Rube Waddell: The Legendary Lefty Lunatic

He punched lions, saved whole towns, wrestled alligators, rescued people from drowning and fires, destroyed bean factories, and won the pitching triple crown in 1905 with a 1.48 ERA. George Edward “Rube” Waddell is one of the most fascinating players in baseball’s rich past. We’ll take a look at the facts-and the fiction-that surround the life of one of the world’s strangest people to have ever lived.

[@jimschwandt8089]

Anyone interested in the Rube should check out "Rube Waddell: The Zany, Brilliant Life of a Strikeout Artist", by Alan H. Levy. His existence is truly one of a kind, and this book reads like an unintentional comedy.

[@paulconnor8334]

You screwed up from the get go by not mentioning Mark Fidrych.

[@jimschwandt8089]

@@paulconnor8334 I'm afraid I don't understand. What do you mean by not mentioning Mark Fidrych?

[@williamford9564]

Thanks! Added to my reading list.

[@decker528]

I just ordered it

[@jodydolphin79]

@@jimschwandt8089 he was trying to be funny and missed the mark!

[@petercollin5670]

One detail from his life that I love - the opposing team would sometimes bring a puppy within his view to distract him. He loved animals so much that he'd leave the mound to go play with it.

[@g.t.richardson6311]

Fred Clarke of the pirates told him he had a dog at his farm that rube could have He lost all focus

[@camoss3724]

Rube built up his arm and accuracy by throwing rocks at birds, while Stan Coveleski, one of the great spitball pitchers of that era, reportedly did the same by throwing rocks at tin cans--after working 12-hour shifts in the coal mines. Such humble beginnings. Thanks for posting this.

[@makeparnotwar4919]

The newspaper clippings about him are hilarious if you pause to read them

[@Zaron_Gaming]

Thank you for the suggestion they are a blast

[@tlmoscow]

Everything you said about him shows it wasn’t a ‘simpler’ time - it was a wilder time.

[@elawson1991]

I was taught for a few months by his great-grandson in high school from what he told us a few of the wilder stories are true

[@spacenut58]

Rube was more colorful than the entirety of pro sports today. Great video!

[@HOTROD213]

This is an amazing video about an under appreciated American legend.

[@daveconleyportfolio5192]

Very nicely done. Anybody else think that Waddell looked like a young George C. Scott? I can practically see him playing "Patton."

[@tristramcoffin926]

My cousin!

[@Eurostep500]

Definitely a strong resemblance. Good eye.

[@keithlauderjr1691]

No doubt

[@SJM6791]

Now that you say it.

[@iracordem]

yes, very GCS. i know a young man that looks a lot like him, just a little less buff. i kid him that he’s a vampire & he’s waddell

[@bishopaz]

Why hasn't a movie been made about this man. OH, btw, a great presentation..

[@jacksmith5692]

The amazing thing was his amount of strikeouts in the dead ball era where people didn't strike out. Packed alot into 37 years.

[@tomvernon2123]

Enjoyed this very much. Please do more on the old time players.

[@jhall2691]

Why is there no mention of his 1904 season when he had 349 strikeouts, which set the major league single season strikeout record that wasn't broken until 1965 when Koufax had 382. Only Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan, and Randy Johnson have ever struck out more more batters than Rube Waddell in a single season.

[@onlythewise1]

he is to white they want to forget whites

[@bostonrailfan2427]

for the same reason he ignored other stops and the fact that he actually did play in 1910 and wasn’t traded: he was outright released due to his drunken antics…he played in 10 games that year before he got booted, his minor league stuff was mediocre which shows how badly he fell dye to his drunkenness

[@scorchedearth8661]

You did your homework. Great job! The lesson here is to be yourself.

[@tomsmith5216]

If baseball had the same kind of colorful characters playing today, the stands would be packed. Plus, they played great baseball. I'd rather watch film of a 1918 baseball game than last year,'s world series.

[@cameronhamilton7439]

Great point, especially one with Babe Ruth or Ty Cobb!

[@gregorywolff5917]

You and me both!!

[@iracordem]

@@cameronhamilton7439 yesss, or even rabbit maranville, buck weaver, eddie gaedel or moe berg for that matter

[@cameronhamilton7439]

@@iracordem BUCK WEAVER GOT CAUGHT UP IN A LITTLE BIT OF MESS, DIDN'T HE!😲

[@iracordem]

@@cameronhamilton7439 too bad, he was skilled.

[@rumblehat4357]

The "throwing a ball at a runner to record an out" was an actual rule way way back in the game's history.

[@Vercingetorix.Fantasia]

I think it's a rule in Rounders

[@ThekiBoran]

@@Vercingetorix.Fantasia Either rounders or town ball.

