Really, all you need to hear about is Ted Williams stepping in for a batting practice session, and almost immediately leaving the cage saying he couldn't see the ball.
Right! Ted's vision was perhaps his greatest attribute as a hitter. If Ted couldn't get a handle on Steve's stuff it must have been electric as all hell.
@@brucewayne3602 i hear there a limited on how fast a human can threw without arm problems,, i hear he threw harder than alot a youny nolan ryan plus a lefty,, sandy kofax had control problem but he took stuff off this fastball & rest is history, still need another pitch
Wonderfully done. I knew of Frank Zupo from his playing days and (especially!) from his being in the 1958 Topps card set. I never knew of his role and devotion with Dalkowski.
absolutely wonderful, yes ... the internet says today's pitch speed is measured 50 feet from home plate - obviously by the time it reaches home plate the speed is decreased meaning what ??? ... re Ted Williams, perhaps the pitch was too high to follow - lol ???
Frank Zupo: Best Unibrow ever! Glad to see he got that somewhat under control in his later years. Frank seems like a decent, stand up guy though. I’m admire him for trying to help out a friend.
This is an amazing and sad story at the same time and needs to be made into a movie/MLB missed out on a great talent that would have been fun to watch.
I was born in New Britain in 1954 and as I began playing ball he was still in the minors and each year the story was, "Is this the year he makes it?" When I started playing fast pitch softball in 1970 one of Dalko's NBHS teammates, Ken Cullum, who had just finished his own minor league career was established veteran player on my team. Himself a terrific hitter Ken also had his issues w/the bottle. He told me stories of he and Steve from NBHS days that curled my teenage hair and this is when the drinking age was 21. Dalko's life was a literal Greek Tragedy but, in the end he was able to go home to NB and have some quality years. I didn't know this movie existed until today and am glad I got to see it.....many familiar names on some of the NB references.
Thank you, Tom, for making this film on Dalko. I met him and Pat in 2009 at the Baseball Reliquary's induction of Steve into "The People's Hall of Fame."
Very sad..I can relate to the addiction..Its a tough thing to shake..I started life one way and ended up struggling with addiction for many years..Im now 51 and sober five years..we can and do recover..
Amen. He needed better coaching. Also, Polish, he should have gone to a Catholic Parochial School. Had Steve learned and believed about Jesus Christ, his downfall would not have occurred. A person’s faith gets them through hard times. People without faith get discouraged and give up. There is nothing in this film that addresses his beliefs in God. Only the opening shot had some church spire.
@@thomaspick4123 Sir this is not true. I was saved and a Christian,,,,,,,, and I fell into drinking and drugs for 20 years. finally I got help and have been sober since 1986. Christians can fall into darkness also. Remember that satan is on this earth also. I Gave back to others by preaching in jails and shelters up till 2 years ago and had to stop due to a stroke and bad heart. But my soul belongs to the Lord God. Blessings to you sir!.
@@thomaspick4123 Many Christians have fallen due to temptation of drugs and drinking, Many believers have gone down the tubes and thru faith got back to normal....also many atheists have dropped and turned things around.
With all due respect to Ron Shelton (who said exactly that, on camera), the opposite is true. Dalkowski received a great deal of coaching, both from the Orioles and from his best friends, on and off the field. If anything, "too much fuss" was made over him, as one of his mentors (Frank McGowan) explained, albeit with perfect hindsight (cf. Dembsky, Thomas, and Vikaden, Dalko [Nashville, TN, 2020], 189). Between being a "bonus baby" and having the velocity of his fastball measured at Aberdeen Proving Ground (1958) as an elaborate publicity stunt to boost ticket sales, Dalkowski was constantly distracted. McGowan insists, no doubt rightly, that he would have been better off "if they just left him alone." Conversely, he benefited from expert instruction in all phases of pitching, from the likes of Harry Brecheen, who believed that S.D. had "the best arm he ever saw" (Dalko, 42), and nurtured him for several years, as did owner Paul Richards, whose faith in him was almost unwavering. Though Brecheen was eventually fired for "developing a string of promising young pitchers" who came down with arm problems (Dalko, 128), that too is hindsight, based on what we now know about pitching mechanics and (thanks to sports medicine) how to treat distressed hurlers. Besides, Dalko's problems weren't due to his mechanics; they resulted from a combination of injuries and intemperance. When he hit the dirt, he hit the bottle, and vice versa. So much so, that in the end, neither Cal Ripken, Sr nor Earl Weaver (who managed Dalko to his best season [Elmira, 1962]) were able to help him. Neither was anyone else, with but a few noble, long-suffering exceptions. That is a sad story. But there are no heroes, no villains, and no convenient scapegoats in it. Just people, and the pain they endure, wandering forever on a barren field of broken dreams.
