The Midget Who Stood Tall

Eddie Gaedel was an American dwarf who became quite famous for participating in a game of Major League Baseball (MLB). He stood 3 feet 7 inches tall and played for the St. Louis Browns during his one game. He was a stunt by the owner of the Browns, Bill Veeck. Along the sidelines, there was a small papier-mache cake that held Eddie. There were two games, back-to-back, and when the first was over, out popped little Eddie in a uniform that had the number 1/8 on the back. The stunt was for a Falstaff Brewery promotion and at the time, they seemed quite annoyed and discouraged that Veeck had come up with this stunt of mockery. It wasn’t like Veeck’s promotional standards, usually Veeck had a dirigible or some other flying craft.

Veeck had hoped that the Browns would beat the Tigers, but that never happened, the Tigers crushed the Browns, six-to-two, but still life went on. The pitcher for the Tigers laughed for at least a minute and told the catcher to sit on his knees. Eddie only recieved $100 dollars for his appearance, but he appeared on numerous television shows and got well over $17,000. The Browns lost, but they were the real winners at heart.

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