[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 136 (Friday, September 9, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1232-E1233]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CELEBRATING ``EDDIE GAEDEL DAY''

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DENNY HECK

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 9, 2016

  Mr. HECK of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call the attention of 
my House colleagues to one of the most unusual careers in our national 
pastime of baseball, one that began and ended with just one trip to the 
plate at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis on August 19, 1951. In the 
bottom of the first inning, during the second game of a Sunday 
afternoon doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, the St. Louis Browns 
sent a pinch hitter to the plate, 3'7'' Eddie Gaedel, whose 65 pound 
weight made him the shortest and lightest player in Major League 
Baseball history.
   Wearing the uniform of the Browns nine year old batboy, Eddie drew a 
walk on four straight pitches from Detroit pitcher Bob Cain, and was 
replaced by a pinch runner. His one day professional baseball career 
came to an abrupt halt several days later when American League 
president Will Harridge voided Gaedel's contract. Nevertheless, his 
place in baseball history was preserved in the record books as one of 
the only players to have a perfect 1.000 on base percentage for his 
entire career. Eddie Gaedel's autograph is now worth more than Babe 
Ruth's, and the bat he used in the game recently sold at auction for 
over fifty thousand dollars.
   St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck promised Eddie Gaedel immortality 
when he signed him to a contract to play for the Browns. In Spokane, 
WA, an organization works annually to help Eddie achieve the 
immortality he was promised. Founded in 2011 at O'Doherty Irish Grille 
and Pub, the Eddie Gaedel Society, Spokane Chapter No. 1 has launched a 
national campaign to make each August 19th ``Eddie Gaedel Fan 
Appreciation Day'' in ballparks everywhere. The club is also seeking 
Eddie Gaedel's induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, where his 
jersey bearing the number 1/8 was displayed for many years before being 
returned to St. Louis, where it now hangs in the St. Louis Cardinals 
Hall of Fame and Museum. I am a proud honorary member of that 
organization.
   Several years ago, Spokane Mayor David Condon declared August 19, 
``Eddie Gaedel Day'' and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay did so this year, 
the sixty-fifth anniversary of Eddie Gaedel's one day, four pitch 
baseball career. In addition, the St. Louis Cardinals have made their 
home game on Friday, September 9, ``Eddie Gaedel Bobblehead Night,'' 
and will give away thirty thousand of the miniature statues of 
baseball's smallest player to fans who attend their home game against 
the Milwaukee Brewers.
   Of particular note is the fact that the St. Louis Browns batboy who 
literally gave Eddie Gaedel the shirt off his back in August of 1951 so 
he could go to bat, Bill DeWitt, Jr., is now principal owner of the St. 
Louis Cardinals. His son, Bill DeWitt III, is the team president. The 
DeWitt family's involvement in professional baseball in both St. Louis 
and other cities stretches back over one hundred years. Bill DeWitt, 
Sr. sold the St. Louis Browns to Bill Veeck only weeks before Eddie 
came up to bat, and was serving as the team's general manager at the 
time.

[[Page E1233]]

   Several days after his one day career ended, Eddie Gaedel told a 
sportswriter ``Any young fellow dreams of being a big leaguer--and 
that's what I consider myself. I've got a Browns uniform with No. 1/8 
on the back, a glove, and a contract. I've spent all my life in Chicago 
and never played ball, but I've always wanted to. I made up for it by 
becoming a red hot fan. I've followed the game for years.''
   Mr. Speaker, Eddie Gaedel was the one and only red hot fan who ever 
appeared in a Major League Baseball game, drawing a walk to first base 
and into the record books. On this sixty-fifth anniversary of his 
historic achievement, I join with his many fans in Spokane, St. Louis, 
and around the baseball world in a tip of the cap to the immortal Eddie 
Gaedel. Take a walk, Eddie.

                          ____________________