Bob Feller has to be the most memorable of all the '48 Indians (it is easy to remember him because he is still making news). Feller is 90 years old and recently announced he would like to be the starting pitcher at the annual Hall of Fame old timers game which will include youngsters like hitting whiz Robin Yount. Feller indicated he has been practicing in his driveway with his grandson and feels he can still bring it. It reminded me of a comment Feller made in Cleveland Plain Dealer interview in 1985: "I can still throw in the seventies and I throw it in the eighties if I don't want to comb my hair for a week"!
It is daunting to try to summarize Bob Feller with words. He is ranked 36th on the list of the 100 best all time major leaguers, he is a decorated war veteran who volunteered for the Navy one day after Pearl Harbor (he was the first major league baseball player to do so), he is outspoken and direct and has created numerous media controversies, he is sentimental about his farm origins and operates several tractors on his Gates Mills farm collected from the '30s era, he is an active learner reading daily and once counseled Condolezza Rice on how to conduct the Iraq war.
Feller was born on a farm near Van Meter Iowa in November 1918. He says he learned to pitch throwing against the barn. His fastball was clocked in the technology of the time at 98 mph but many say it would have topped 102mph with today's methodology. He was signed at age 17 (by our man Cy Slapnika) between his junior and senior year in high school and reported directly to the Indians. In his first start he struck out 15 St Louis Browns. He later struck out 17 the same year and was the first pitcher to strike out his age (17 at 17) until Kerry Wood (an Indian reliever today) struck out 20 at age 20. He was so dominant in his early career he had notched 107 wins by age 23. On December 8, 1941 three weeks after turning 23 and one day after Pearl Harbor he volunteered for the Navy. He reported immediately and spent four years aboard the USS Alabama as an anti aircraft gunner.
Feller spent his entire 18 year major league career with the Indians. He finished with 266 victories and 2581 strikeouts. He is 12th in major league career pitching victories. Most baseball analysts estimate he would have won 350 games and struck out 3500 if he had spent those prime years as a major league pitcher. Feller comments on this simply "you can't saw sawdust"! His pitching achievements include 3 no hitters including the only Opening Day (1940) no hitter to this day. He had 12 career one hitters and pitched 279 complete games. It would take an entire roster of pitchers today to match his complete game record.
A statue of Feller stands at the entrance to Jacobs Field, the Indians ball park in Cleveland. Feller is pleased with it although he made a couple of revisions to it during the sculpting: he had his grip changed from a two seam fastball to a four seamer ("I always threw a four seamer") and he had a tin of snuff removed from his back pocket ("I never used that stuff").
I visited the Indians spring training center in Tucson in the late 80's and Feller was an annual participant. He played catch and roamed the fields engaging fans and regaling anyone within earshot with his commentary on his playing days. I thought at the time he was a bit of a bore but as I have researched more of his post career doings I respect his directness and feel he has earned the right to share his opinions. He does his homework and he lives true to a set of values that formed on the farm in Van Meter. They have not been bent by success or political correctness. He does not make claims that are not based on fact and he has not carried his on the field success over to general invincibility. He may be a bit self absorbed but who among us would not be with this track record!
His Hall of Fame citation is reprinted below:
The Hall of Famers (Cooperstown Hall of Fame)
- Robert William Feller
- Born: November 3, 1918, Van Meter, IA
- Bats: R Throws: R
- Played for: Cleveland Indians (1936-1941, 1945-1956)
- Elected to Hall of Fame by Baseball Writers: 1962
- 150 votes of 160 ballots cast (93.75%)
| ERA | W | L | PCT | G | IP | SO | BB | SV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.25 | 266 | 162 | .621 | 570 | 3828.0 | 2581 | 1764 | |
Biography
Bob Feller's blazing fastball set the standard against which all of his successors have been judged. Rapid Robert spent his entire 18-year career with Cleveland, amassing 266 victories and 2,581 strikeouts, while leading the league in strikeouts seven times. He missed nearly four full seasons in his prime serving his country during World War II, for which he was decorated with five campaign ribbons studded with eight battle stars. Fresh from high school, Feller struck out 17 Athletics in 1936. The fireballer authored three no-hitters and 12 one-hitters while winning 20 or more games six times.
Quotes
“It wasn't until you hit against him that you knew how fast he really was, until you saw with your own eyes that ball jumping at you.”
— Ted Lyons