I'm reading his book "Dalko" now. I recall hearing about this phenom back when I was a boy and how on at least one occasion he was "clocked" at 128 mph. It's unknown how fastballs were measured on the field back in those days without advanced technology , but some of the old timers were clocked by going to a military facility which were able to measure the speed of bullets. At any rate, it was said that he averaged between 110-115 mph right out of high school and into the minors. His problem was control. He couldn't control the rise in his fastball at those speeds. One year in the minors he had 262 strikeouts and 262 walks. It was said that people close to the field could "hear" his pitches, and on more than several occasions he caused wrist injuries to his catchers. He never made it to the majors, but many say that better coaching could have gotten him there, and that he may have made it to the Baseball Hall of Fame. RIP Dalko.
One of the most incredible "What If" personal sports stories of Americana that I never heard until now. It shows that how extremely some talented people can lose their way if that talent goes awry and being unable to handle and adapt to using that talent. The stories of the QB phenom Marinovich and OK running back Marcus Dupree come the closest in never fulfilling their true potential. On the other side of the spectrum is the Greek tragedy of Red Sox star Jimmy Piersall journey of psychological breakdowns and his struggle in finding himself (which in a fashion he found out he was a jerk) even with his bipolar personality.
😢 watching this brings back alot of memories. Virginia was my grandma and I always considered him my grandpa he toght me how to throw a baseball when. I remember one day we were playing with his hats trying to hook him on the hooks on the wall. And that's when he showed me the fast ball.
Nolan Ryan was clocked at home plate throwing a 100.8 mph fastball. If that pitch had been measured out of his hand, like they are today, it is estimated at 108.5 miles per hour. Because of the measuring device, where it was recording, and the entire setup, this is still recognized as the fastest pitch ever in baseball. Steve delkowski was said to throw a little bit harder than Nolan Ryan, but I doubt that it exceeded 110. For those doubting how fast Ryan actually threw. Just know, that the resultant speed on pitch FX is the speed that the ball is traveling around the plate, aka the speed as it would have been recorded in Nolan Ryan's day. This speed for guys like Justin Verlander who used to hit 102, is adjusted to something more like 94 as a resultant speed. Nolan Ryan had pitches between 98 and 101 miles per hour in resultant speed.
@@1981lashlarue No, it was initially recorded at 106.1 & dialed back exactly 1 mph. A Mr. Jordan tied it, last I heard someone not in the majors hit 105.5. Google it!
You misremembered the numbers: it was 100.9, & an estimated 108.1. Given all the information available I do not doubt Dalko hit 110 & more routinely, & had a ceiling around 115. This is not merely due to the seemingly universal opinions about him being easily faster than folks from Ryan-Feller-Johnson... But he was timed at 93.5 mph. Sounds unimpressive right? But TRANSLATED to what we record today-it was measured over the plate when any ball loses around 10% of speed, not within 10' of the pitching rubber & much closer to where the ball was released-it would be 102.5! But that does not consider that he had thrown a typical massive # of pitches via a full game & endless walks & KOs the day before. AND had to throw for 40 minutes just to get a *single* pitch through the apparatus. AND no mound (likely adds 3-5 mph). And on a tarp, absent spiked shoes. And everyone present agreed it was not near his fastest. Add it all up, 110-115 is very plausible!
Fascinating story/life. I never knew of him and I was an avid baseball fan and New Englander. Damn booze, though. I played as a musician for years with some excellent young talent. One, in particular, was an extraordinary guitarist who just couldn't stay away from the bottle and he drank himself to death by the time he was 30. Having seen the results of alcoholism up close in those days, it forever soured me on drinking.
