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The Spectacle Blog
Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller lost his battle with leukemia today. He was 92.
Feller truly lived a wonderful life which began on a family farm in Van Meter, Iowa.
It was there where his father built him a field of dreams and on that field of dreams he developed that country fastball.
Feller made his big league debut with the Cleveland Indians at the age of 17 without the benefit of minor league experience. At the beginning of his career, Feller walked a lot of batters. But he had a fastball that could travel faster than a police officer on a motorcycle as well as a devastating curveball. In short order he had three consecutive 20 plus win seasons and led the American League in strikeouts for four consecutive seasons.
Then the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
Although many major league baseball players served with distinction in WWII (Ted Williams, Hank Greenberg and Yogi Berra) immediately come to mind, Feller was the first to sign up.
Feller enlisted in the Navy and served on the U.S.S. Alabama from 1941 to 1945 where he rose to the rank of Chief Petty Officer.
In all, Feller missed nearly four seasons. But his first full season back in 1946 proved to be his finest. Feller won 26 games, pitched more than 375 innings, completed 36 games (big league pitchers don’t make 36 starts in a season), threw 10 shutouts and perhaps most impressively of all struck out a major league record 348 batters. That single season record would later be eclipsed by Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson.
Two years later, Feller earned his only World Series ring. The 1948 triumph would prove to be the Indians last Fall Classic triumph. Although the Indians did win the AL pennant in 1954 with a then AL record 111 regular season wins, the Tribe would be swept in the World Series by Willie Mays and the New York Giants.
Feller finished his career with 266 wins, 2,581 strikeouts and three no-hitters to boot. He would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1962 and would go around the country barnstorming well into his 70s.
To the very end, Feller was outspoken for his love of this country. In an interview Feller did with Bob Costas for the MLB Network last year, Costas told him that if not for his military service he would have easily won 350 games and struck out more than 3,500 batters. Feller replied that this country had to win the war and that he didn’t miss any one of those wins or strikeouts.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a link to that interview. But here’s an interview Feller did with Mike Wallace in 1957, the year after he retired. At the time, Feller was the President of the Major League Baseball Players Association and Wallace grills Feller hard about his opposition to the reserve clause and support for free agency. Feller was two decades ahead of his time.
Wallace also grilled Feller about sponsorship of baseball games by beer companies. It was an interesting line of questioning when you consider that Wallace’s show was sponsored by Phillip Morris.
Bob Feller was an ornament to the game of baseball and his kind will never come along again.
P.S. In 1990, my father visited the Baseball Hall of Fame to present a paper. While in Cooperstown, he had the opportunity to meet Bob Feller and got him to autograph a baseball.
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More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/12/16/bob-feller-rip
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Chris - Ohio| 12.16.10 @ 8:23AM
What a sad day; but a great life. Cleveland fans always had Bob Feller.
Makes me sick to think about todays sports stars. LeBron is gone, but Bob will always remain. Go Tribe
Ryan| 12.16.10 @ 8:26AM
Abbott: "And Cleveland has Feller pitching."
Costello: "What Feller?"
(A brief summation of a brilliant bit in the long version of "Who's on First?")
Ron Mitchell| 12.16.10 @ 9:23AM
As I owned an antique store four blocks from the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown for 27 years, I got to meet many of the game's past and present greats. Bob, and his wonderful wife, Ann, became good friends. So this news is particularly saddening for me.
Bob was a modest man, down-to-earth, and a true Gentleman of the Old School. I always found the dichotomy between the old time superstars and the current players fascinating. Phil Rizzuto, Yogi Berra and Bob were all friendly unassuming men, like a favorite uncle or grandfather; while many of the contemporary ball players seemed aloof and full of themselves.
I hope the flag in front of the Hall is flying at half mast today, for the National Pastime has not only lost one of its great players, but one of its finest human beings. My heart goes out to Ann and his three sons.
JP| 12.16.10 @ 9:46AM
In an age where starting pitchers rarely go beyond 6 innings, it is difficult to imagine someone like Feller.
rsg| 12.16.10 @ 12:20PM
Wonderful man....... and a nice column by Mr Goldstein. I enjoyed reading it.
Occam's Tool| 12.16.10 @ 12:31PM
I believe Hank Greenberg was the first to sign up. He was also in the longest. From the Wiki:
"Drafted in 1940, the first American League player to be drafted, his salary was cut from $55,000 a year to $21 a month. Greenberg was not bitter, however, stating, "I made up my mind to go when I was called. My country comes first." After most of the 1941 season, however, he was honorably discharged when the United States Congress released men aged 28 years and older from service, being released on December 5, 1941, two days before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Greenberg re-enlisted and volunteered for service in the United States Army Air Forces, again the first major league player to do so. "
Feller was a great man and player. He was a class act, and will be missed.
Frank borst| 12.16.10 @ 1:04PM
I have an autographed souvenir program for The Bob Feller All-Stars VS The Satchel Paige All-Stars. On it he wrote, "To my friend Frank, best wishes, Bob Feller. Naturally, it means a lot to me and more so today.
matthew s harrison| 12.16.10 @ 1:22PM
It saddens me that the true denizens of sport are either gone or have one foot on the other side. My kids will never know truly great sportsmen. The heroes kids have today are cheaters, liars, felons, and drug users.
The whole of the NBA smoke dope and cheat on their wives. The NFL is full of guys like Favre who send photos of their johnsons to reporters, and this scumbag coach who threw hip check to the knee of a passing opponent. For Golf we have Tiger Woods, and the news that he is one of many in the PGA who regularly bed groupies. In baseball, there are head-hunter pitchers, bench clearing brawls, and it is rare a player is good enough to stay on one team his whole career. In hockey, there are players beating up cab drivers, and it goes on and on.
I have often listened to my father talk about players like Feller, Dimaggio, Spahn, and Robinson(s)(Brooks and Jackie).
Those days are gone. Now, one can't afford to take the family to the ballpark, unless a lottery win just occurred, as the players, even the mediocre ones, somehow draw multi-million dollar salaries.
So, here I sit, wondering how I will teach my kids true sportsmanship, when all of the real sportsmen are gone.
I am sure glad my dad taught me what I did-and shared stories of the greats who played before I was born, or when I was too young to understand.
Lest we not forget the passing of the Great Ron Santo a week back-a man who played a long career while suffering through Type 1 Diabetes, and who after his playing career, thrilled fans with his color commentary, and raised more than $50 million for Juvenile Diabetes Research.
They just don't make 'em like they used to!
Al Adab| 12.16.10 @ 2:04PM
An actual role model gone. Feller will be missed.
Baseball is the rythm of America. No clock, defense controls the ball and play. Man to man but team essential. Self reliant but always depending on others. One cannot understand America without understanding Baseball.
BILL GEDEON| 12.16.10 @ 2:16PM
BOB FELLER, WAS THE GREATEST PICHER OF ALL TIME. NOLAN RYAN, BEING NAMED ONE OF THE PITCHERS OF THE CENTURY AND FELLER BEING LEFT OFF THE ROSTER. FELLER WAS 10 TIMES THE PITCHER RYAN WAS. BOB FELLER, WAS A GREAT, GREAT PITCHER. MET HIM AT CLEVELAND'S HOPKINS AIRPORT. WE TALKED FOR ABOUT 40 MINUTES. GREAT GUY,GREAT ATTITUDE.
BILL GEDEON| 12.16.10 @ 2:23PM
FORGOT TO MENTION. MAYBE THE GREATEST RECORD FELLER HOLDS. 12 ONE HITTERS DURING HIS MAJOR LEAGUE PITCING PLIGHT.