JUPITER, Fla. — Inside the clubhouse at spring training, I showed a St. Louis Cardinals player a photo of his grandpa … from when he played for the St. Louis Cardinals.

“This is my grandpa? Oh, that’s sweet!” pitcher Riley O’Brien said with a genuine grin. “I don’t even know if I’ve seen any photos of him on the Cardinals — it’s always the Pirates.”

In the history of Major League Baseball, only 10 times has a grandson played for the same team his grandfather did, per Baseball Reference. Reliever Riley O’Brien pitched in eight games for St. Louis last year — he’s trying to make the 2025 team with an arsenal that includes a “gross” sweeper, manager Oliver Marmol said as a compliment.

And in 1958, infielder Johnny O’Brien played for the Cardinals, appearing in 12 games.

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“To think that I’m putting on the same jersey is a pretty crazy feeling,” Riley said.

Or, as it was put by Frank O’Brien, Riley’s father: “It’s incredible. … Pretty cool having a son and a dad who played in the bigs.”

Johnny O’Brien is 94 years old. Still sharp. By phone from Seattle, the proud grandpa said: “It’s just a delight to see him pitch. My words to Riley have always been — throw strikes. And he’s got blazing stuff. Just the other day (in spring training), he threw a 98-mph sinker, and the batter hit it off the plate and it went all the way to the shortstop. So that shows you the strength of that pitch. … He’s a really good kid and a positive person. And, I might add, a hard worker.”

Riley O’Brien, left, is a Cardinals pitcher, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Johnny, (right) who also played for the Cardinals, briefly, in 1958.

During Johnny’s career (1953, 1955-1959), he was a passenger on a fascinating trip through baseball history — Johnny later determined he played with or against 52 members of the Hall of Fame. And he once got to chat with the retired Ty Cobb. Oh and how cool is this — Johnny played numerous seasons in Pittsburgh with his twin brother, the late Eddie O’Brien.

Johnny was a rookie for the Pirates in 1953, but he missed 1954 due to military service. He returned in 1955, the rookie season of a 20-year-old teammate named Roberto Clemente. Their lockers were near each other.

In 1958, Johnny was traded on June 15 to St. Louis. He played in only 12 games and went hitless in two at-bats. But that summer, he was teammates with Stan Musial, Ken Boyer and another 20-year-old rookie outfielder — Curt Flood.

Johnny’s final year was the next year, 1959, with the Milwaukee Braves. He played with Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn, Red Schoendienst, Enos Slaughter (in his final season) and, of course, Hank Aaron — but out of respect, only called him Henry.

“I’ll tell you something Henry told me one day,” Johnny recalled. “He said, ‘Johnny, I hit a lot of home runs. But — I never hit one when I was trying to. When I’m coming up to the plate, I say to myself, ‘Punish the ball.’ That’s my philosophy.’”

Such was the case on June 29, 1957, when Aaron faced a position-player pitcher for Pittsburgh named … Johnny O’Brien.

“So, in 1974, he tied Babe Ruth with 714 career homers in Cincinnati,” Johnny said. “So, I sent him a telegram. I said, ‘Dear Henry, congratulations. If it wasn’t for me, you’d still be one short.’”

In his career, Johnny hit .250 (in 815 at-bats) — his best year was 1955 when he batted .299 in 278 at-bats.

Oh, and he also pitched in 25 games to help out the bullpen — totaling 61 career innings pitched! One time, he even struck out Frank Robinson. Another time, he allowed a homer to Willie Mays.

Johnny’s versatility was valuable. His skipper might’ve gotten a little too ambitious one day, though.

“When Danny Murtaugh said ‘Sport,’ you knew something was up,” Johnny said. “Catcher Hank Foiles chased the ball over by the dugout, hit his face on the railing and had 30 stitches. The next day, Murtaugh says: ‘Hey Sport!’ And then he said (in reference to catcher’s equipment), ‘How about putting on the tools of ignorance and catching some batting practice?’ I said, ‘Dan, you’ve got be kidding me, I’ve got a wife and three kids!’ He said, ‘OK, but if (Danny) Kravitz gets hurt or tossed in the game, you’re it.’ …

“That game, we got into a fight with the Giants. Ruben Gomez hit Bill Mazeroski. Well, I broke the world’s record getting onto the field to keep Kravitz out of that fight! … It was a different era. Back a couple years, Riley was in the Cincinnati system. They brought him up for two days, and he pitched once. And in those two days, Riley made more money than I did in my entire 1953 season!”

St. Louis Cardinals pitchers Riley O'Brien, left, and JoJo Romero walk and talk on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, during the club's first day of spring training at the team practice facility in Jupiter, Florida.

Upon retiring from baseball, Johnny got into politics and also became a high-up executive with Seattle’s Kingdome (where the Mariners and Seahawks played, as well as some pro hoops and soccer teams).

“He’s a legend in this town, he really is,” Riley’s dad, Frank, said. “(Growing up), I remember my brother going out and taking penalty kicks out there with Pele when he was with the New York Cosmos. And (as an adult), I ended up meeting Ken Griffey Jr. quite a few times.”

Frank didn’t play baseball — he was more of a soccer guy — but he and Johnny helped coach and inspire young Riley.

“I remember when he was in Little League, after a game he just jumped in the back seat,” Frank said. “I remember him just saying, ‘I love baseball!’ It was just so genuine. And I was kind of like — wow, that’s what you’ve got to have in you.“

Riley described having Johnny in his life as “a blessing.” Riley loves hearing the old MLB stories and sharing his new MLB stories. As for memorabilia, the family doesn’t have much from Johnny’s stint in St. Louis. And the main piece of memorabilia, Johnny’s hat?

Frank gave it away.

So, Riley attended Shoreline High, which produced a trio of pro pitchers in the 2010s. There was also Blake Snell. And another fellow named Ian Oxnevad.

The O’Briens are good friends with the Oxnevads. Well, in 2015, Ian Oxnevad was drafted in the eight round by … St. Louis.

“I had an old Cardinals hat that was one of my dad’s,” Frank said. “The leather (interior) rim and everything. And I gave that to Ian when he got drafted by the Cardinals, you know, never thinking that Riley might be on Cardinals (Riley was in college at the time). So it was kind of funny that, when the trade happened with Riley to the Cardinals, I realized it right away.”

So, if Ian is reading this story — get Riley his grandpa’s hat!

It could make for a rare pairing of memorabilia ... since Riley is the owner of another Cardinals hat worn by an O’Brien in the majors.

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