After seeing this, I'm assuming no live footage exists of Steve pitching. If true, that would be a shame. I'd love to see the hitters trying to hit his fastball.
As far as is publicly known, there is no footage of prime Steve pitching. If it exists, it's hiding somewhere, like some old archive footage in a studio vault or some random attic. I hope we find/share it someday, and it doesn't get tossed out when the owner passes away or something and the family has no idea what it is.
Lo recuerdo cuando jugo con los Indios de Mayaguez, P. R. y le dieron de baja ya que daba muchas bases por bola. Luego paso a jugar en la Guayra, Venezuela. DEP
Many of the Orioles in the 60's said he threw harder than Nolan Ryan (100.9, 10 ft from plate) vs today (10 ft out of hand) estimated at 107-108. Earl Weaver said he threw much harder than Ryan. General consensus is he threw at least 110+.
My father Dick Wilson was a hard hitting minor leaguer his last year 1960 he was playing for Bakersfield in California League he faced Dalkowski 7 times in one game in that game Dalkowski struck out 17 and walked 17 my father walked 4 times struck out once on the only breaking ball he saw in that game struck out on a checked swing he hit a ball approximately 420 caught by the center fielder against the fence then he hit a long fly ball to win the game Dalkowski was pitching for the Stockton ports my father's approach to hitting Dalkowski that day was to imagine a rattlesnake coiled up in front of him and to knock off its head he described those swings as the bat getting in the way of the ball But also he said Dalkowski wasn't ALL that wild he just had TOO much the ball would start at your knees and jump up to above strike zone he coupled with high velocity of only he could have got it under control also he said the ball just exploded on you
You do know that PERIODS and COMMAS are allowed in writing, do you not? Your story would be a lot more interesting if your punctuated it for clarity. Just a suggestion.
@@michaelwolf6424, editing is important, too. “… if your punctuated it…” No, it’s: “ … if you punctuated it..” That would be the sentence in need of editing in your post.
@@robertsprouse9282 YOU"RE right. I missed that one. I sometimes miss simple items even AFTER I've edited it. I put the keyboard in my lap and fly along seldom looking at it. Yet, things do get missed. It's called getting old.
My Dad had a friend, who's son was a top pitching prospect, I even had the guys 1970 Topps Rookie card. Alcohol derailed his career. I have a close friend, who set our states Batting record .620+ BA. He was a 2nd round draft choice, out of High School. Won the Rookie League Batting Championship. I saw him blow his hamstring in a AAA game in my hometown. Alcohol derailed his promising career too. (my friend did make it into 6 MLB games.) Who knows what might have been?
If only Dalkowski could have hung in there and overcome his injury. On the bright side, Dave McNally made the roster in 1963 and he turned out real good for the Birds. With the exception of Pappas, the rest of the Kiddie Korps pitchers all had arm troubles but the Orioles pitching staff persevered nonetheless.
I faced 2 guys in high school that made the "show" .....................Hell; a 95mph fastball makes a sound thru the air...................I cannot imagine what a 105mph+ fastball sounds like.
I vividly remember Steve Dalkowski, and the comparisons that were made (at the time) between him and (e.g.) Ryne Duren, Sam McDowell, Sandy Koufax, and several others. However, to the best of my knowledge, Lou Brock (who is interviewed in the film, at 5:13--5:25) never batted against Dalkowski. His only opportunity to do so would have been in 1961, when Brock played for St. Cloud in the Northern League. By then, Dalkowski was no longer pitching for Aberdeen, but had joined the Tri-City Atoms in the Northwest League. The following year, Brock was a rookie with the Cubs, destined never to return to the minors. Nor did their paths cross in spring training, since the Cubs trained in Arizona, the Orioles in Florida. Likewise, Brock wasn't traded to the Cardinals until mid-season of 1964, by which time any chance of encountering Dalkowski on the field had vanished. Yet Brock, who died just a few months after Dalkowski's death in 2020, seems to recall an incident in which Dalkowski threw him a terrifying pitch that Brock "never saw," although it "hit the peak of my cap and spun it around," nearly killing him. As Brock relates, "my brains could have been scrambled eggs, right there at home plate." No doubt it happened at some point in Brock's Hall of Fame career, but I suspect that someone else threw Brock that particular fast ball, and that his memory became a bit scrambled, as is all but inevitable with the advent of old age. That is how legends are created, even as myths outlast time, and transcend truth.
