Thursday, December 09, 2010

Bob Feller - Still Alive!

EDIT: Reports of Bob Feller's death were incorrect. I apologize for trusting an Ohio paper to publish the truth. Best of health to Bob. I'll leave up the post as an honest mistake - not try to airbrush history like some people.
"That was the test. Three days before he pitched, I would start thinking about Robert Feller, Bob Feller. I would sit in my room and start thinking about him all the time. ... Allie Reynolds of the Yankees was tough, and I might think about him for two hours before a game. But Robert Feller, I'd think about him for three days." - Ted Williams
America is poorer today for the loss of Bob Feller who has passed. Yesterday was best remembered as the 30th anniversary of the death of John Lennon and in some circles as the birthday of Larry Bird but it was also an important anniversary in the life of Bob Feller - on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor, Bob Feller enlisted in the Navy for combat duty. Feller served for 4-years rising through the ranks to become chief of an anti-aircraft gun crew on the USS Alabama. He is the only Chief Petty Officer in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

I awoke today and was at first giddy with the news that the Red Sox had signed Carl Crawford. The happiness has been greatly tempered by the news that America has lost Bob Feller.

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