Show i P CE WHO HO have been the best comedians come comeS baseball has known inthe Inthe In Inthe the last 40 or 50 years This thought came bounding along after reading Al AI Schacht's merry and interesting in tome known as G I Had Fun Al Schacht is certainly one of the members of ot the king pin row One of the first of these f y was Crazy Schmidt an unconscious hui humorist hu i who pitched for Cincinnati tI several sev seve several eral decades back Others Include ATlie ArV Ar AT- V lie Latham Ru Rube Rubey y Waddell Tacks Parrott Par Par- rott Ping Bodie Bodic Germany German Schaefer Nick Altrock Sherry Sher Shere ry Magee ONeil O'Neil ol of Dizzy Dean the c Cardinals and Dizzy Dean There Thero have been many others but these are arc the ones who still remain longer in memory Crazy Schmidt went out to pitch with a glove a baseball and a notebook notebook note note- book he carried in his hip pocket The contents content of this book noted the weakness of every man he had pitched against against-a a high one or a alow alow alow low one one one-a a curve or a fast one As the batter came to the plate Schmidt would take out the notebook containing con taming some names to check on his weakness What have you got written against Hans nans Wagners Wagner's name one of ot his teammates once asked A base on balls Schmidt said Germany Schaefer was one of the stars In this field He was then playing second base for Detroit I recall a game years ago where Schaefer was playing in Cleveland Around the third inning it began to rain During the fourth inning it poured Tommy Connolly was umpiring um urn paring and Germany kept squawking squawk squawk- ing to have the game call called d. d Connolly Connolly Con Con- nolly refused When the fifth inning opened Connolly Con Con- nolly Dolly looked around and found Schaefer playing second base with high rubber boots a raincoat a Gloucester fishermans fisherman's hat and holding holding holding hold hold- ing a big umbrella over his head Connolly charged Schaefer with a roar and told him bun to remove his deep sea make up Schaefer refused I have a very bad cold he told Connolly which is now bordering bordering bor bor- dering on pneumonia If II I get rid of my rubber boots my mr raincoat and my umbrella I will be in the hospital in less than two trio hours and andI I will in certainly sue you and the league Connolly called caned the game Schaefer had a keen quick wit and could always draw a laugh Waddell had the Athletics goofy by buying a mockingbird owned by the proprietor of a popcorn and peanut stand that had a whistle attached All the mockingbird could do was wake up the entire floor shortly after daybreak by singing his only song the song of the peanut whistle with an added screech Ping Bodie and Dizzy Dean It was the Immortal Ping Bodie with the Yankees who bought a parrot par rot and spent weeks teaching said parrot to keep saying over and andover over Ping over Ping made good good Ping Ping made good But after all Dizzy Dean In many different ways was the top of them outside of ot Schacht Dizzy was loaded with pranks as well as pretty homely wit There was the time in Florida when Dean had reported as a rookie from the Texas league Jimmy Wilson Wilson Wilson Wil Wil- son the veteran catcher began missing his silk shirts Finally Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Jim Jim- my caught Dean bedecked in one of these garments and the idea of ot a araw araw araw raw rookie wearing his Ws silk shirts was too much to stand He started In to bawl out Dizzy when the rookie stopped him cold with this comeback Now wait just a minute Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Jim Jim- my Dizzy said you wouldn't want the greatest pitcher baseball has hns ever known to go around a month wearing a single shirt would you Jimmy let him have the shirt I was walking with Dizzy by a hotel in Bra Bradenton den ton one day when he said he had a phone call to make He was gone some time He finally came out wearing a wide grinNell grin Well Nell he said I just called up Sam Sara Breadon In St St. Louis I told him I had changed my mind about signing for Cor any We had a along along along long hot argument He De threatened to have me thrown out of baseball We argued 20 minutes Then I 1 finally told Sam I had already signed and sent my contract In In What was the idea In doing that I asked Dizzy grinned I UI had the charges reversed and it U cost Sam 13 13 There was also the time on a blistering day in St. St Louis temperature temper temper- the crowd melting when suddenly a wisp of smoke came up in front o of the Cardinal bench There sat Dizzy decked out in a heavy overcoat warming his hands in front of ot a fire he had just built And I still recall his classic remark remark remark re re- mark after his arm was about g gone ne when he was warming up for the Cubs to pitch a world series game against the Yankees How you feeling Diz I 1 asked Well he said I 1 aint what I used to be But who in hell is |