As a child collecting baseball cards was all about getting my favorite players.
Growing older, it became more about the stories that went with a piece of cardboard. Thanks to the Internet, it’s been relatively easy to acquire cards that have a unique story.
Over the years, several of my favorite stories have appeared on this site based on cards in my collection. Two of them are about Fred Tenney (link to story) and Jack Lohrke (link to story).
Another is that of Eddie Waitkus, who is featured on his 1952 Bowman card with this story.
Back in 1984 as I was watching “The Natural” staring Robert Redford and Glenn Close in a movie theater, the real life story of Waitkus never occurred to me.
As with many films, “The Natural” was based on the book with the same title that was written by Bernard Malamud in 1952.
The story is a work of fiction, but the tale of Roy Hobbs has elements of baseball history that brings back memories of Babe Ruth and Shoeless Joe Jackson.
The fictional Hobbs has his career derailed by the fact that he was shot, which caused him to disappear from baseball for a long time, which is where the real life story of Waitkus comes into play.
Prior to the 1949 season, Waitkus was traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Philadelpia Phillies.
Waitkus made his big league debut in 1941 with the Cubs, but wouldn’t return to the team until 1946 after serving with the United States Army in World War II.
From 1946-48, Waitkus was the first baseman for the Cubs as he made the National League All-Star team in 1948.
A Massachusetts native of Lithuanian decent was born in 1919, Waitkus would be named to the 1949 NL All-Star team with the Phillies despite what happened on June 15.
Waikus was shot by Ruth Ann Steinhagen in her hotel room in Chicago in the early morning hours after a game the night before.
Steinhagen was quoted in a story that appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.
“I was infatuated with him and wanted the thrill of murdering him,” the 19-year old said in the United Press story.
In a move that certainly wouldn’t happen today, this story also included an account of a meeting at the hospital between the two.
“Why did you do it?” Waitkus was quoted as saying to her. In response she said, “I’m not sure.”
Steinhagen spent two years in a mental institution and when Waitkus didn’t press charges she was released.
Return to the Phillies
Back in the lineup on Opening Day in 1950, Waitkus had three hits as the Phillies beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 9-1 in Shibe Park on April 18.
Waitkus would go on to play in all 154 games that season as the Phillies would win the NL pennant before being swept by the New York Yankees in the World Series.
The Associated Press would name Waitkus as the Comeback Player of the Year after a career-high 182 hits.
In 1954, Waitkus was sold to the Baltimore and he played there until being released in the middle of the 1955 season. He would finish his big league back in Philadelphia that year.
Waitkus would pass away in 1972, while Steinhagen died in 2012.