Separated At Birth

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My second favorite baseball name, Burleigh Grimes, pronounced "Burly".  My fave is Urban Shocker, which is not a name but a headline!  In 1920 Grimes was the last of the 17 pitchers designated to be allowed to throw spitballs.  He would go unshaven for days, and I think he inspired Fritz Freleng when he directed Baseball Bugs (1946) :


A Gas House Gorilla.

Image result for baseball bugs

"Of course you know, this means war"!

Pitcher: Burleigh Grimes (career: 1916-1934)

"A heavy drinker, a spitballer long past the 1920 ban, Grimes refused to shave before games and acquired the nickname ‘Ol’ Stubblebeard.’ His grubby visage could only have been worsened by the slippery elm bark he chewed to increase the effectiveness of his saliva. Grimes also had a predilection for throwing directly at batters’ heads.
Grimes’ attitude wasn’t helped any by his having perhaps the worst single game of any pitcher ever. While pitching for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the fifth game of the 1920 World Series Grimes gave up the first-ever World Series grand slam, and a few innings later surrendered the first-ever World Series home run by an opposing pitcher.
As sour, unshaven and hung over as ever, Grimes went on to manage the Dodgers in the late ‘30s. The team was terrible, and after one particular drubbing, a 12-year-old fan asked Grimes for an autograph. Ol’ Stubblebeard punched the kid in the gut".

-Tobias Seamon



Amazing that they let the umpires bring their seeing eye dogs onto the field.

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