Member-only story
The Jeweler Who Spent 60 Years Becoming One Of Baseball’s Original Super Fans
A St. Louis jeweler spent most of his life as one of the most prominent fans MLB has ever seen
Baseball fans come in many different shapes, sizes and levels of intensity. The most devout bugs, also known as super fans, are those who have seen countless games and become intimately familiar with the players and their personalities and accomplishments. An early example of this was a St. Louis jeweler by the name of Fred Dienstbier, who spent more than 60 years establishing himself as fan royalty — collecting an amazing trove of memories and souvenirs along the way.
The March 22, 1936 issues of the St. Louis Post Dispatch featured an article by Damon Kerby, profiling Dienstbier. He discovered that the then 77-year-old had built himself into one of the most prominent followers of baseball that the game has ever seen.
Kerby detailed how Dienstbier was left an orphan at the age of 10. From the earliest days of his childhood, he found enjoyment and consolation in baseball. With his hometown featuring the Browns and Cardinals at various times, he had no end of ways in getting his hardball fix over the years.
