In 2003 Mike Matheny became the first Cardinals recipient of a Darry Kile Award and 2005 award winner Cal Eldred said of Matheny in 2004, "They could actually name an award after him, to be honest with you. He spends a lot of energy doing his job, and a lot of energy doing the things that the award is about."
Pitcher Darryl Kile passed away on June 22, 2002, in his Chicago hotel room at the age of thirty-three. Kile, known as a fierce competitor who never missed a start in the Major Leagues, left behind his wife, Flynn, and three children: twin son Kannon and daughter Sierra, and son Ryker. Kile's cause of death was listed as coronary atherosclerosis, narrowing of the arteries supplying the heart muscle. A crowd of approximately five-thousand gathered at Busch Stadium on June 26, 2002, to say goodbye to Kile in a memorial service which included these moving comments:
"In the clubhouse and on this field, DK has impacted so many people in a powerful way. And that's why so many are gathered here this afternoon." - Ricky Horton
"We're thankful for how he touched each of our lives. Some saw a baseball player. Others of us were fortunate enough to call him friend." - Mike Matheny
"I had a teammate, a golf partner, very soon a friend, a roommate and finally a brother. That was the natural progression with Darryl: teammate to brother. I don't know if it was his good nature, sensitivity, dependability or caring. I'm sure it was all those things that made our relationship so strong." - Pete Harnisch
"He would make sure he gave something back. And if he gave something first, he didn't want anything back. I was an only child, so growing up I figured I'd never have a brother or sister. How so wrong I was." - Doug Drabek
"Everybody that knew Darryl knew that on earth he was a heavenly being, the way he treated people. He was truly an angel. And now he's finally being crowned with the glory and honor that he deserved all along." - Dave Veres
Did you know that when Darryl Kile threw his no-hitter on September 8, 1993, it was the ninth for the Houston Astros and the closest one in team history to a perfect game as only one batter reached base — a fourth inning walk by Jeff McKnight (who scored that inning on a Jeff Bagwell error)?