Yes, I was alluding to that famous film (1962, dir. John Ford). Incidentally, it is barely possible that Brock was thinking of McDowell, whom he might have faced once or twice in spring training (1962-64) when Brock was a newborn Cub, and "Sudden Sam" was a rookie with the Cleveland Indians (as they were known then), since both teams trained in Arizona, as did the Orioles prior to 1959, when they moved their facilities to Florida. McDowell played in Salt Lake City until he made it with the parent club in 1964, but in that year, Brock wasn't traded to the Cardinals until June 15, so they might have been adversaries in the Cactus League, now and again. Since McDowell wrote the foreword to the new biography of SD (Bill Dembsky, Alex Thomas, Brian Vikander, Dalko [Nashville, TN: Influence Publishers, 2020], that is only fitting. Both pitchers struck fear into batter's hearts, as did Herb Score, before Gil McDougald's line drive in 1967 turned the tables on yet another southpaw who seemed destined for greatness, only to fall victim to blind fate.
Earlier in the film when talking about him throwing the ball through the fence, the person being interviewed said he did so without even warming up. When you read the newspaper article they show about the same incident, it clearly states he did warm up before the throw...
@@1981lashlarue I'm sorry, but I don't see what that has to do with (not) facing Lou Brock. Also, what does "throwing the ball through the pitch" mean? Please explain. Regards, D.
@@dennisrohatyn7782 I meant to say "throwing the ball through the fence." It was an error. I have corrected it. I never said it had anything to do with him not facing Lou Brock. Memories, especially when retelling stories that happened years ago, often get lost in the shuffle of time, misremembered, or exaggerated. That's all I was trying to say and it appeared you were saying something similar in an attempt to explain Brock's apparent errant storytelling. As the legend grew about Dakowlski, no doubt others stories and memories of him grew with it. Just like the contradiction I pointed out in the documentary with the fence incident. How did Pete Rose get the nickname Charlie Hustle? Listen to Rose's version and Mickey Mantle's version of it sometime in recorded interviews. The are diametrically opposed. Rose claims it's because he won the game on a sac fly scoring from second. Mantle says it's when he hit a towering, 500-ft plus homerun that was still rising and Rose was still climbing the fence trying to catch it anyway. They even both named different Florida cities the game happened in. The only agreement between the two was that it occurred during spring training in his rookie year of 1963. It just shows how unreliable eye witness accounts and anecdotal evidence can be.
@@PInk77W1 i hear stories about him before , before my time too,, sandy koufax had control problems,, too, he just took speed off his fastball, plus sandy koufax had legendary curve ball., it about being a lefty, randy johnson had control problems too
We appreciate all of the comments. GHTBL Vice President, Andy Baylock (at 11:16) was Steve Dalkowski catcher at New Britain High School. We have one correction for this video. Dalkowski had 24 strikeouts in a nine inning game. Yes, but it wasn’t the record because GHTBL Hall of Famer Johnny “Schoolboy” Taylor had 25 strikeouts in a nine inning game on June 2, 1933, for Bulkeley High School against none other than New Britain High School. It’s still a state (Connecticut) record.
He was the “Wild thing!” From the movie, Major Leagues. Did they have a speed gun in those days? I wonder if he threw 100+ mph? According to one of the newspapers in the background , Apparently he threw only 85mph. Today kids throw 100, no sweat. But also, today he would have had surgery, maybe Tommy John type orthopedic surgery, and he could have continued his career. In the 60s, Sandy Koufax, of the Dodgers, had to end his career early too due to an arm injury. But before that he was able to enjoy extensive success in the majors. He has been able to stay around the game working in the Dodgers organization. I believe he has lived a normal retirement.
85? Impossible. Guys who throw 85 don't average 2 K's/inning like he did. Earl Weaver doesn't say guys who throw 85 have more ability than anybody's he ever seen.
