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The Phillies Eddie Waitkus Shot By an Obsessed Fan, 1949!
How many of you are aware that an obsessed fan shot and nearly killed the Phillies Eddie Waitkus on June 14, 1949? Just a few years into the start of what seemed a very promising career, Ruth Ann Steinhagen, the obsessed fan, shot Waitkus at Chicago‘s Edgewater Beach Hotel in one of the earliest recognized cases of criminal stalking. Seventeen months later, following the 1950 season, he was named the Comeback Player of the Year.
The incident happened in room 1297A at the Edgewater Beach Hotel. Steinhagen had become obsessed with Waitkus when he played for the Cubs, but once he was traded to the Phillies and she was unable to see him play every day, Steinhagen’s obsession grew to dangerous levels. She checked into the hotel when the Phillies were in town using an alias and left a note at the desk, asking him to come to her hotel room for an urgent matter.
Waitkus fell for the ploy. When he arrived in her room, she shot him with a .22 caliber rifle, the bullet barely missing his heart. She immediately called the desk to report the shooting and was found cradling his head in her lap. Waitkus nearly died several times on the operating table before the bullet was successfully removed. Steinhagen never stood trial but instead was confined to a mental institution. Back in uniform on August 19, 1949, Waitkus was feted by the Phillies on “Eddie Waitkus Night” at Shibe Park and showered with gifts.
Eddie Waitkus played 11 years in the major leagues (1941, 1946-1955), for the Cubs (1946- ’48), Phillies (1949-’53, ’55), and the Orioles (1954-’55) and was a two-time All-Star (1948 and 1949). The son of Lithuanian parents, Waitkus saw some of the bloodier fighting of World War II and was awarded four Bronze Stars. Upon his return to baseball he quickly became a star for the Cubs. He also became a popular media figure, as he was well-educated and was fluent in four languages. Following the 1948 season, the Cubs traded Waitkus with Hank Borowy to the Phillies for Monk Dubiel and Dutch Leonard.
Author Bernard Malamud, wove the basic elements of the Waitkus story and other baseball legends (notably that of Joe Jackson) into The Natural. The book was published in 1952 and was made into a Hollywood film starring Robert Redford and Glenn Close released in 1984. Waitkus, who died in 1972, was no Roy Hobbs at the bat. Though he was enjoying his finest season when he was shot, he had just one home run in 246 plate appearances, and when he retired in 1955 at age 35, his career average was .285 with just 24 home runs in 4,681 career plate appearances. Waitkus hit for respectable averages (.304 in 1946, .306 in 1949 before the incident), but was never the same afterward.
Waitkus taught at Ted Williams‘ baseball camp before passing away of esophageal cancer at age 53.
-Gary Livacari
Photo Credits: All from Google search
Information: Excerpts edited from the Eddie Waitkus Wikipedia page.
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