Rube Waddell: The Zany, Brilliant Life of a Strikeout Artist

by Alan Howard Levy

George Edward "Rube" Waddell was one of the zaniest characters ever to play baseball. The legendary Connie Mack, who saw quite a few cards during his nearly seven decade stint in the majors, once observed that no other screwball he ever saw could hold a candle to Rube. Mack also said that Rube's curveball was the best he'd ever seen. Indeed, Waddell was one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game. Rube won 191 games in 13 seasons, had four straight 20-win seasons for Mack and the Philadelphia A's, and claimed six consecutive strikeout titles. In 1904 he struck out 349 batters, a record that held for six decades. This biography traces his early life in western Pennsylvania, the fits and starts of his first years in professional baseball, his big years with the A's, and his subsequent fade into obscurity and his early death in a sanatorium on April Fool's Day, 1914.

Genres: Baseball, Nonfiction, Biography, Sports, History

327 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2000

Reviews

[Joe Santoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had heard some small bits of stories about Waddell in other books, and was really looking forward to this one... the fun part of reading about the dead ball era is the crazy stuff that happened, and Waddell had far more than his fair share.

The book is chock full of such things, almost too much. My main complaint about the book is, while some authors give TOO much context, and turn the book into a story of the team, or the year... this on e actually lacked context in many ways. I found myself looking up stats and results quite a few times, where they were not given, or, in a couple instances, incorrect.

What an amazing story, though. Waddell was like an 8 year old that never grew up, just got bigger, and was seemingly an amazing physical specimen. One wonders what would have happened with Waddell in modern times.. would social media kept him more on the straight and narrow? Would he have been a LaBron like freak of nature with modern nutrition and training? Or would he have flamed out even sooner? A very interesting thing to contemplate indeed.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at one of baseball's most colorful figures. Rube Waddell. A Pennsylvania-born farmboy, he rose to the top of the turn-of-the-century legends of the sport. In a career that lasted only a little more than a dozen years, he set major league strikeout records that lasted decades. His checkered career started in Louisville in 1897, and took him to Pittsburgh, Chicago, Philadelphia and St. Louis. He had classic pitching duels with the likes of Cy Young and Christy Mathewson. In 1904, he won 25 games and had 39 complete games in 46 starts, with 349 strikeouts. Occasionally, he would pitch both games of a doubleheader. This was an entertaining read.

[Joe Desmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well researched book about a forgotten star. Levy writes the story well. The book aptly describes baseball and its characters in the early 20th century. The author describes Waddell’s issues but does not pontificate on his shortcomings. He lets the reader judge. Connie Mack has a key role in Waddell’s life and seems ahead of his time as a leader of men. Some could view Mack’s tolerance as enabling but the story is more complex. Waddell’s talent was immense as his strikeout totals indicate in an era where strikeouts were much less frequent. Highly recommended for serious baseball fans.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine baseball biography. Waddell was an incomparable character and had a decent career despite numerous self-induced hiccups along the way.

It may be the love of the game, the statistics, or the stories that hooks readers for this one; a few tangential paragraphs (comparing Rube to future players or framing his style of play with what Italian baseball fans would call “belissimo”) and dead-end anecdotes fluff out what could otherwise be a very concise 180-pager.

[Ryan Saffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read! Rube Waddell is aptly described in the title as zany and brilliant. Phenomenal pitcher to be sure, but a character who it's a wonder hasn't had a biopic made of his exploits.

If you're not a baseball fan, this one will drag a bit for you, as it contains lots of details about specific games that will be meaningless to the reader. However, it reads as well as a radio broadcast, so it's as rewarding as listening to a ball game.

[Danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book and learned a lot about both Waddell and that era of the game BUT it was disappointing that Levy chose not to look into potential reasons as to why Waddell was "the way he was". Bill James (cited throughout the book previously suggested Waddell may have been autistic. Others have cited other potential causes. To completely gloss over this struck me as an odd decision.

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world needs more Rubes

[Mary T · Rating 2 out of 5]

Possibly the most boring book I have ever read.

[Dylan James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so much fun. For baseball history buffs and for biography inclined people alike. If you're seeking a read on an eccentric who was great at what he did (despite his many hilarious quirks), this look at Waddell is sure to make you laugh and appreciative of the man, the myth, and his profound and odd accomplishments.

For a hilarious look at Rube - (Philadelphia North American, August 12, 1903) ...

"In the seventh inning, Rube Waddell hoisted a long foul over the right field bleachers that landed on the roof of the biggest bean cannery in Boston. In descending, the ball fell on the roof of the engine room and jammed itself between the steam whistle and the stem of the valve that operates it. The pressure set the whistle blowing. It lacked a few minutes of five o’clock, yet the workmen started to leave the building. They thought quitting time had come.

The incessant screeching of the bean-factory whistle led engineers in neighboring factories to think fire had broken out and they turned on their whistles. With a dozen whistles going full blast, a policeman sent in an alarm of fire. Just as the engines arrived, a steam cauldron in the first factory, containing a ton of beans, blew up.

The explosion dislodged Waddell’s foul fly and the whistle stopped blowing, but that was not the end of the trouble."

This, like Waddell's penchant for stopping pitching mid-game and chasing fire-trucks rocketing by the stadium, wrestling alligators and lions at a circus in the offseason—creates an image of a supremely free-spirited man. Baseball historians have a hard time deciphering if he actually blew up a bean factory in Boston via foul ball, but for the rest, it is all undoubtedly true, and no other book offers quite as good a look at Waddell than this work by Alan Howard Levy.

Gosh! This was a super fun read. Learning about primitive minor league teams and the old days of the independent baseball circuit across the US was equally as engaging. Other than some drawn out pacing at times, this book makes a truly great read.

[Pocosnoopy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read on a plane flight west. Waddell was a star of early baseball. He was the first real star of those early Philadelphia Athletics teams in the 1900's. Comparisons to Koufax were interesting in terms of record and career, both careers cut short by injury. But he was 'unique' in temperament, which is what is mostly remembered about him today. A little insight into that behavior would have improved the book. Bill James speculated thirty years ago that Waddell may have been mentally handicapped. This author doesn't quite deal with that supposition. I wish he had.