June 15, 1949: Eddie Waitkus Is Shot

June 15, 1949: Eddie Waitkus, the 1st baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies, having just been named to his 2nd All-Star Game, is shot at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. He barely survived.

The shooter was Ruth Ann Steinhagen. Eddie had previously played for the Chicago Cubs, and she became infatuated with him. But once he was traded, she couldn't see him on a regular basis anymore. When he returned to the Chicago with the Phillies, she became one of the earliest celebrity stalkers, and went to his hotel, and shot him. This scene would be paralleled in the film The Natural.

Ruth Ann was never charged with the crime. Eddie didn't press charges, saying he wanted to forget it. Instead, she was sent to a psychiatric hospital, and was declared cured after 3 years, and released.

Eddie recovered, and was one of the Phillies "Whiz Kids" who won the 1950 National League Pennant. He remained in baseball through the 1955 season, and became a truck driver in his native Boston. He got married and divorced, and had a son and a daughter. He did die young, at 53 in 1972, but from cancer, not from anything related to the shooting.

Ruth Ann never married or had children, had an office job for 35 years, and died after a fall in 2012. She was 83.

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June 15, 1949 was a Wednesday. Baseball player and manager Dusty Baker was born on this day. So was American comedian Jim Varney, a.k.a. Ernest P. Worrell; English actor Simon Callow; and Australian singer Russell Hitchcock, of Air Supply.

These baseball games were played:

* Earlier in the day, the Phillies swept the Cubs, 4-1 and 3-0 at Wrigley Field. Former Cub ace Hank Borowy took a 5-hit shutout into the 9th, but tired, and Robin Roberts got the last 2 outs.

* The New York Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-4 at Yankee Stadium. Allie Reynolds was the winning pitcher. Yogi Berra and Bobby Brown hit home runs. Joe DiMaggio was still injured and unavailable.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-5 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Nippy Jones hit a home run, and Stan Musial went 1-for-4 with a walk. For the Dodgers, Duke Snider hit a home run, and Jackie Robinson went 2-for-4.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ray Boone, father of Bob and grandfather of Bret and Aaron, hit 2 home runs. Ted Williams went 0-for-3 with 2 walks.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Senators beat the St. Louis Browns, 9-0 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Ray Scarborough pitched a 2-hit shutout.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Braves, 8-7 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. The Bucs trailed 7-2 at the 7th inning stretch, but scored 2 in the 7th and 4 in the 9th, most of them off Warren Spahn, to win it. Danny Murtaugh, later to manage the Pirates to 2 World Series wins, singled home the tying and winning run. Ralph Kiner went 2-for-4 with a walk.

* And the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Reds were rained out at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on September 22. The Giants won the opener, 3-1. The Reds won the nightcap, 8-4.