August 19, 1951 Eddie Gaedel St. Louis Browns Debut Scorecard

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August 19, 1951 Eddie Gaedel St. Louis Browns Debut Scorecard

"He was, by golly, the best darn midget (proper modern terminology: little person or dwarf) who ever played big-league ball," said Bill Veeck. "He was also the only one." Veeck, the former owner or part owner of a number of Major League teams, was the owner of the American League's St. Louis Browns in 1951. An unparalleled baseball showman, Veeck wanted to create a blizzard of buzz about his Browns, so he pulled the stunt of a lifetime on August 19, 1951, at a home game in the second game of a double-header at Sportsman's Park. Offered is an opportunity to own a scorecard from that momentous game when Veeck's Browns sent Eddie Gaedel, 3'7" tall, and 60 pounds, to bat as a pinch hitter in an official game against the Detroit Tigers in which the 26-year-old Gaedel is listed in the scorecard as number "1/8." Wanting to be sure his plot would work, the cagey Veeck sent Gaedel's signed contract to American League headquarters late in the day on Friday, August 17th, knowing that the American League office would be off on the weekend and would only have one staffer on duty. Thus, Veeck knew the contract would be summarily approved and not fully scrutinized until Monday morning, on August 20th. When the Browns batted in the bottom of the first inning of the second game on August 19th, Gaedel was sent up as a pinch hitter for lead-off man Frank Saucier. Home plate umpire Ed Hurley ordered Browns' manager Zack Taylor to the plate, and Taylor produced a copy of the signed contract. Therefore, Gaedel was allowed to bat. Veeck had strictly ordered Gaedel to crouch at the plate and not to swing the bat under any circumstances. But fearful that Gaedel, a professional performer, might want to show off and take a swing at the ball, Veeck told Gaedel that he (Veeck) had taken out a million dollar insurance policy on Gaedel's life, and if Gaedel swung the bat, Veeck said he would be sitting on the roof of the stadium with a high-powered rifle, and that he would kill Gaedel if he chanced a swing. Veeck was probably kidding. Tigers' catcher Bob Swift had succinct and practical advice for his pitcher, Bob Cain; "Keep it low," were his words of wisdom. With Cain laughing, and catcher Swift on his knees, Gaedel walked on four pitches and was removed for a pinch runner. As a result, Gaedel is tied with other, taller players for the all-time leading on base percentage in Major League history, at 1.000. The approx. 7.1x11.3" card stock four-page scorecard is unscored. It lists Gaedel as the first of the Browns roster. Although Gaedel is actually listed as number 1/8, few persons seemed to have noticed the number, and those that did notice it most likely assumed it was a misprint. The scorecard shows darkening because of the passage of over seven decades, and it displays a few very small stains, but overall, the scorecard is in very good condition. As an aftermath of Veeck's stunt, the American League voided Gaedel's contract as a "mockery" of the game. Veeck protested, questioning whether the New York Yankees' 5'6" shortstop, Phil Rizzuto - whose contract was never voided - was a short player or a tall dwarf. Veeck also said that he didn't get the idea for a dwarf playing from the famous James Thurber short story "You Could Look It Up," with a similar plot, but that he got the idea from years before when New York Giants' manager John McGraw had a little person as a mascot. Gaedel's jersey, with its "1/8" number, is displayed in the St. Louis Cardinals Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Veeck's outrageous stunt became one of the most memorable moments in baseball history, and possessing a scorecard from that most-memorable event will add great humor and a zany zest to any sports collection.