Philadelphia Phillies: Eddie Waitkus returns after being shot by deranged fan

70 years ago today, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Eddie Waitkus made his MLB return after being shot by a deranged fan.

In today’s state of the world, we’ll be lucky to see baseball return as the world faces a pandemic. 70 years ago, however, on this date, Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Eddie Waitkus returned to baseball close to a year after being shot by a deranged fan in a Chicago Hotel room.

Waitkus wasn’t one of those players whose name rolled off the tongue with regularity. He was an above-average player on an average team whose career highlights include two All-Star selections and leading the National League in singles in 1950.

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For one fan, however, Waitkus was everything. Having followed him since he returned from 3-years of military service in 1946, Ruth Ann Steinhagen was so obsessed with Waitkus that, according to John Theodore’s “Baseball’s Natural: The Story of Eddie Waitkus,” she created a shrine in his honor in her home and sat across an empty chair at the dinner table, reserved for the first baseman.

On one June evening, after the Phillies had defeated the Cubs in Chicago, Waitkus returned to the Edgewater Beach Hotel to turn down for the night. Earlier, Steinhagen had paid a bellhop $5 ($54 in today’s dollars) to deliver Waitkus a note stating that she “needed” to see him.

According to the New York Times, Mr. Waitkus didn’t receive the note until 11 pm. When he phoned Ms. Steinhagen’s phone, she informed him that he should come in a half an hour as she had gone to bed and would need to get ready.

In that time, Ruth planned on stabbing Waitkus as he entered the room, but that didn’t work. Instead, as Waitkus entered and took a seat, Ruth Ann fetched a .22 caliber and said, “I have a surprise for you,” and shot him.

Ms. Steinhagen would later be committed to a psychiatric hospital where she spent three years before her release. She’d spend the rest of her life in obscurity until her death in 2013.

Eddie Waitkus returned to play for the Philadelphia Phillies on April 18, 1950, going 3-5 with an RBI. By the end of the season, he’d earn the title of comeback player of the year by the Associated Press while also posting career high’s in hits (184) and runs (102).

The story would inspire a popular book and critically acclaimed film starring Robert Redford called “The Natural”.