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Bob Feller (Official Thread)

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osugrad21

osugrad21

Capo Regime
Staff member
CPD
Even at 90, Bob Feller remains an ace

by Bill Livingston Thursday November 06, 2008, 6:26 PM


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Tony Dejak/Associated PressIn the Indians' farewell game last March in Winter Haven, Fla., Bob Feller delivered a first pitch and acknowledged the fans who have cherished him for over 70 years.

He will go to the next Indians Fantasy Camp and perhaps pitch one time through the lineup against the plumbers and insurance salesmen the way he usually does. He will throw from the pitching rubber, like always. He will not tolerate the presence of a protective screen near him. "I'm not a batting practice pitcher," growled Bob Feller, who is alive and still high kicking at 90.
Sunday at his birthday party at Progressive Field, he blew out the candles on a baseball-shaped birthday cake, as golden autumn light streamed through the windows of the club lounge. Once, it would have been World Series light, but the game sold its soul to television. Feller hates that because night games deprive the next generation of fans of memories.
He should know. He made enough of them in his time.

He is the face of the Indians' franchise, more than Chief Wahoo ever was. Feller was born when (wait for it) Woodrow Wilson was president. He didn't mark time once he was old enough to be running around the family farm in Iowa. He knew he wanted to be a major league pitcher from the start. His high leg kick on the mound was necessary because he intended to cover a lot of ground in the game's history.
He became the youngest pitcher [at 17] to win a game after signing with the Indians for one dollar and an autographed baseball. "I don't know where either one of them is now," he said.

Cont...
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Over the past 10 years or so I've seen Bob at several Indians' events; the most recent was the season ticketholder picnic at the Cleveland Zoo last June. He was one of several "alumni" who were there to sign autographs for us. He arrived early, wearing a Navy cap, and was in really high spirits, particularly compared to a couple times when he's been a bit gruff.

He sat down at the table and laid out a handful of about 4 different kinds of pens, then explained that different items required the proper pen so the signature would last. Bob carefully examined each item presented. With baseballs he would check to see if they were genuine leather or "that fake stuff from China" and then pick the right pen he wanted. In contrast to that, Lenny Barker had no pens and had to borrow mine!

The "rules" of the event were no posed photos, since they wanted the alumni and players to have more time for signing. Of course, Bob was not too interested in that. With each kid, he would stand up, ask the kid to move around the table beside him and tell mom or dad to get a good picture!

A boy, around 7 years old or so, asked Bob to sign his glove. And, from the size and condition of it, you could tell that it was really the kid's glove and not some autograph item that his dad was going to stick on Ebay next week. Bob noticed that one of the laces by the thumb was untied. He stopped to tie it, and then demonstrated to the boy how to check his glove and told him how important it was to check before every game because a lose lace could allow a ball to slip through the glove! The boy, and his dad, were in total heaven! How many kids get a glove lesson from a Hall of Famer?

I know that there are lots of stories out there about various times when Bob was not as nice as I described above.....but on that day, the last time I'll see him, he had another perfect game!
 
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May God be with him. He was not only a great baseball player but also a great person. My brother used to go down to spring training in Winter Haven and Bob would go round talking to all the fans. What a wonderful person.
 
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forget about what he did on the baseball field. bob feller is a great american hero. the man was the first baseball player to voluntarily enlist into the service after pearl harbor. thank you bob for my freedom.
 
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