Postcard From Elburn, Illinois

Eddie Gaedel Pub and Grill in Elburn, Illinois

This is a little town we passed through on our way to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  We stopped for lunch at a place called ‘Eddie Gaedel Pub and Grill.  Who was Eddie Gaedel?  Glad you asked!

Eddie Gaedel was the smallest player to appear in a Major League Baseball game.

Gaedel gained recognition in the second game of a St. Louis Browns doubleheader on August 19, 1951. Weighing 65 pounds (29 kg) and standing 3 feet 7 inches (109 cm) tall, he became the shortest player in the history of the Major Leagues. Gaedel made a single plate appearance and was walked with four consecutive balls before being replaced by a pinch-runner at first base. His jersey, bearing the uniform number “​1⁄8”, is displayed in the St. Louis Cardinals Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck, in his 1962 autobiography Veeck – As in Wreck, said of Gaedel, “He was, by golly, the best darn midget who ever played big-league ball. He was also the only one.”

More at Wikipedia

Downtown Elburn, Illinois

3 thoughts on “Postcard From Elburn, Illinois”

    1. Oh, it was good! I had a Polish sausage sandwich – my first in years. Grilled onions and mustard on a crusty roll with tater tots – heavenly! 😉

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