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Re: [Phys-l] Almost Killed by a Falling Grapefrui



On Mon, 22 Jan 2007, Jack Uretsky wrote:


The great catcher and Brooklyn Dodger manager Wilbert Robinson thought he was
the greatest catcher ever, and bragged that he could even catch a baseball
dropped from a great height, like from an airplane. To test him, aviatrix Ruth
Law was hired on March 13, 1915 (during spring training) to drop a baseball from
her plane onto the beach at Daytona Beach, where Robinson was poised to catch
it. Unknown to him, Casey Stengel, a practical joker, gave Law a grapefruit to
drop instead. When it came hurtling down, Robinson managed to get right
underneath it, holding his glove over his head and, of course, when the
grapefruit hit it splattered all over him, and he thought his head had been
split open by the baseball. Only when he saw how all his players were roaring
with laughter did he realize a joke had been played on him.

This is a typical Stengel story but not one that has been verified. Robert Creamer, who wrote "Stengel. His Life and Times" was not able to verify that Stengel was even involved. Stengel often claimed that he was in the airplane with Law. In 1957, Law said that she chose the grapefruit because she had forgotten the baseball back in her hotel room.


Other baseball drops:
Washington Monument 1894: Paul Hines and Phil Baker. Newspaper accounts vary about this one but most indicate that Hines wound up with a broken hand and he was the only one to get close to catching one of the tosses.

Washington Monument August 25, 1894: William "Pop" Schriver, catcher for the Chicago Colts. Chicago was managed by Cap Anson, who bet the manager of the Arlington Hotel that the feat could be accomplished. Chicago pitcher Clark Griffith, who would later pitch for, manage, and ultimately own the Washington Senators, sneaked to the top of the monument and let the horsehide fly. Schriver let the first pitch go by, but his nerves were calmed upon seeing the ball bounce only ten feet. He promptly caught
Griffith's second toss before the team was driven away by an indignant
security guard. One paper said he caught the ball another said it glanced off his hand.

Washington Monument, August 21, 1908: The first indisputable catch off the obelisk belongs to Washington
catcher Gabby Street. Journalist Preston Gibson bet a large sum on
whether the feat could be accomplished. On August 21, 1908, he climbed
the monument and threw ball after ball to the street below-Gabby Street.
Twelve or thirteen balls were missed in the brisk wind, with witnesses
reporting that they bounced 50 feet on concrete, or dug themselves 3
inches into the ground on grass. Street was wearing a glove, but no
mask, helmet, or chest protector when he at last hauled down one of the
balls. The ball is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1945, Gabby teamed with Harry Caray to reenact the catch to sell war bonds. Gabby was 63 years old and caught 2 of the 4 balls Harry tossed from the top of the St. Louis Civil Court Building (387 ft.)

In the 1930's there were a number of attempts to catch baseball dropped from blimps. In 1939 Joe Spirinz caught a ball dropped from 800 ft. The impact knocked his glove into his face, shattered his jaw and displaced several teeth.

The record catch from a building was set in 1938 with Cleveland Indians catchers Hank Helf and Frank Pytlak caught balls from the 708 ft. terminal tower in Cleveland.


--
Bruce Esser
Physics Teacher
Marian High School
http://marian.creighton.edu/~besser