[@robertmurdock1848]

It's still a rule. If the batter/runner is in the field of play and not in the marked runner's lane along the first base line , he would be out if struck by a thrown ball. It's a rare play , mostly on bunts or dribblers in front of the plate, but there are a couple of plays like this yearly.

[@rumblehat4357]

Robert Murdock I’m talking about back when “catching” a ball on one bounce was called an out. Aloooooong time ago in the game’s infancy, throwing a ball at a runner and hitting him would result in an out, not just the “in the field of Play” obstruction rule. The game had some weird rules in the early days.

[@robertmurdock1848]

@@rumblehat4357 Sorry , I misunderstood what you were saying.

[@infiniteprofit1509]

They need to make a movie about this guy and Rob Gronkowski has to play him

[@richardzowie1984]

An acquaintance of mine has written a screenplay, but it remains unproduced. Said at one time Tom Hanks' production company was interested.

[@roberthuot7887]

That would be awesome.

[@bhk5150]

Excellent bio. Better response!

[@unkledoda420]

I think Gronk is a bit big to pass for a deadball era pitcher

[@rsuriyop]

I would've liked the idea of Ernie Brown Jr. (aka "Call of the Wildman") playing Waddell in a bio film. Too bad that he already passed away a few years ago though.

[@cameronhamilton7439]

This video is a perfect example of a gifted athlete not always taking that gift seriously...Fun to watch...

[@dantaylor897]

What a Legend! We need a producer to get this in production quick!

[@StonewallStacks]

Cobb said Waddell at his best was better than any pitcher he ever faced.

[@TheBatugan77]

When Waddell struck out 349 batters in 1904, he bested the 2nd place man by more than 100! Guys didn't strike out then like they do now.

[@garymorris1856]

He was a real character. He probably drove, Connie Mack, (distinguished gentleman of the game), absolutely nuts !

[@larryloveless2967]

Thanks for sharing on KZbin. I only knew of him by name as appearing in the early world series games in the 1900s and was a very good pitcher. What an incredible story how Connie Mack had him kidnapped to eventually get him to pitch for the Philly A's. Cards fan

[@SilverBull30]

The NL officially has a DH :/ Love Deadball era players! Nice stuff bro!

[@MFPhoto1]

Remember that unlike today, pitchers in the past were taught how to throw a full nine innings. Quite unlike today where most starters are expected to go 4-6 innings. They did not waste so many pitches, using 3 or 4 pitches to get a batter out, rather than 6 or more that you see today. They also learned how to pitch without using your complete arsenal until you get to the third time through the lineup. Oddly, pitchers back then were better than what passes for pitching today.

[@terrybrown3224]

Right even in late 70s in college 9 innings was expected as long as we were still effective

[@TheBatugan77]

True all!

[@keithsparling5537]

I did not know! Wow! Some real history! Thank you!

[@jamesolson6669]

DUDE THIS WAS AMAZING!!! Can you make more?!!

[@andrewmoreland1976]

Born on Friday the 13th, & dies on April Fool's Day. How completely fitting! lol

[@SwoteOffical]

holy shit, this is incredible. more please

[@johnmilligan2964]

The early days of baseball had some of the greatest characters. When most players either played on barnstormer teams in the off-season or had regular jobs.

[@braves9652]

I think I just set my own personal best of most back to back to back watched times of a KZbin video. More, please and thank you.

[@amberpaigejames9054]

Good video. I've always loved stories of Rube's antics! This was great; thank you :)

[@PCWorldTV]

I wish hollywood would make a movie about Rube.

[@danr154]

Its like if an alcoholic Huckleberry Finn was a pro pitcher on the side lol.

[@Rushmore222]

The portrait @5:25 looks like Waddell has half a mullet. If anything is certain, it's that if Waddell were playing in the 1980's, he would have worn a mullet.

[@tygrkhat4087]

Add cocaine to the booze? He might not have made it to 27, let alone 37.

[@richardzowie1984]

Rube is buried in San Antonio, Texas.

[@koryblack9267]

This is the 1900’s version of Kenny Powers

[@TommyType1]

Awesome video!!!!

[@bigbensarrowheadchannel2739]

This was great!

[@tomitstube]

great video, especially all the archival pictures and film, you can tell you put a lot of work into this, and it shows. and showing clips of "the great train robbery" 1903 (6:08) while talking about connie mack kidnapping waddell was especially good... 3:38 great picture of the columbus grand rapids 1899, notice how no-one looks directly into the camera, wonder if this was due to the flash or they believed pictures took your soul, which is probably another myth about native americans. problem with players and media of this era is they had no problem choosing to tell a good story rather than the truth. back to the columbus "grand rapids", great research here, this franchise had numerous names and played in several towns, part of the "western league" which would have several reincarnations, and eventually become the american league... the grand rapids rustlers were in columbus one year, 1899, and called numerous names, the columbus buckeyes/senators/grand rapids/furniturem.

