Wee Willie Sherdel: The Cardinals' Winningest Left-Hander

by John G. Coulson, John T. Sherdel

Awarded honorable mention 2018 Best Baseball Books by Sports Collectors Digest, the book is the life story of the St. Louis Cardinals' winningest lefty. Wee Willie Sherdel was a very humble, courageous left-handed pitcher who became one of the all-time great southpaws in St. Louis Cardinals' history. The son of a German blacksmith in a small Pennsylvania village, Willie’s dream was to become a major league pitcher – a rather big dream for a small boy. Not the most talented or biggest, he worked hard and learned from greats like Eddie Plank, Branch Rickey and Grover Cleveland Alexander. Sherdel’s best years were in the 1920s while Rickey was developing the farm system concept and the Cards were playing in two World Series. Known for his slow ball, Willie was given the honor of pitching the first game against Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and the powerful Yankees in both Series.

Although labeled a hard-luck pitcher in the Series, Sherdel performed many great feats on the diamond. Since his retirement in 1932, he remains the Redbirds’ winningest left-hander and fourth all-time winner. Willie also has pitched the third-most games and the fourth-most innings. Like all pitchers, he loved to talk about his hitting. Among Cardinals’ pitchers, Sherdel owns the fourth-most career home runs and the fifth-best batting average for his .337 in 1923.

His contemporaries included over 90 Hall of Famers and some of the greatest players of all-time including Ruth, Gehrig, Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby.

384 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 12, 2018

About the author

Author John G. Coulson resides in Hanover, Pennsylvania. His love of baseball has lasted throughout his life. He inherited that affection from his father, a successful baseball manager. John states that he held a baseball bat before a pencil. His earliest memories include running around the bases while his father was coaching a state championship team. By the time John was in elementary school, his father had given up coaching men and had begun managing little league teams, a focus for another twenty years. The author stated that the baseball diamond was his babysitter. John spent many years as a player, coach and now fan. That same love has been instilled in his son and grandsons. The author adds, “Baseball always gave my father and me something to talk about.” Although Hanover’s proximity to Baltimore automatically made the family Oriole fans, they also developed an affection for the Cleveland Indians, which has lasted into the next generations. At age six, John opened his first pack of baseball cards. The player color photos opened a new baseball world. He had watched limited major league games on the family’s black and white television. Now, he saw close-up photos of the players with their history detailed on the card backs. This experience began a lifelong attachment to baseball cards. Oddly, when he left for college, his parents bought a color television. Not sure what that means.
Through the years, John has attended many major league baseball games – primarily in Baltimore. While in high school, he accompanied the local Associated Press representative to Oriole games and sat in the press box. Often, he rode the elevator with Chuck Thompson, the voice of the O’s. While in Baltimore, he was fortunate to witness two no-hitters, an all-star game and a World Series game. He saw the Oriole debut of Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken, Jr., and Reggie Jackson plus the final Memorial Stadium contest and the first opener at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
John’s book on Wee Willie Sherdel: Cardinals’ Winningest Left-Hander is his second. Previously, he authored a reference book on the class D Hanover Raiders and the history of the Blue Ridge League from 1915 to 1930. He remains a student of baseball history and a member of SABR (The Society of American Baseball Research).
The author graduated from Millersville State College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics. He remains an alumni member of Sigma Tau Gamma national fraternity. While in school, his fraternity team won the college softball championship and he spent two years on the golf team, mostly for the lessons and practice. He admits he was not that good.
During his career, John worked in banking technology advancing through many mergers from computer programmer to executive vice president and chief information officer. At age fifty, he was lucky enough to retire and focus on the second half of this life. He supports libraries and has served as chairman of the board of the county library system. He continues to golf once or twice a week and until a few years ago, played in weekly retired men’s basketball and softball games. John enjoys reading sports books by other authors.
He enjoys time with his wife and family and looks forward to following the activities of his five grandchildren.

Reviews

[Ben Staub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for Cardinals fans and residents of the greater Hanover Pennsylvania area.