The Baseball Whisperer Page 25

  scouts and recruiters

  cross-checkers, 132, 168

  data-driven approach, 75, 79

  discovery of Eberly, 55

  Eberly as, 65–66, 70, 72, 75, 81–83

  job description, 83

  respect for Eberly, 3, 75, 83, 102, 139

  Seaver, Tom, 67

  Seeley, Juanita, 46

  Seminoff, Kirk, 171

  Shaw, Milan, 62, 102, 230

  Shupe, Jack, 100, 101, 106

  small-town America

  description, 50, 111, 163, 192

  during the Eisenhower Era, 38

  everyone knows everyone, 111, 113

  factors in decline of, 45, 110, 163, 172

  family mealtime, 134–35

  homegrown food, 22, 84–85, 193

  during the Reagan Era, 110

  values, xvi, 22, 43–45, 77–78, 111, 139, 173

  See also Clarinda, Iowa

  Smith, Larry, 94

  Smith, Marvella, 15, 22

  Smith, Osborne Earl “Ozzie”

  backflip, signature, 2, 22–23

  background, 15, 16–17, 21

  baseball career

  All-Star, 143

  in Baseball Hall of Fame, 2–3, 235, 236

  on the Clarinda A’s, 5, 15–23, 28, 30–31, 32, 33, 84

  college ball, 31, 33, 74

  major leagues, 5, 33, 75, 117, 126, 138, 143

  media coverage, 2–3

  minor league, 33

  Sportsmanship Award, 32

  statistics, 33, 141–42

  description, 16

  at Eberly’s memorial, 5, 14

  financial donations by, 110, 141, 219

  performing skills, 24, 211

  personality, 21, 30, 33

  relationship with Eberly family, 2, 31, 32, 126, 234–37, 238–39

  summer job, 19–21

  Snow, Dave, 96–97, 100

  Snyder, Ben, 175–76

  Social Security, 39

  Soma, Cas, 11, 174

  Southwestern University, 112

  Soviet Union, 50, 235

  Spahn, Warren, 59

  Span, Denard, 161

  speed of pitched baseballs, 97, 121, 132, 225

  Sports Illustrated, 2–3

  Stanton, Walt, 70

  Steen, Greg, 105

  steps to professional ball

  college ball, 17, 31, 33, 58, 66, 69, 78, 132, 148, 157

  minor leagues, 33, 55–56, 71–73, 76, 91, 117, 158, 159

  overview, xi–xii, xv–xvi, 164–67

  summer ball, 81, 94, 95–96, 102, 112, 131, 149–50

  Steventon, Alice, 100–101, 106

  Stewart, Jimmy, 50

  Stone, W. M., 42

  Strawberry, Darryl, 187

  Strawberry, Michael, 187

  Sunderman, Cecil, 123

  superstitions, 100, 153–54

  Suzuki, Ichiro, 161

  Szkotak, Steve, 219

  T

  Tarkio College, 119–20

  Taylor Pharmacy, 236

  team dynamics, 81, 95–98

  Tedore, John

  background, 34, 35–36

  and creation of Municipal Stadium, 49, 53

  as Eberly’s role model, 37, 49, 108, 174, 229

  as high school coach, 17, 34–35, 48–49

  television, 45, 50, 53, 164, 187, 192, 193

  Texas A&M, 127, 137, 187

  Texas Wesleyan, 101, 109, 116

  Three Rivers College, 239

  “Through My Eyes” (poem), 10

  Thuman, Jim, 172

  Thweatt, Gary, 24

  Tomlinson, Ernie, 178

  Toronto Blue Jays, 92–93, 117–18

  Trebelhorn, Tom, 220–21

  Truck Haven Café, 89

  Tuskegee Airmen, 36

  Tyler, Steven, 23

  U

  Uecker, Bob, 73

  United States

  Civil War, 41–42

  culture and events, 23, 24, 50, 140, 235

  Great Depression, 39–40, 53

  Korean War, 50

  military medals, 36, 47

  1980s recession, 110, 140–41

  Vietnam War, 23, 66

  World War II, 35–36, 38, 48, 53

  University of Alabama–Birmingham, 168, 169

  University of Evansville, 127, 128, 131, 132, 143, 148, 157

  University of Houston, 140

  University of Iowa, 34, 36, 81–82, 128, 137

  University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 13

  University of Oklahoma, 24

  University of Southern California, 18, 89

  Unruh, Terry, 24, 30, 176

  U.S. Olympic team, 143

  V

  values

  Christian, 12, 25

  commitment, xiii, 16, 80, 120

  discipline and work ethic

  of Carroll, 147, 149, 152, 155, 157, 159–61

  Clarinda town motto, 17, 197

  and Eberly, 63–76, 82, 91–92, 112, 115–16, 147, 157, 236

  of Smith, 16, 21, 31, 33, 74

  of Tedore, 36

  Theodore Roosevelt on, 44

  don’t accept “you can’t,” 18, 77

  Eberly’s article on changes in, 164–68

  family first, baseball second, 9, 56, 135, 136

  give it your all, 3, 11–12, 36, 114, 129, 146, 152, 159

  giving back

  commitment to the community, xiv, 85, 124–25, 229–30

  finding jobs for players (See players, jobs found for)

  as paying it forward, xi, 174

  mutual friendship and obligation, 6, 98, 190

  perseverance, 9, 54, 115, 118, 159–60

  responsibility and accountability, 78, 92, 115, 130

  second chances, 26, 34, 41, 54, 122–23, 189, 226

  of small-town America, xvi, 22, 43–45, 77–78, 111, 139, 173

  trust, 22, 63, 77, 80, 82, 97–98, 137

  truth, 9, 80, 153

  See also personal development

  Vess Cola plant, 40

  Vietnam War, 23, 66

  Viola, Frank, 144

  W

  Waite, Bob, 94–95, 98, 99, 100, 104–5, 107

  Walker, Rube, 67

  Walla Walla Padres, 33

  Wal-Mart, xiv

  Warn, Bob, 82

  Warner, Charlie, 52

  Warren, Bill, 19–20

  Warren, Bob, 19–21, 22, 23

  Warren Construction, 19–21

  Wasem, Jim, 57, 58

  Washington Nationals, 160–61

  Washington Post, 159–61

  Wayne, John, xiii, 89

  Weil’s clothing store, 7, 72, 185, 236

  Westminster Presbyterian, 5

  Wheaties, 125

  Wichita, Kansas. See National Baseball Congress World Series

  Wichita Eagle-Beacon, 29–30, 103, 170, 171, 198

  Williams, Matt, 161

  Williams, Ted, 3

  Williamson, Mark, 95, 96, 138

  Windhorst, B. J. (grandson), 9, 154–55, 239

  Winfield, Dave, 239

  Wogan, Adam, 159–60

  women’s issues, 23, 178

  Woods, Tiger, 23

  Woodward, Vern, 49

  Woolson, John, 207

  Woolworth’s, 50

  Works Progress Administration (WPA), 39, 42

  World Series, 66, 144, 187

  World War II, 35–36, 38, 48, 53

  Y

  Young, Bill, 25–26

  Young, Carolyn, 95

  Young, Jim, 95

  Young, Matt, 80

  Z

  Zdan, Stanley (stepfather), 229

  About the Author

  MICHAEL TACKETT is an editor in the Washington bureau of the New York Times. Previously, he was a managing editor for Bloomberg, the Washington bureau chief of the Chicago Tribune, and a national editor at U.S. News & World Report. The Baseball Whisperer is his first book. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

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