FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –
August 5, 2015
SPONSORS: Eddie Gaedel Society, Los Angeles
Chapter #3, and the Baseball Reliquary
DATE: Wednesday, August 19, 2015,
7:30-10:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Griffins of Kinsale Irish Pub, 1007
Mission St., South Pasadena, CA 91030
CONTACT:
Jon Leonoudakis,
President, Eddie Gaedel Society, Los Angeles Chapter #3, phone (818) 886-2998
or e-mail: jbgreek@earthlink.net; Terry Cannon, Executive Director, The
Baseball Reliquary, phone (626) 791-7647 or e-mail: terymar@earthlink.net.
Eddie Gaedel (1925-1961), who at 3’7”
and weighing 65 pounds was the shortest and lightest player ever to step to the
plate in the major leagues, was inserted into the St. Louis Browns lineup as a
pinch-hitter on August 19, 1951 in a game against the Detroit Tigers at
Sportsman’s Park, St. Louis, Missouri. Wearing
jersey number 1/8, he walked on four pitches in one of the most legendary
at-bats in the history of baseball. The
Eddie Gaedel Society was founded by Tom Keefe in Spokane, Washington in 2011 to
annually honor the man whose one trip to the plate and whose perfect 1.000
lifetime on-base percentage remain a source of inspiration to all those who
dream of following this diminutive star in making it to the big leagues.
The inaugural “Eddie Gaedel Day”
festivities in South Pasadena on August 19 will adhere to the Eddie Gaedel
Society’s motto: “Small talk, short speeches, and half-pint beers!” The fun-filled festivities will include
introductory remarks by filmmaker Jon Leonoudakis, president of the Eddie
Gaedel Society, Los Angeles Chapter #3, and a $2 Eddie Gaedel Trivia
Contest. A special guest speaker will be
Bill Christine, who was a 13-year-old St. Louis Browns knothole gang member
when he attended the Gaedel game on August 19, 1951. Christine, who has belonged to the Baseball
Writers Association of America since 1960 and has voted in the annual Baseball
Hall of Fame election since 1970, will recall his memories of Gaedel’s historic
pinch-hitting appearance. Christine has
written a biography about Roberto Clemente, and his biography of jockey Bill
Hartack will be published next year.
From 1982 to 2006, he was a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. All attendees will also receive a special pin
courtesy of the Eddie Gaedel Society, Spokane Chapter #1.
For further information on “Eddie
Gaedel Day,” contact Jon Leonoudakis, president of the Eddie Gaedel Society,
Los Angeles Chapter #3, by phone at (818) 886-2998 or by e-mail at jbgreek@earthlink.net;
or Terry Cannon, executive director of the Baseball Reliquary, by phone at
(626) 791-7647 or by e-mail at terymar@earthlink.net.
