Page "Cleveland Indians" Paragraph 33

The Indians were a middling team by the 1930s, finishing third or fourth most years.

brought Cleveland a new superstar in 17-year old pitcher Bob Feller, who came from Iowa with a dominating fastball.

That season, Feller set a record with 17 strikeouts in a single game and went on to lead the league in strikeouts from 1938 – 1941.

According to Fundamentals of Physics ( 4 ed., Wiley, 1993 ), by David Halliday, Robert Resnick and Jearl Walker, on page 30, Chapter Two, " Motion along a Straight Line ", Joe Sprinz, at the time in question, a member of the San Francisco Ball Club, and formerly of the Indians, attempted to beat the World Record for catching a baseball dropped from a great height, set by members of the 1938 Cleveland Indians, who had done so at 700 feet, with balls dropped from a building.

On a day in 1939, Sprinz had a blimp hover overhead at 800 feet, from which were to be dropped balls for him to catch.

On his fifth attempt, a baseball entered his glove at what could be estimated to be up to 154 mph.

It slammed his glove hand into his face with such force, that he broke his upper jaw in twelve places, fractured five of his teeth, and was rendered unconscious.

He also dropped the ball.

By, Feller, along with Ken Keltner, Mel Harder and Lou Boudreau led the Indians to within one game of the pennant.

However, the team was wracked with dissension, with some players ( including Feller and Mel Harder ) going so far as to request that Bradley fire manager Ossie Vitt.

Reporters lampooned them as the Cleveland Crybabies.

Feller, who had pitched a no-hitter to open the season and won 27 games, lost the final game of the season to unknown pitcher Floyd Giebell of the Detroit Tigers.

The Tigers won the pennant and Giebell never won another major league game.