‘I felt like Babe Ruth’: baseball’s 3ft 7in pinch-hitter, 75 years on

Baseball showman Bill Veeck’s most audacious stunt sent Eddie Gaedel to bat for the lowly St Louis Browns in 1951 – and created an unforgettable diamond spectacle Bill Veeck had a track record for designing some of the most elaborate marketing promotions during his four stints as a Major League Baseball owner, including an exploding scoreboard in 1960.

But his most outlandish publicity stunt was sending 3ft 7in inch pinch-hitter Eddie Gaedel to the plate at a game 75 years ago Wednesday.

Sporting uniform number 1/8, Gaedel was greeted with a standing ovation at Sportsman’s Park in St Louis as he came to bat in the second game of a doubleheader on 19 August 1951 for the St Louis Browns.

A famous AP photo shows Detroit Tigers catcher Bob Swift sitting on his knees with a ball in his glove, towering over Gaedel and his tiny strike zone.

Not surprisingly, he walked on four pitches, and was immediately lifted for a pinch-runner.

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