Today we’d like to introduce you to Rob And Sally Rains.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Rob Rains and Sally Tippett Rains met in the Press Box of Busch Stadium II; Rob was working as a reporter for United Press International (UPI) and Sally as a Sports Reporter at KMOX Radio. From that start more than 40 years ago they have both continued to work in the media field including writing books, doing radio shows and podcasts, and since 2012 running STLSportsPage.com, always with charity being a big part of their life.
Shortly after they met, Rob ended up getting his dream job—beat writer for the St. Louis Cardinals at the Globe-Democrat newspaper. Unfortunately, that dream was dashed when the newspaper folded in 1986. They moved to Washington, D.C. with their young children and Rob worked for USA Today, helping start “USA Today’s Baseball Weekly.”
They always knew they wanted to raise their children in St. Louis, so they made a few career moves which eventually brought them home. Along the way Rob had a good side career as an author, writing books with Jack Buck, Ozzie Smith, Whitey Herzog, Red Schoendienst, Jim Hanifan and many more. He also continued doing radio and free-lance writing. Sally also took up book writing so she could be available to their children as they moved several times.
In 2000, when a young relative was diagnosed with cancer, they, along with their family started Rainbows for Kids, an all-volunteer-run organization that helps families of children with cancer in the Greater St. Louis Area.
Rob has done many different radio shows including a weekly show with former MLB outfielder Andy Van Slyke, but he finally felt he’d achieved another dream job when he and his son B.J., who was covering the Cardinals for FOXSportsMidwest.com teamed up for “The Sports Zone” on 1380. It was an “old school-new school” show billed as a “father-son chat about baseball.”
They decided to start a website to complement the show, and Sally used the skills she had gained working in the busy sports office at KMOX to manage the website and it was a family affair.
That dream also ended when the station decided to change from an All-Sports format to an All-Woman format. That same week FOXSportsMidwest .com decided to drop their local team coverage on their website so B.J. sought employment out of town.
Suddenly with no job and after having lost several jobs along the way due to the uncertainty of the media business, they decided to take things into their own hands. Noone was going to control their employment destiny– they decided to see if their radio station sponsors would stay on and try to make a go of the website. Turns out every sponsor stayed on and STLSportsPage.com became one of the initial websites recognized by MLB and the Baseball Writers Association of America, of which Rob was a long-time member.
Rob’s long-time credibility in the sports journalism world was recognized by the Cardinals, and he started covering the team as beat writer for STLSportsPage.com and Sally continues as Content Manager and helps on the weekly free newsletter they send out to readers.
Their other son, Mike, who graduated with a degree in Sports Management was getting his own credentials in the sports world and eventually Rob and Mike started a podcast, with the obvious name of “Rains on the Cardinals”—which Sally produces.
Rainbows for Kids is their official charity and each year they volunteer their time running a baseball team for the children with cancer among other events.
“Rains on the Cardinals” Podcast can be found on STLSportsPage.com as well as most popular podcast platforms.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Having lost his father when he was only six years old, Rob is no stranger to overcoming struggles, so when the Globe-Democrat folded he found other ways to keep working in the media industry, just as he did when the radio station changed formats years later.
There were some tough times personally and financially during those years. When their young family member was diagnosed with cancer and eventually died at age ten, along with the sudden loss of some other family members they experienced troubled times. But through their Faith in God and positive attitudes, they continued moving forward eventually to running the multi-media platform website and helping families of children with cancer on an ongoing basis.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
STLSportsPage.com is a multi-media platform website covering the St. Louis Cardinals through game reports, feature articles, interviews and podcasts. They have the best coverage of the Cardinals minor leagues around, and the website also includes health, travel, food and entertainment articles.
What sets them apart in this area is they love engagement with their newsletter readers and often have events for them, such as the annual “Rob Rains Baseball Bash” at Spring Training with proceeds going to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Palm Beach and Rainbows for Kids.
Their success has been recognized by other organizations. Rob is a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, was honored as the Missouri Sportswriter of the Year in 2025 by the National Sports Media Association (NSMA). Rob and Sally together were inducted into the St. Louis Media History Hall of Fame and they were named “Citizens of the Year” in 2023 by a local chamber of commerce for their work in spearheading the construction of a wheelchair accessible playground at Watson Trails Park. Sally is also a Distinguished Alumni for Lindbergh High School.
Rob is the author or co-author of 33 books, mostly on baseball, while Sally has also had 10 books published.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
They hope to continue serving their readers with quality Cardinal coverage and and supporting the charities they work with.
Pricing:
- Website: STLSportsPage.com- FREE
- Newsletter: FREE
- Podcast: FREE
Contact Info:
- Website: https://STLSportsPage.com
- Instagram: @Rob_Rains
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stlsportspage
- Twitter: @RobRains
- Youtube: @STLSportsPage
- Other: Rains@STLSportsPage.com
