Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk and Boston Celtics guard Jayson Tatum, both St. Louis natives, recently won championships in their respective sports—Tkachuk in the NHL and Tatum in the NBA.
During the Celtics' and Panthers' postseason runs earlier this summer, a middle school photo of Matthew Tkachuk and Jayson Tatum went viral online. When they found themselves in the same place, they recreated the photo, posing together once again.
When the photo resurfaced online in June 2024, there was a third head visible behind Tkachuk and Tatum.
Jayson Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk recreating their old photo
Jacob Bai, a fellow member of the Chaminade Class of 2016, mentioned that his dad texted him right away to let him know he had been shown on ESPN. Bai was surprised and received messages from friends on Snapchat pointing out that he was in the picture.
It’s a distinctive sports photo featuring two young school kids casually hanging out, with a third also in the mix. Major sports outlets shared the image during the Stanley Cup Final and NBA Finals, and on Sunday at the Cardinals game, the trio recreated the moment.
The Cardinals reached out to Bai, who resides in San Diego, and arranged for him and his fiancée, Rachel Anne Ramos, to fly back to St. Louis.
Before the Cardinals-Dodgers game, Tatum and Tkachuk arrived at Busch Stadium and were welcomed with red City Connect jerseys featuring their names and numbers.
Bringing championships to St. Louis
To celebrate with their home city, Tatum brought the Larry O’Brien trophy, while Tkachuk brought a heavyweight belt with the Stanley Cup logo on the front.
After being driven around the field and throwing out the ceremonial first pitches—Tkachuk to Alec Burleson and Tatum to Ryan Helsley—they met up with Bai in a suite afterward.
The Cardinals' photo team arranged the shot. Bai took his place behind the two stars, replicating the original pose from their school days. Then, they were given copies of the iconic photo to hold up for the new picture.
Even though Tkachuk and Tatum ended up on opposite sides of the country pursuing their professional careers, they stayed in touch and, in June, brought two championships back to St. Louis.
The trio's friendship through the years
Bai cherishes his memories with Tkachuk and Tatum, recalling that Tatum was his lab partner in seventh-grade biology and that he played basketball alongside Tatum in seventh and eighth grades. Bai even brought along team photos to Busch Stadium.
Before the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers winger shared with reporters that he had been following his high school friend during the NBA playoffs. He emphasized how special it would be for their hometown to see two of their own achieve victory at the highest levels.
“I think it would be unreal for Chaminade and all of St. Louis if we can both win it… Yeah, I’m definitely cheering for him. Definitely,” Tkachuk said.
Tatum recently won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics and led the Celtics to an NBA championship for the 2023-24 season. Tkachuk played a key role in helping the Panthers secure their first Stanley Cup.
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