Don Stanhouse 'The Closer' in Du Quoin 40 Years Later

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ It had been 40 years since Don Stanhouse-- "the closer"--stood in front of a Friday night crowd on its feet at VanMetre Field to be cheered for some of the greatest memories in Du Quoin High School (1964-1968) athletic history.

He was two years my senior. It took only a handshake and it was as if 40 years had melted into yesterday. God, it was great to see him again.

Stanhouse and other standouts were back at VanMetre Friday as part of Hall of Fame weekend here in Du Quoin, a District 300 Foundation recognition program.

Stanhouse came from humble beginnings, largely raised by his mother, Codean, in a small 418 North Pope Street home. In high school--later highly recruited to play football for the Missouri Tigers--and ultimately taking a major league signing bonus , he was a towering hero.

At VanMetre in 1968 Du Quoin could find itself on 4th down--12 or 15 yards out--and the confident Stanhouse would drop back, roll out to the side and throw a "Hail Mary" pass 56 yards from the Murphysboro 44. It was part of a contract he had with his key receivers. "You be there. It'll be there." And, it was.

Donald Joseph Stanhouse (born February 12, 1951, ) would become a baseball pitcher with a ten year major league career from 1972-1980, 1982. He passed up a full scholarship at Missouri for the brass ring he'd never had as a child.

He played for the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles ,both of the American League, and the Montreal Expos and Los Angeles Dodgers, both of the National League.

Shuttled back and forth from the bullpen to the starting rotation with the Rangers and Expos, Stanhouse excelled in 1978 after joining the Baltimore Orioles, where Manager Earl Weaver employed him as a full-time closer. Because of his hairstyle and pre-game batting practice antics - where his loud yelling would entertain early ballpark arrivals - he was quickly labeled "Stan the Man Unusual", a pun on the nicknamed "Stan the Man" for Hall-of-Famer Stan Musial.

Stanhouse finished 3rd in the American League in both 1978 & 1979 in saves, recording 45 over that span, helping the Orioles capture the American League Championship in 1979. He was selected to the American League All-Star team in 1979.

Although an effective closer, Stanhouse had a reputation of walking batters he was not willing to face. Frequently his tactics would lead to dangerous situations in close games with multiple base-runners, and send the chain-smoking Weaver pacing back and forth in the dugout in agony. This resulted in Weaver nicknaming Stanhouse "Full Pack", referring to the number of cigarettes consumed while watching him pitch. Stanhouse left the Orioles as a free agent after the Orioles lost the 1979 World Series and signed a large guaranteed contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His major league career ended there.

He now works with Maxcast Global, an HDTV and online streaming company and resides in Trophy Club, Texas.