Later on I'll be able
to sell you for a lot more, anyway.'
"On opening day, Kansas City was at Indianapolis, and I pitched the
opening game. I won two to one, and that evening the story in the
Indianapolis _Star_ read like this: 'The American Association season
opened up today, and it was a beautiful game between two fine teams.
Each had great pitching, with an eighteen year old right-hander
pitching for Kansas City and an eighteen year old left-hander for the
home team. The right-hander with Kansas City looks like he's going to
develop into a great pitcher. They call him Smoky Joe Wood. But we have
a left-hander with Indianapolis who is going places, too. He resembles
one of the great left-handed pitchers of all time: Rube Waddell.'
"And from that day on, they nicknamed me 'Rube.'
"I had a wonderful season that year with Indianapolis. I pitched
forty-seven complete games, won twenty-eight of them, led the league in
most strikeouts, least hits, most innings pitched, and everything.
Occasionally what I'd do would be reported in the Cleveland papers, and
friends of mine would tell me that they'd pass by the house and see Dad
sitting on the porch.
"'Well, Fred,' they'd say--that was Dad's name, by the way, Fred--'Did
you see what your son Rube did yesterday?'
"'Who are you talking about?' he'd say.
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