...the hypes been quite spectacular over the years.
The Saga of Mel Famey
Those who follow baseball are aware of the special rivalry existing between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers, formerly of Brooklyn. Often these two teams have battled for the pennant in the National League. So it was in the year 1956.
All of the other 30 teams in the Southwestern Division had faded into oblivion, leaving only the Cardinals and Dodgers to settle this new division. Each team had only one game left in the regular season, and that game was against the other team. The two teams had identical won-lost records approaching this final game, meaning the winner would advance while the loser was through for the season.
Now the Cardinals had recruited a young rookie pitcher from the hills of Arkansas by the name of Mel Famey. He stood 7'-8" tall, and threw a fast ball clocked at 127 miles per hour. Needless to say, the hits and runs made when Mel Famey pitched were few and far between. In fact, he was undefeated for the '56 season, with a record of 38-0. The Dodgers had not scored against him all season. And Mel Famey was scheduled to pitch this final game against them!
The manager of the Dodgers, Tommy LaSorda IV, called all of his scouts together on the evening before the big game. "Now, look" said Tommy. "There has to be something about this guy, some weakness, some flaw that we can exploit. Otherwise, we have no chance whatever against him. I want you to go find it. Don't come back here until you have the answer".
One scout, Ima Gonna Lookabout, interviewed people in and around Fordyce, Mel Famey's home town. Just by chance she learned that Mel was guite fond of beer, especially Schlitz beer. She quickly reported this information back to Lasorda, who devised a clever plan. They would get Mel Famey drunk! By game time they had iced down several cases of Schlitz and had it ready.
So the game began. Swoosh, swoosh. Dodger batters fell left and right as Mel mowed them down. As he returned to the dugout, he was met by Ms. Lookabout, who slipped him a cold Schlitz. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh. Another cold Schiltz. As the game progressed, Mel got his cold beers after each inning, courtesy of Ms. Lookabout. Each time he got a beer Mel would chug-a-lug, then toss the empty can over the fence behind the dugout. It finally took it's toll.
It was the bottom of the ninth, with the score still tied at 0-0. As Mel looked in toward the batter, home plate seemed to be moving around all over the place. Ball four. A walk. Mel tried again, but again the umpire sent the batter to first. Try as he might, he could not find that wiggly plate. Ball four. Now the bases were loaded. The next batter danced around before his eyes. "Be still, damn it!" he cried. But to no avail. As ball four sailed over the batter's head, the runner from third was forced across the plate. It was over. The Dodgers had won the pennant!
Afterward, Dodger manager, Tommy LaSorda IV, and the manager of the Cardinals, Curtis Curveball, were leaving the stadium together. As they passed behind the area of the Cardinals' dugout, they spotted a large pile of empty Schlitz beer cans. "Would you look at that", commented Curveball. "What in the world is that?" With a sly, contented smirk decorating his face, Tommy LaSorda IV replied, "Well, I'll tell you Curtis,
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That's the beer that made Mel Famey walk us".
Gotta run.
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