CLARINDA, Iowa — Leave it to "The Wizard of Oz" to provide a magical moment.
Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith of the St. Louis Cardinals paid a special tribute to Merl Eberly when he presented a bronze bust of his late friend and manager to Eberly's wife, Pat, and the Clarinda A's baseball organization last Saturday during the team's 37th annual Hall of Fame Banquet.
Eberly died last June following a lengthy battle with cancer. He was actively involved in the Clarinda A's summer baseball program for 57 years as a player, coach and general manager.
"It's a hard time for a lot of people because Merl has touched so many lives," Smith said.
Smith played for the A's under Eberly in 1975 and 1976. Since then, Smith has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Clarinda organization and a regular guest at the A's Hall of Fame Banquet.
During the banquet Saturday night, Smith said his fondest memory of Clarinda was of the day he arrived. He said Eberly took him to the ballpark for fielding practice to evaluate the new shortstop.
No matter how hard he tried, Smith said Eberly was unable to get a ground ball past him, and from that day, the two shared a special bond.
So shortly after Eberly's death, Smith said he made the decision to have the memorial sculpture commissioned.
"I knew it would be something that would live on forever. I knew it was something that Mrs. E and Ryan and the whole family would love. I wanted them to have a place to go where they could touch and feel it and hopefully preserve some history," Smith said.
Smith commissioned artist Harry Weber to craft the bronze bust of Eberly.
"He has done all of the Cardinals sculptures that are out there at Busch Stadium and he has done a couple of me," Smith said. "He's very capable and very artistic. ... I knew that he could capture him."
While being involved in the design and development of the sculpture helped him cope with the death of his friend, Smith said his true hope is that the sculpture will bring comfort to the family and preserve Eberly's legacy for future baseball fans.
"They were very touched by it and they'll have something now when they need that special time," Smith said.
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