Photography by Bailey Shelton
One of St. Louis’ most reclusive celebrities has reluctantly returned to the spotlight.
Although he shies away from cameras and goes by a different name now—please, call him R.C.—St. Louis Cardinals legend Rally Cat recently agreed to a sit-down with ESPN senior writer Liz Merrill, offering a glimpse into his whereabouts.
Perhaps you recall the night four years ago when our city met its most famous feline baseball fan. It was August 9, 2017, and the Cardinals were trailing the Kansas City Royals, 5-4, in the sixth inning. Suddenly, as Yadier Molina stood at the plate with the bases loaded, a floofy gray kitten scurried onto the playing field and caused a delay as he toddled toward the outfield wall. A Cardinals field attendant eventually scooped up the cat, suffering bites and scratches from the unruly guest as he carried the tabby back to the grandstand and out of the ballpark. With one more desperate scratch, the cat escaped—but not before its magic had been cast. On the very next pitch of the game, Molina mashed a grand slam to put the Redbirds on top.
The legend of Rally Cat was born. But the cat's journey home was just beginning.
As Merrill details in a story for ESPN.com, as well as in an ESPN Daily podcast published Wednesday, a bizarre custody battle ensued. But all seems to be well with Rally Cat—ahem, R.C.—who is reportedly living comfortably with his adopted family in St. Louis. Although Merrill was unable to pull any quotes from the reticent R.C., she did share a few details about what life is like for the former Busch Stadium field runner.
“The cat has this luxurious catio that he can go out on,” Merrill says on the podcast. “I think it’s multi-story outside. He’s living a great life. But then I’m thinking, I sort of need proof of life, right? I set up a Zoom call with this cat and [the owner] says, ‘Well, you know, he doesn’t like having pictures taken of him. He always runs when I try to take pictures.’ Could this be some sort of PTSD from his media frenzy?
“So we FaceTime and she says, ‘He’s in a good mood today,’ which is hilarious. The interview subject is a cat. And he had no comment. … To this day, if you ask anybody in St. Louis, they know who the Rally Cat is and they’re infinitely curious as to what happened to him.”
Wonder no more. Rally Cat is living the pampered life of a star. But please, no pictures.
