To say that my father loved baseball only hints at the affection he held for the sport, and to say that the St. Louis Cardinals were my father’s favorite team only scratches at the surface of his regard for this organization.

While I did not watch a lot of baseball, my childhood was filled with sounds of baseball on both the television and radio: the roar of the crowds, the calls of the umpires, the crack of the bat as it would meet the ball.

My father must have been over the moon when, in October of 1982, the first of his beloved grandsons was born, and the St. Louis Cardinals needed all seven games to win the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

No doubt, were my father still alive, he would be tuned into this World Series, his nails bitten to the quick, with obscure and arcane facts tumbling directly from his brain and out of his mouth to anyone who would listen, along with his own commentary on both the game and the sports announcers.

There is also no doubt that my father would have followed and enjoyed the exploits of the mischievous and elusive Rally Squirrel who has led the Cardinals to a successful season and added a touch of levity to the sporting event my father referred to as “The World Serious.”

Today using Red Heart Super Saver warm brown and a 3.75 mm hook along with a combination of features from Sally V. George’s Forest Friends I set out to create an amigurumi squirrel that would embody the elan and joy that defines this now famous squirrel.

Before dinner I had finished the body:

two ears and a nose:

along with two feet and two arms:

as well as a squirrelly tail:

And for anyone who hasn’t had a chance to see the Rally Squirrel in action, here is a video I found at youtube that captures one of the squirrel’s better documented romps from several angles.