One week out from Santa doing his thing and the NFL/NCAA with a full slate of big games to be played over the next couple weeks, it only makes sense then that today I am going to talk a little baseball. And to throw you a curve ball, I am going to discuss someone that you have probably never heard of – a pitcher by the name Jack “Waddy” Wadsworth.
Yesterday, I was listening to a sports talk radio show when Boomer Esiason’s Sports Minute came on discussing 17 December as being baseball legend Jack Wadsworth’s birthday. (To listen to the clip (click here.) Like you, my first thought was “Who?”
After hearing Boomer discuss Jack and his unusual skill, it sent me searching for more info on Jack. I found this on Wiki:
I then landed on this good article about Jack with the following excerpt:
That’s right. Jack would mimic batters’ voices and make insulting comments to and about the umpire who in turn would eject the batter. All I can say (get it?) is that Jack must have been one great ventriloquist. That he could say something from the pitchers mound or the dugout and then project it far enough to make it sound like it came from the batter at home plate some distance away from him was pretty remarkable. That the umpire reacted by tossing the batter was also remarkable. My thanks to Boomer for educating me about Mr. Wadsworth. (Guess that I can now say for certain that I know Jack!)
All of which reminded me of a couple visitors to Buzzy’s Country Store this past Saturday. A lady came in looking for a candy bar for her Dad who was sitting out in the car. Somewhere in our conversation, she mentioned her Dad’s name which Herbie McKay recognized and asked “Wasn’t he the umpire?”
When she answered yes, we all went out to his car to meet and talk with Don House who at one time was the Head of the St. Mary’s County Umpire Association (click here.) I found this great Bob Thomas photo of Don in action in the Enterprise archives:
Herbie asked Don if he remembered throwing Herbie’s manager out of a game before the game had even started. Don laughed and said “Yes. I said “Play Ball” and then I turned and said to him “You, you’re outta here.” (Note that there was no ventriloquism involved in this exchange as Don simply did not care for Herbie’s team manager – obviously.
Music-wise, check this out. (You may never hear Rocket Man again without thinking of this duet.)