I thought they said that Ryne Duren was the inspiration for “Wild Thing” in “Major League” and that Steve was inspiration for “Nuke Laloosh” in “Bull Durham.”
I also don't tend to believe the "110 mph" stuff (likely only a few hit 100 back then)... but 85 though? I imagine him more as a 'wild' version of Billy Wagner: a shorter guy who can hit 100-101-102 but Steve didn't have the control Wagner did, and threw more over-the-top. Since he threw way harder than others back then, and today the benchmark is 105, I think that's where this fabled "110-115" comes from.... but it was likely more like 100-103, which is still incredible for a 5'11 pitcher in the early-1960s. Also likely why his arm gave out so young - just too much for the arm to take. He was likely never going to have a long career, no matter if he made the MLB....
Quite a story, but someday, all of this will cost me a lot of money. Hoping to finish the 1963 LA Dodgers (Topps) team set, and I want to include card #496 that has Jack Smith on it. Coincidentally, that card also has Dalkowski on it..................I couldn't figure out why this card was demanding such high prices!
@@davidkurvach3993 LOL Boy....you got that right!! Don't think I'll ever be able to justify buying that one! Another (less) expensive coincidence.....1962 # 594 has Doug Camilli, but unfortunately also Bob Uecker
I read The Sporting News voraciously as a kid and I vaguely remember Dalkowski references. I also remember Greg Arnold another pitcher that I believe was one of what they called "bonus babies" when they signed for big money. Seems to be some hybrid of both these guys in " Bull Durham" from what I read. I vividly remember a picture in The Sporting News, I swear, of Greg Arnold with Jim Palmer on one side and another player on the other. Palmer was sent to Class A Miami cause he had some arm trouble really early in his career. Wow, got curious and found the photo. The other guy is Marcelino Lopez, a lefty. Read Shelton's book on the the making of "Bull Durham" where he says Dalkowski threw a ball so hard it blew a hole in the steel netting behind home plate of a minor league park. He also said he went to the same old park and actually found that the hole was real and still there! Thanks for this well researched story on Steve cause it filled in most of what I had not known.
you'd think with an arm like that, someone would have recorded him pitching. his story is similar to sandy koufax, who struggled for years before finding the strike zone, who wanted to quit, then putting together a 5 year run that's legendary. crazy numbers tho, 20 strike outs, 13 walks in one game. 313 strike outs in 154 innings, slightly better than 2 every inning. striking out 24 in one game, and they somehow got 2 hits? talk about dominating.
True, but here's the difference: Sandy Koufax had a mentor who told him "You're throwing the ball too hard, ease up a little and you'll STILL blow the ball by hitters". His mentor was his catcher Norm Sherry.
Rip steve discovered this guy on the documentary called fastball such a shame what happened to this guy hardest throwing pitcher of all time they say people who played with him say he prob woukd own all the fastest pitching records to this day prob 107 mph 108 maybe
Awesome, Mr. Travers... funny. The friggin' Mets gave up Nolan Ryan as they thought HE was wild! Who knows what Dalkowski could have done if the O's had brought him up! Oh man, if they did, there'd be no Amazin' Mets in '69! What team were you affiliated with, Sir?
