I’ve been a lover of baseball for my entire life beginning at the age of four. When I get obsessed with something I really do it right. I played three years of Little League, then two seasons of Senior Little League, then Pony League, 3 years of High School baseball, and finally two seasons of American Legion baseball. I tell you this not to brag but to convince you just how nuts I am about baseball. Throughout all of those years I had one major league ball player who was my idol. That was “Stan the Man” Musial. He was a lefthander from Pennsylvania who played both first base and the outfield. I was a lefty from Pennsylvania too and played first base and I pitched as well. His batting stance was my batting stance.
My biggest day occurred at the old Forbes Field stadium in Pittsburgh in 1961. Our team was invited to appear in a ceremony prior to the game. The pirates were playing St. Louis and guess who had his picture taken with Stan . . . that would be me. I also got to meet all of the players from the 1960 Pittsburgh World Series Champions, Roberto Clemente, Bill Virdon, Al McBean, Bill Mazeroski, just to name a few. Now you know why I love baseball. I have quite a collection of books on baseball and baseball trivia. Here are a few facts you may not have heard before and I hope you enjoy them.
- Babe Ruth named his bat “Black Beauty”.
- Hall of Famer outfielder, Edd Roush used a 48-ounce bat- the heaviest ever used in the major leagues.
- On September 15, 1946 the Dodgers beat the Cubs 2-0 in five innings. The game was called because of gnats, who became a problem for the players, the umpires, and the fans.
- On August 2, 1938 the Dodgers and the Cardinals used a yellow baseball as an experiment in the first game of the double header. The Dodgers won the game, 6-2, and the yellow ball was never used again.
- “Wee Willie” Keeler, at five feet and one-half inch and weighing in at 142 pounds, was the smallest player in the Hall of Fame.
- Bert Campanaris of the Kansas City A’s played all nine positions in a single game on September 8, 1965.
- First baseman Ted Kluszewski of the Reds has such muscular arms that he had to cut the sleeves of his uniform to get into it.
And “last but least” another fact about the Pirates.
In 1988 former Yankee pitcher Art Ditmar, lost his lawsuit against a beer company and an ad agency that had mistakenly identified him as the pitcher who had given up Pirate Bill Mazeroski’s home run that won the 1960 World Series. Actually, it was Ralph Terry, but the judge ruled that Ditmar failed to provide more than speculation that the commercial had caused him any financial harm.
