to hang up the spikes.
Hopefully, his tremendous 19-year career will be extended a bit as the Cardinals reached a spot in the NL playoffs.
Either way, the game will miss him very much.
SMITH is the best fielding shortstop of all-time and he took away hits from every great batter that passed through the opposing lineups. His career is a huge highlight reel of how to play the position - and how no one else could play it.
Barehanded grabs. Backhanded stabs. Flying through the air and scrambling to his feet in time to get the runner. Catching pop flies with his back to the infield.
You name it, Ozzie could do it - and he did it on a game-after-game basis.
The back flip before each game was the trademark of this exceptional athlete and it let the fans know that some spectacular plays were on the way.
Fielding has always been underrated, but you hardly ever see a sloppy team win it all. And shortstop is such a key position because of the huge number of chances that pass through it.
We cheer and gape at the moonshots that fly out of the parks so regularly now and that's fine. The younger generation of baseball fans especially likes offense and baseball is certainly providing the runs these days.
Unfortunately, the current game is also loaded with egos that don't match the numbers. And, like the rest of the major sports, role models are fewer than in the past.
It's a case of less pride and more money, I guess.
But that's never been the case with Ozzie Smith. Like Puckett, he has always taken an active role in the community - especially with the young people.
YES, these two men were such great examples of class and enthusiasm. One was known more for his slugging and the other his fielding. But they each brought to the park every single day something that seems to be missing with many of the younger hotshots.
It's called enthusiasm.
The game of baseball was meant to be played to its fullest, they showed us. And it also is supposed to be fun.
Baseball is simply a lesser game after this season with the loss of Kirby Puckett and Ozzie Smith.
We can only hope that their fine examples will make others realize that the game is for the fans - not the owners or players.
Especially the young boys and girls who hold the future of the national pastime in their gloves and bats and dreams.