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Eddie Bennett (November 19, 1903 – January 16, 1935) was an American
batboy In baseball, a bat boy or bat girl is an individual who carries baseball bats to the players on a baseball team. Duties of a batboy may also include handling and preparing players’ equipment and bringing Baseball (ball), baseballs to the umpi ...
for the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
(1919),
Brooklyn Robins The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brookl ...
(1920), and most notably for the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
(1921–1932) where he was also served as the team's mascot. During his career as a batboy, Bennett saw his teams capture nine pennants and four
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
titles A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
. Considered by many to bring good fortune, Bennett was deemed integral to the rituals of players on the team, developing a particularly close friendships with
Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...
,
Urban Shocker Urbain Jacques Shockcor (September 22, 1890 – September 9, 1928), known as Urban James Shocker, was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns between 1916 ...
, and
Miller Huggins Miller James Huggins (March 27, 1878 – September 25, 1929) was an American professional baseball player and manager. Huggins played second base for the Cincinnati Reds (1904–1909) and St. Louis Cardinals (1910–1916). He managed the C ...
. Bennett served as mascot and batboy until 1933, being forced to retire after sustaining injuries from being struck by an automobile. Two years later, Bennett died of alcoholism in 1935. Despite being regularly featured in new publications and considered, the "most famous mascot in the world" at the time of his death, Bennett largely drifted into obscurity for the next hundred years from the start of his career. At the turn of the 21st century Bennett's career received renewed interest and study where some have lauded his contributions to his team and baseball.


Early life

Bennett was born in
Flatbush, Brooklyn Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...
. When Bennett was very young, he received a spine injury suffered in a baby carriage incident. That injury left Bennett with a
hunchback Kyphosis () is an abnormally excessive convex curvature of the spine as it occurs in the thoracic and sacral regions. Abnormal inward concave ''lordotic'' curving of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine is called lordosis. It can ...
ed back and restricted his growth; by the time he was an adult he was considered a dwarf. Bennett's parents died in the 1918 flu epidemic, and Bennett, needing a job, convinced
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
outfielder
Happy Felsch Oscar Emil "Happy" Felsch (August 22, 1891 – August 17, 1964) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox from 1915 to 1920.
that he had "mystical powers" that could bring good luck to everyone that used him. He became Felsch's personal mascot and when Felsch's play improved, he moved on to become the White Sox personal mascot in 1919. The club won the pennant that year with Bennett sitting on the bench with the players. During the
1919 World Series The 1919 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 1919 Major League Baseball season, 1919 season. The 16th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion 1919 Chicago White Sox season, ...
, eight members of the White Sox, including Felsch, decided to throw the World Series. A scandal erupted which later led those eight players receiving lifetime bans from baseball and Bennett left the team to join his hometown
Brooklyn Robins The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brookl ...
. The Robins won the pennant in
1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...
, but after participating in the first three
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
games – both the second and third being Robins victories – Bennett wasn't invited to join the team at
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
. The Robins went on to lose their next four games, and the series, to the Indians. He soon left the team, citing "lack of trust".


New York Yankees

At the age of 18 Bennett became the bat boy for the New York Yankees on the request of Yankees owner
Jacob Ruppert Jacob Ruppert Jr. (August 5, 1867 – January 13, 1939) was an American brewer, businessman, National Guard colonel and politician who served for four terms representing New York in the United States House of Representatives from 1899 to 1907. ...
. He was considered to be a "good luck charm" by the members of the club, and became a well-known celebrity in New York. Each year, he went down to Florida to join the Yankees
spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...
. He became one of
Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...
's closest friends on the team, and they played catch on the field nearly every game. A close confidant of manager
Miller Huggins Miller James Huggins (March 27, 1878 – September 25, 1929) was an American professional baseball player and manager. Huggins played second base for the Cincinnati Reds (1904–1909) and St. Louis Cardinals (1910–1916). He managed the C ...
, Bennett usually sat next to Huggins during Yankees games, pointing out issues he noticed on the field, a predecessor of a
bench coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...
in today's baseball. By 1927 he was working out of the front office organizing transportation for the team and coordinating luggage transfers during road trips, duties now associated with a travel secretary. As a member of the storied Murderers’ Row Bennett wore tailored suits and bright colored ties, befitting his status as the Yankees’ Luckiest Batboy.


Decline and death

On May 19, 1932 Bennett was hit by a taxi on a New York City street. He suffered a broken leg and other injuries from which he never recovered. To find relief from the pain he suffered from the injuries, Bennett started to abuse alcohol. He was forced to retire as the Yankees mascot in the middle of 1933 season, although Ruppert insisted he remain on the payroll all year. ''The New York Times'' reported that the "notoriously superstitious" ballplayers and fans blamed Bennett's absence on the Yankees' failure to win the pennant in 1933 and 1934. In January 1935 Bennett died penniless in his room at a lodging house at 115 W. 84th Street in Manhattan, age 31. The coroner ruled the cause of death as alcoholism; according to his landlady, Bennett had told her that drinking was the only relief from his chronic pain. He had no known relatives and had been scheduled to be buried in a
pauper's grave A potter's field, paupers' grave or common grave is a place for the burial of unknown, unclaimed or indigent people. "Potter's field" is of Biblical origin, referring to Akeldama (meaning ''field of blood'' in Aramaic), stated to have been pur ...
until Ruppert paid for his funeral and burial. Ruppert and general manager
Ed Barrow Edward Grant Barrow (May 10, 1868 – December 15, 1953) was an American manager and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He served as the field manager of the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox. He served as business manager (de fac ...
were not able to attend the service but sent flowers. The entire Yankee front office staff of Paul Krichell, Gene McCann, Mark Roth, George Perry, and Charlie McManus accompanied Bennett's body from the funeral parlor to St. Gregory the Great Church for the service and on to St. John's Cemetery in Queens for burial. No player attended the service, perhaps because they were scattered during the off-season. In 2020 a monument company donated a stone for his grave, which had been unmarked at St. John Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens. The Cemetery's Chaplain presided over its installation. It read: “Edward Bennett, 1903–1935. New York Yankees Mascot/Batboy, 1921–1932.”


Legacy

Bennett's life was mentioned by billionaire
Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of the conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his investment success, Buffett is ...
during his annual stockholder report in 2002, saying that Bennett was a key role model during Buffett's career in investing, naming him a "winner at every costs".


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Eddie 1904 births 1935 deaths Baseball culture Major League Baseball team mascots New York Yankees Date of birth missing Mascots introduced in 1919