[@mickeysanker1547]

I enjoyed the video, very well narrated.

[@brettwright883]

Very well done!

[@treaclecustard]

That was brilliant to watch! I reckon he had full on adhd cos sooooo much was classic textbook- fascinating! (P.s I loved the music, but that's my lifelong passion and it actually helped me to focus on listening to your voice - sums up what my brain is like 24/7....I have adhd) (More people would probably like it a bit lower in the mix I imagine....) Must share!

[@rrondawalters2253]

Keep the DH out of the National League...and get rid of 7 innings double headers and putting a runner on 2nd base to start off an extra inning....that's not baseball! ⚾

[@lloydclaussen3925]

Get rid of 7 inning pitchers

[@RugbyRyan]

My goal in life is to be known as the legendary lefty lunatic

[@Castulos4]

He passed away in San Antonio Texas in the city’s West Side. In a barrio called Prospect Hill

[@me-zb7qm]

Great video. I love how the whole thing is edited like an old movie. I don't know a single thing about baseball but I enjoyed this very much.

[@jimmartin2548]

Comment for the algorithm. Looks like this could be an awesome channel, keep it up man!

[@bren226]

Nice job Keep up the good work More videos dude Please

[@jonnydarkoe9101]

Damn great video..... I love baseball ⚾️

[@KCODacey]

Nicely done. Informative while being entertaining.

[@patrickpilkington6241]

This video was awesome.

[@Musicaxis247]

What a great video

[@esportshighlights2457]

Amazing video.

[@C.Chandler_May]

Well done video!

[@Gravelgratious]

Rube seems to be the only person that recognized an emergency in those days. The fact that nobody went to take Danny Hoffman to the hospital typical to the time. Hoffman would have been the Ray Chapman story if not for Rube. Chapman died because instead of taking quick action, they left him in the dugout(bleeding out his ear from a skull fracture) until the game was over. The tough it out mentality was a real killer in those days.

[@joekeithley1297]

Such an amazing person!! What a great video. There is a band from San Francisco named after him. Best described as hobo punk.

[@stanleycrim]

Great vid, all new nuuz, and greatly appreciated. Having sed that, I kinda doubt he spent any time w/ the Brewers.

[@tababobebe7639]

7:26 As narrated, he actually had 210 K's that season.

[@heyeye81]

Subbed. Great videos

[@MarlinWilliams-ts5ul]

Danny Hoffman was from my hometown. Unfortunately, he is largely forgotten now.

[@darthcheney7447]

Well done. Just learned about the "Rube". Baseball was much more interesting back then.

[@tankwfw]

Greinke sitting on the mound while the grounds crew works. He so quirky and interesting! Rube: Literally gets naked on the field and leaves the game to chase fire engines

[@maverickprospector4396]

I live in prospect PA whear rube grew up most of his childhood and his childhood home is still hear but it's abandoned I think it would be sooooo cool if someone would buy it and make it into a museum about him

[@TheBatugan77]

Do it.

[@disneyforthewin]

great video.....

[@davidbrasfield6720]

This is great

[@danielcorreard3746]

obviously we have a new winner for the most interesting man who ever lived wow what a fun story.

[@billplunk8532]

Got to love Rube.

[@Mel29766]

George Edward "Rube" Waddell is my great great great uncle! I love your video, and could validate/verify information for you if you were interested! Thank you for your interest in my family history! And yes, the insanity is genetic! Hahaha!

[@MFPhoto1]

Insanity is actually a legal, not medical term. The rumor is that Rube was mentally retarded, but I have never seen any conformation on that. He certainly seemed to have a personality disorder of some sort, but that would be for a psychologist to diagnose. I don't believe they had too many of those in the early 20th century. Can you shed light on any of this?

[@TheBatugan77]

😮😯😵

[@javi__...]

This guy was more entertaining than modern day baseball

[@022171]

I want this guy's life.

[@areguapiri]

The folklore grows larger every year.

[@susanmenegus5242]

What a character.

[@sokota6861]

Incredibly great documentary! Is there some type of social media you have that I could follow?

[@chrisrawson6028]

According to baseball-reference, his last game was in 1910, not 1909.

[@TheBatugan77]

SHOVE your baseball reference.

[@scott414b]

Theres a bar here in Spokane, Wa named Waddells, many pictures of his baseball history

[@jodydolphin79]

No kidding I'm in republic, I'll have to make a trip to check it out

[@markeastridge9649]

Both of Rube’s T206 cards have been on my wish list a long time. Could snag both maybe 3-4k graded with good eye appeal VG-EX now.

