This Hall Of Fame Baseball Player Lived A Pretty Bewildering Life, And He Was Known To Disappear In The Middle Of Games To Chase Firetrucks
Meet Rube Waddell, the most bewildering baseball player of all time, whose antics will delight you to no end. He certainly lived life to the fullest.
If you ever needed inspiration to take the plunge and embark on a crazy adventure you’ve been meaning to take, well, here it is!
The Rube was born on Friday the 13th in 1876 as George Edward Waddell. He died from tuberculosis on April Fool’s Day in 1914. During the 37 years he was alive, he attracted more fans than any pitcher of his time.
Waddell did not attend school regularly and had trouble staying focused. He took to baseball at a young age, throwing rocks at birds to strengthen his arm.
Other kids refused to play ball with him for fear of getting hit and seriously injured. Eventually, his talents became well-known, and he joined the Louisville Colonels.
Over 13 seasons, he also played for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Pirates, Philadelphia Athletics, and St. Louis Browns.
His physical abilities were remarkable. He demonstrated excellent control with his pitching, and Connie Mack, who managed Waddell for six seasons in Philadelphia, said he had the “best combination of speed and curves.”
He won 22 games for the Philadelphia Athletics. In addition, the Rube’s strikeout-to-walk ratio was nearly three to one for his career.
However, his erratic behavior frustrated managers. In the middle of a game, he was known to disappear and chase firetrucks.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
He often assisted firefighters and conducted rescues from burning buildings. He also frequently went under the stands to play marbles.
Once, he was found wrestling an alligator. And, in 1903, he vanished for days and was discovered sleeping in a firehouse.
Because he was so easily distracted, opposing fans would bring puppies, causing Waddell to run over and play with them. In addition, he was paid his yearly salary of $2,200 in one-dollar bills due to his impulsive spending.
Connie Mack was the most patient with Waddell and helped him further his career. In 1905, the Rube got into a small fight with a teammate.
He ended up injuring his shoulder trying to destroy a straw hat and missed the World Series. However, he went on to win a Triple Crown in pitching.
Aside from his baseball accomplishments, Waddell also had a full personal life. He married three times and spent some time in jail for throwing flat irons at his in-laws.
He also toured the nation with a theater company for a few months, starring in a melodrama called The Stain of Guilt.
He could never memorize his lines, so he improvised them in every show. After his brief stint in acting, he started bartending.
Toward the end of his baseball career, the Rube’s skills declined due to all the drinking he did. He loved alcohol and spent most of his money on it.
As his drinking increased, his pitching worsened. He still brought in impressive numbers for the Browns in 1908 and won 19 games. But by 1910, he was dropped from the Browns after his poor performance.
The Rube went on to play only two and a half more seasons of minor league baseball. At the age of 37, he contracted pneumonia after standing submerged in icy water for hours trying to fix a broken dam.
His condition did not show any improvement, and he died in 1914, just a few months short of his 38th birthday.
Waddell became an American legend. Although he was scorned for being something of an oddity, he was also celebrated for his individualism and heroism. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1946, 32 years after his passing.
More About:Sports