Schuckman: Collinsville pays fitting tribute to Hummel, who loved basketball and holiday tourney as much as his alma mater

By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor | December 28, 2023
Christy Noland, daughter of former St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports writer Rick Hummel, is flanked by Collinsville athletic director Clay Smith and former athletic director Bob Bone during a moment of silence for Hummel, who died in May at the age of 77, before Quincy High School’s game against Belleville Althoff on Thursday in the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic at Vergil Fletcher Gym in Collinsville, Ill. | Photo courtesy Tim Vizer Photography

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — Rick Hummel’s career as a Hall of Fame baseball writer didn’t afford the Quincy native many opportunities to be nothing more than a fan. Christmas always did. That’s when Hummel spent hours upon hours at the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic, watching some of the Metro East’s top prep basketball talent. More…

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Schuckman: Quincy native Hummel set standard all baseball writers should strive to achieve

By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor | May 22, 2023
Quincy native Rick Hummel spent five decades covering the St. Louis Cardinals and Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He passed away Saturday at the age of 77. | Muddy River Sports photo

QUINCY — Things go awry even with the best-laid plans. Rick Hummel and I laughed about that a couple of times. Last December, with the weather unseasonably warm on the second day of the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic, Hummel and I planned to record an episode of “Schuck on a Truck” following one of…

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Crim: Known for trustworthy approach to reporting, Hall of Famer and Quincy native Rick Hummel heading toward retirement

By Don Crim, Senior Columnist | October 3, 2022
St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball writer Rick Hummel, a Quincy native, works on a story in the Busch Stadium III press box that bears his name before a St. Louis Cardinals game this weekend in St. Louis. | Submitted photo

When it became apparent I wasn’t going to make a living pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals, even though I had spent most of my childhood emulating the windup and mannerisms of Bob Gibson, it seemed the next best thing would be writing about the team every day. A baseball beat writer. In St. louis.…

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