[@steveswangler6373]

at about the 2:10 mark. "i guess they never heard of pitch counts" no, the pitch count is a new invention that has created many more injuries than it is supposed to have eliminated. pitchers back in the day didnt get hurt near as much as the guys now. AND FOR THE RECORD, THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL 6 INNINGS IS A 'QUALITY START' ESPECIALLY IF YOU GIVE UP 3 EARNED RUNS. this is an observation, not a criticism, but the narrator (or writer if different) does not seem too familiar with the history of baseball

[@johnniemi8012]

You don't have a clue.

[@daBEAGLE1017]

@@johnniemi8012 you never heard of Tommy John Surgery before the 70s. Maybe if TJ pitched in the early 1900s we wouldve had a pitch count. The original comment has a great point (sarcasm). Lol.

[@mookiestylz3638]

john niemi: do u happen to live in Mission, BC? U have the same name as a guy I used to work with.

[@johnniemi8012]

@@mookiestylz3638 No, wasn't me.

[@ryanhenderson1076]

6+ innings and 3 or fewer ER is the literal definition of a quality start. www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Quality_start

[@Steve-Riverwood]

I Denmark we have a footballplayer just like him, his name is Lord Bendtner!

[@user-lj5ef2bv3w]

I like the music soundtrack to this

[@davidhull1481]

I love the as for Scrofula at 12:59- Sarsaparilla apparently works to cure the sore ears!

[@niceguy4875]

Can you imagine what todays media would do to this guy. Great biography keep it up

[@briankoski817]

Gotta make a movie about this dude! It's crazy asf!

[@daBEAGLE1017]

The left would be rioting in front of his house today.

[@michaelcollins8328]

Did you know....his record of 349 strikeouts in 1904 is still the record in the AL for lefties. Even Randy Johnson could not break it.

[@mytg8]

It was the major league record until Koufax broke it.

[@michaelcollins8328]

@@mytg8 But....back in those days, players did not strike out nearly as often. That is what makes the record so incredibly impressive.

[@mytg8]

@@michaelcollins8328 That's correct. It was choke up on their big bats and "hit em where they ain't". Striking out (fanning air) was humiliating, not like it is today.

[@lloydclaussen3925]

I think Mickey Lolich owns that record ,I think

[@lloydclaussen3925]

Nope Mickey had 308 in 70s

[@mistervacation23]

Thats about a 9 on the old tension scale there, Rube.

[@cecilspurlockjr.9421]

DRIVE!!! The man had drive!!!

[@MuddyPoppins]

What was the height of the mound in 1905?

[@jonluzzi3015]

He's from my hometown of Bradford PA

[@253jacksonrhoads1]

Born on Friday the 13th. Died on April Fools Day. Seems very fitting for a person with his quirky foibles.

[@chrisdickey4641]

Charlie Poole on the soundtrack. From Washington to Buffalo. Listen to him after you watch this.

[@MarlinWilliams-ts5ul]

Some fans claim Dead Ball era baseball can be compared to beer league softball today.

[@leahcimolrac1477]

Your videos are great but, if I may offer a criticism, I think sometimes the music and sound effects are a little too loud in the mix. Occasionally I’ll have trouble hearing what you said.

[@jorgeb555]

This seems like a great video, but I can continue watching because the loud background music is too distracting.

[@jorgeb555]

“Can’t”

[@TheBatugan77]

"Cun't"

[@jorgeb555]

@@TheBatugan77 Stay Classy Doosh.

[@dashcamchronicles420]

Is there a version where the background music isn't louder than the narration? Unwatchable, why is the background music so loud?

[@TheBatugan77]

@dashduush I heard it just fine. Turn up your hearing aid, dashy.

[@firebird_spleen4190]

Swampy Boston heat?? 🤣🤣 Louisiana/Texas here

[@keithqueen352]

Florida says your both sissies🤣

[@firebird_spleen4190]

@@keithqueen352 lol 😂 not impressed by the heat there

[@keithqueen352]

@@firebird_spleen4190 what we lack in heat, we MORE than make up for with humidity. I remember a bunch of lineman coming from Amarillo to help with storm restoration in the middle of July and asked us, "how we work like this? This is unbearable !"🤣

[@lakechamp529]

Gronkowski looks like him. I wonder if gronk is an illegitimate grandson.

[@SuperIliad]

One of the hardest things for me to see is the penchant for self-destruction.

[@jodydolphin79]

We can all relate to some extent

[@SuperIliad]

@@jodydolphin79 Oh, so true.

[@boethius9173]

He also left a game once to chase a fire truck down the street.

[@icetraydemartini3963]

I already know the story of Rube. I'm just here for a new presentation 😅. In fairness, in 2022 we got medication for the severe ADHD and other conditions he had.

[@tomservo5347]

It wasn't a simpler time-people had a lot more freedom back then.

[@leftysheppey]

Great video, my only complaint is that the music might be a bit loud at times compared to your voice. Regardless, you've not yourself a new subscriber