St. Louis is known as the "Gateway to the West," but for Tony La Russa, it was a gateway to baseball immortality.
La Russa already had three American League pennants and a World Series championship on his belt when he took over as manager of the Cardinals in 1996, but since then he's gone from a good manager to one of the best ever. Three more NL pennants, two more World Series titles and the third-highest win total in major league history will help his case.
La Russa retired on Monday after directing the Cardinals to a seven-game victory over the Rangers, leaving his mark on the franchise and possibly changing the meaning of St. Louis' famous Gateway Arch, as depicted by cartoonist Will O'Toole above.
Since graduating from Seton Hall University, Will O'Toole has been doing cartoons for over 30 years for a number of papers (USA Today), magazines (College and Pro Football Weekly) and websites (CBSSportsline.com). He is believed to be the only national cartoonist to have voted for the Heisman Trophy and the Wooden and Naismith Awards.
