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Feller’s legacy
Photo
Joe Skerk, 47, places an "A" with the number 19 written on it, at the Bob Feller statue at Progressive Field Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010, in Cleveland. The "A" recognizes the service on the warship "Alabama" by Feller. Feller, one of baseball's greatest pitchers during a Hall of Fame career with the Cleveland Indians, died Wednesday night Dec. 15, 2010. He was 92.
Indians ace blazed his way to Hall of Fame
Associated Press
VAN METER, Iowa
Bob Feller was a teenage pitching wonder, a World War II hero and an outspoken Hall of Famer for the Cleveland Indians.
In his tiny hometown, he was the farm boy who never forgot his roots.
Flags flew at half-staff Thursday at the Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter, Iowa, a short drive west of Des Moines, a day after Feller succumbed to acute leukemia at the age of 92.
Armed with a blazing fastball dubbed the “Van Meter heater,” Feller won 266 games in 18 seasons with the Indians — even with a break for service during World War II.
“Rapid Robert” was the first pitcher to win 20 games before he was 21, was chosen for eight All-Star games, and earned a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, his first year of eligibility.
“It’s such a great loss. Bob was a guy who was a little bit bigger than life,” said museum member Ed Brown, who stopped in Thursday to drop off flowers. “He had a lot of pride about his roots. He had a lot of pride about being an Iowan and about the game of baseball.”
Feller’s career began to take shape at age 16, when the small-town Iowa prep star caught the attention of an Indians scout. Feller made his first major league start two months before his 18th birthday, and the arm he claimed was strengthened by farm work quickly made him a star.
Feller is still the Indians’ career leader in shutouts (46), innings pitched (3,827), walks (1,764), complete games (279), wins and strikeouts, and a statue of him in mid-delivery stands in his honor outside of Progressive Field in Cleveland.
Scott Havick, who manages the museum filled with artifacts from Feller’s youth, playing days and time with the U.S. Navy, said Feller was always proudest of his service during World War II.
He enlisted on Dec. 8, 1941 — just one day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor — and was the first major leaguer to do so.
“He was the most patriotic person I’ve ever known in my life,” Havick said. “People would ask him, ‘What’s the greatest win you’ve ever had?’ You would think it would be a no-hitter. He’d say, ‘World War II,’ without even blinking.”
Feller wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, either, and his propensity for being blunt was well-known in Van Meter and beyond. In Cleveland, fans gathered at Progressive Field on Thursday to pay tribute.
The center field flag was lowered to half staff and crews hung red, white and blue memorial banners marking Feller’s baseball career and Navy service.
Fans placed memorials, including a bouquet of flowers, a bag of sunflower seeds and an inscribed “A” for Feller’s wartime service on the USS Alabama, on the base of the statue bearing his likeness.
Gary Schultz of Kent, wearing an Indians jacket, stopped by the statue to take a keepsake photo and marveled at Feller’s role in Cleveland sports history. “He’s just the epitome of Cleveland and baseball,” Schultz said.
His neighbor, Rich Aber, was renewing his season tickets Thursday and reminisced about meeting Feller at spring training in Goodyear, Ariz.
“The only signed baseball I’ve got is by Bob,” Aber said. “I’m really glad I had a chance to meet him and shake his hand, which was very large and strong.”
Aber remembers watching Feller pitch in an old-timers game about 40 years ago. “He had a tremendous fast ball, but he had a devastating curve ball,” Aber said. “The combination of the two was just amazing. I would have loved to see some of his battles with Joe Dimaggio and Ted Williams.”
Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini opened his news conference Thursday by praising Feller and offering condolences to the Hall of Famer’s family. Mangini’s brother-in-law is Indians president Mark Shapiro.
“I know he will be missed by everybody,” Mangini said. “An amazing person, an amazing player and an amazing part of Cleveland.”