Edward Stephen Waitkus (September 4, 1919 – September 16, 1972) was a

Lithuanian American Lithuanian Americans refer to American citizens and residents of Lithuanian descent or were born in Lithuania. New Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has the largest percentage of Lithuanian Americans (20.8%) in its population in the United States. ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player who played as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played a total of 11 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB), before and after serving in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(1941 and 1946–1955). He played for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

and for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

. He was elected to the National League

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

team twice (1948 and 1949).

Early career, WWII

Waitkus, the son of Lithuanian immigrants, grew up in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and attended the Cambridge High and Latin School and

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

. He began his professional career in 1938 playing for the Worumbo Indians, a semi-professional team sponsored by Worumbo Woolen Mill in

Lisbon Falls, Maine Lisbon Falls is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Lisbon, located in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population of Lisbon Falls was 4,100 at the 2010 census. It is included in both the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropo ...

. As a rookie, he was known as "the natural," which gave the title to the book loosely based on his life. Waitkus saw some of the bloodiest fighting of

with the U.S. Army in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, and was awarded four

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

s. During

Operation Cartwheel Operation Cartwheel (1943 – 1944) was a major military operation undertaken by the Allies in the Pacific theatre of World War II. The ultimate goal of Cartwheel was to neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul. The operation was di ...

, Waitkus saved the life of a badly bleeding fellow soldier, leaving his foxhole during an attack on his position, and finding some safety pins to stop the bleeding. Upon his return to baseball, he quickly became a star for the

. He also became a popular media figure, as he was well-educated and was fluent in Lithuanian, Polish, German, and French. Following the 1948 season, the Cubs traded Waitkus with Hank Borowy to the

for

Monk Dubiel Walter John "Monk" Dubiel (February 12, 1918 – October 23, 1969) was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago Cubs. He stood ...

and Dutch Leonard.

Shooting

Just a few years into the start of what seemed a very promising career, Waitkus was shot by

Ruth Ann Steinhagen Ruth Ann Steinhagen (born Ruth Catherine Steinhagen; December 23, 1929 – December 29, 2012) was an American woman who shot and nearly killed Eddie Waitkus, star first baseman of the Philadelphia Phillies, on June 14, 1949, in one of the first i ...

, an obsessed fan, at

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Edgewater Beach Hotel The Edgewater Beach Hotel was a resort hotel complex on Lake Michigan in the far-north neighborhood community of Edgewater in Chicago, Illinois, designed by Benjamin H. Marshall and Charles E. Fox. The first multi-story building was built ...

on June 14, 1949, in one of the earliest recognized cases of criminal

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance or contact by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitorin ...

. Steinhagen had become infatuated with him when he was a Cub, but seeing him every day in-season may have kept her obsession in check. Once he was traded to the Phillies, Steinhagen's obsession grew to dangerous proportions. She checked into the hotel using the alias "Ruth Ann Burns" and left a note at the desk, asking him to come to her hotel room on an urgent matter. When he arrived in her room, she shot him with a .22 caliber rifle, a

bolt-action Bolt action is a type of manual Action (firearms), firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt (firearms), turn-bolt via a cocking handle, bolt handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm (a ...

Remington model 510. The bullet entered his lung, barely missing his heart. She immediately called the desk to report the shooting and was found cradling his head in her lap. Waitkus was taken to the Illinois Masonic Hospital, where he nearly died several times on the operating table before the bullet was successfully removed. Steinhagen never stood trial but instead was confined to a mental institution for a few years.

Return to action

After being shot in Chicago, Waitkus did not play again in the 1949 season, in which he compiled a .306 batting average with 27 RBI and 41 runs scored in 54 games played. However Waitkus did return in uniform, although not to action, on August 19, 1949, for "Eddie Waitkus Night" at

Shibe Park Shibe Park ( , rhymes with "vibe"), known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) from 1909 to 1954 and the Philadelphia Phillies of the Natio ...

, at which he was feted by the Phillies and showered with gifts. Waitkus returned to play in the 1950 season as the leadoff hitter for the Whiz Kids team that won the 1950 National League pennant. Waitkus led the team in scoring with 102 runs. Waitkus made his only post-season appearance in the

1950 World Series The 1950 World Series was the 47th World Series between the American League, American and National League (baseball), National Leagues for the championship of Major League Baseball. The 1950 Philadelphia Phillies season, Philadelphia Phillies as ...

. After the 1950 season, Waitkus was named the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Comeback Player of the Year.

Later life

Prior to the 1954 season, the

purchased Waitkus from the Philadelphia Phillies for $40,000 (). Released by the Orioles in 1955, he returned to the Phillies for the remainder of the season. After the 1955 baseball season was complete, the Phillies released Waitkus. Following his baseball career, Waitkus worked in trucking in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, and later as a manager at a department store in

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the Technological and industrial history of the United States, American Industrial Revoluti ...

. Waitkus died in a Boston hospital in 1972 from

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

, aged 53. A resident of

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, at the time of his death, he was survived by a son and a daughter.

''The Natural''

Author

Bernard Malamud Bernard Malamud (April 26, 1914 – March 18, 1986) was an American novelist and short story writer. Along with Saul Bellow, Joseph Heller, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Norman Mailer and Philip Roth, he was one of the best known American Jewish ...

may have woven the basic elements of the Waitkus story – including that some called Waitkus "The Natural" because of his natural swing – and other baseball legends (notably that of Joe Jackson) into ''

The Natural ''The Natural'' is a 1952 novel about baseball by Bernard Malamud, and is his debut novel. The story follows Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy whose career is sidetracked after being shot by a woman whose motivation remains mysterious. The story most ...

''. The book was published in 1952 and was made into a

Hollywood film The cinema of the United States, primarily associated with major film studios collectively referred to as Hollywood, has significantly influenced the global film industry since the early 20th century. Classical Hollywood cinema, a filmmakin ...

starring

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...

released in 1984. However, it is unclear if Malamud was solely inspired by the shooting of Waitkus, or if he also borrowed from the life of Cubs shortstop

Billy Jurges William Frederick Jurges (May 9, 1908 – March 3, 1997) was an American shortstop, third baseman, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball. He was born in the Bronx, New York. During the 1930s, he was central to three (, and ) Nationa ...

, who was shot by his ex-girlfriend in 1932 at the Chicago hotel in which they lived.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waitkus, Eddie 1919 births 1972 deaths American people of Lithuanian descent American shooting survivors Baltimore Orioles players Chicago Cubs players Deaths from esophageal cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts Major League Baseball first basemen National League All-Stars Philadelphia Phillies players Baseball players from Cambridge, Massachusetts Moline Plowboys players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players United States Army personnel of World War II