Eddie Gaedel Story

[Comedian2004]

Everytime I run a long simulation, I always check to see if somehow or another, a team actually played Eddie Gaedel. They have yet to do it, but I keep checking.

Who is Eddie Gaedel? Eddie was a 3' 7" person. Back in 1951, the newspapers called him an elf and a midget. Bill Veek used Eddie as a promotional tool, making him come out of a birthday cake and then even batting. Of course he drew a walk in 4 pitches and they pinch ran for him.

While Veek became famous for this stunt and others, this was a stolen idea. It came from a story called 'You Could Look it Up", by James Thurber.

Gaedel worked a regular job with Drovers Daily Journal as an office worker and an errand boy and supported his widowed mother, Mrs. Helen Gaedel. He also lives with his brother, Robert. The little guy is perfectly normal, except for a thyroid condition, which retarted his growth. Other than that he's built in perfect proportion. He stands 43 inches tall and weighs 65 pounds. His brother is five feet nine inches tall and 17 years old. A married sister, stands five foot, six inches.

He had a contract that called for him to get 100 dollars per game, until the league office ruled him out.

This cracked me up:

When Gaedel learned that President William Harridge of the American League had banned his further participation as a Brownie player, the little fellow retorted:

"Organized Baseball should have a commissioner, so I could appeal this decision. Harridge is ruining my baseball career. This is a conspiracy against all short guys. This is a strikeout against the little people."

More...

[Comedian2004]

August 29, 1951: Columbia Broadcasting System has offered Eddie Gaedel a contract to appear on its television program in New York, and other offers are pouring in.

Same day, another article: Bill Veek gave his midget, three specific orders before he stepped to the plate against Detroit;

(1) Don't swing under any circumstances
(2) Stay in the rear corner of the batter's box
(3) Stay in a crouch

"He was scared just before we put him in the birthday cake. " laughed Veek, in retelling the story, "But after we talked to him a while, he got over it."

September 5, 1951: A story where Veek is complaining about the midget being banned. He says if Eddie is banned because he is too short, then Drop should be banned for being too tall. (I like the way he thinks). Veek goes on to say how he insured him to the hilt. He also had plans to keep him on the team and wait to use him again when the bases are loaded.

Later life
Gaedel's major league career lasted just the one plate appearance, but Veeck continued to employ Gaedel in non-playing promotions over the years: in 1959, Gaedel and three other dwarves dressed as spacemen were seen presenting "ray guns" to White Sox players Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio at Comiskey Park. (Gaedel reportedly said, "I don't want to be taken to your leader; I already know him.") In 1961, Veeck hired several dwarves, including Gaedel, as vendors, so as not to "block the fans' view" of the game.

Some claim that living down the stunt was difficult for Gaedel. Combative in his private life, he later became a heavy drinker and died of a heart attack after being mugged in Chicago in 1961. He was just 36 years old. The only baseball figure to attend the funeral was Bob Cain, the pitcher who had walked him. Said Cain: "I never even met him, but I felt obligated to go."

Due to scarcity, Gaedel's autograph now sells for more than Babe Ruth's. In his autobiography "Veeck as in Wreck," Bill Veeck commemorated Gaedel as "the best darn midget who ever played big-league ball."

[ctorg]

Yeah, I read that story in the very good book Veeck As in Wreck. Great stuff.

[rocknfire7]

Originally Posted by ctorg

Yeah, I read that story in the very good book Veeck As in Wreck. Great stuff.

A great book, one of my all-time favorites!

I really wish someone would make a good movie about Veeck. Will Farrell kinda looks like him a little bit