WHOA! The team 2nd to the friggin' Yankees in WS rings. I feel it's still an incredible accomplishment that you made it that far! I was a few years after Title IX, couldn't even play Little League even though I could kick the boy's butts! Thank you for sharing this. ✌❤🍕
Born In A Pickle Some folks are born on third base while others enter life in the middle of a run-down between first and second. Steve Dalkowski belongs to the latter group. Dalkowski, acclaimed by many as the fastest pitcher ever by such baseball luminaries as Earl Weaver, Ted Williams and Ted’s 1946 World Series nemesis, Harry “The Cat” Brecheen, never made it out of the Baltimore Orioles farm system. Never-the-less legends abound about this six foot, 180 pound left hander from New Britain, Connecticut. Some of the most repeated tales are: Dalkowski’s fastball, from first pitch to last, hovered between 100 to 105 miles per hour, that one of his pitches tore the ear off a batter during his first year in the minors; that his fastball broke an umpire’s mask in three places; that on a bet fired a ball through an outfield’s wooden fence and then threw another ball over the same fence from 440 feet away. Bob Lemon has been quoted that he saw a game where a Dalkowski’s pitch hit a fan waiting in line at the hot dog stand and later saw that fan ask Dalkowski to autograph it. We do know that he struck out future Yankee, Joe Pepitone five times in the same game and newly minted bonus baby, Rick Monday, four times. It’s been written that after each Monday strikeout Dalkowski was heard to mutter, “$104,000 my ass!” Many have said that the character Nuke LaLoosh in the film Bull Durham was created with Dalkowski in mind. Countless theories have been offered why Dalkowski never made it to the majors, perhaps the best being Pat Jordan’s award winning piece, “Going Nowhere Fast” where he describes Dalkowski’s life with alcohol as a portrait in melancholia. It is so utterly apropos that after finally finding the strike zone and about to make the Orioles’ roster, Dalkowski should blow his arm out throwing to first base to get Jim Bouton whose claim to fame (some say shame) is for writing a tell-all book titled, “Ball Four.” My one and only knee-knocking encounter with Steve Dalkowski was during the first Eisenhower administration when he and his New Britain High School Hurricanes came to Dillon Stadium to play the Hartford High Owls of which I was a member. Hartford at that time had three high schools: Bulkeley High whose most famous alum is Edward Bennett Williams once owner of the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Redskins, Weaver High where guard Johnny Egan played before going onto Providence College, the Pistons and the LA Lakers and Hartford High, the second oldest public high school in America ( it sure looked it.) whose most noted graduate is Lindy Remigino, the Helsinki Olympic Gold Medal winner in the 100 meter dash. Hartford is also home to Trinity College whose two best known athletes remain Charlie Sticka, a 2000 + yard running back who played in the East/West Shrine Game and was drafted by the 49ers and Moe Drabowsky who still holds the World Series record for strikeouts by a relief pitcher. Drabowsky, enjoyed driving curmudgeon Earl Weaver crazy by ordering pizza to be delivered to the bullpen and by imitating Weaver voice and ordering different pitchers to warm up. But the most beloved of all Trinity athletes by those of us who lived in the Frog Hollow section of the city was an unnamed sub on one of Coach Ray Oosting’s poorer hoop teams. In a game against the Lord Jeffs of Amherst College, Oosting with the game out of hand, finally signaled to the end of the bench for the last player to “Get in there.” What happened next will be remembered forever. With the Amherst players sprinting to defend their basket, the ball was in-bounded to the still nameless player who took a look at Oosting, saw the Lord Jeffs a full court away, did a 180 and put the ball in the Trinity basket. He then acted like he had just scored the winning hoop in the N.I.T. championship game before quickly exiting stage left. The rumor ran that after graduation he took a job writing for Steve Allen’s Tonight Show. All this occurred years after Jim Murray graduated and left for California and literary fame and years before columnist George Will arrived on the Hilltoppers’ campus. Will once reasoned that baseball proves the existence of God. He must have had Dalkowski in mind because there were no atheists in the batter’s box when he was on the mound. On that spring day, when the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn and the Giants still played in the Polo Grounds and the heated argument raged, “Who’s better, Snider, Mantle or Mays?,”Steve Dalkowski arrived at Dillon Stadium with his Hurricane teammates, followed by a bevy of scouts. Word quickly spread like wild fire that this Dalkowski kid was faster than Feller, but even scarier - possessed a focus like Red Skelton’s Freddie the Freeloader. “Coach, I don’t feel so good” quickly became the Owls’ game face. Keeping with the story’s motif, I guess a sub-title could be, “Moaning Becomes Electra.” My greatest fear was that Dalkowski would play God and remove one of my ribs and give it to Joan Joyce who would probably use it to set a record in the boomerang. You know Joan Joyce, a.k.a. St. Joan of Bark, the fast-pitch pitcher who struck out Ted Williams and Hank Aaron. So how did a group of seventeen year olds whose fondest wish was to see eighteen so as to become legal drinkers in New York City handle getting into the batter’s box to face Connecticut’s version of Stevie Wonder? We blessed ourselves, Baptists included, said a prayer, grabbed a bat, mentally kissed our mamas goodbye and somehow faced upped to one of life’s great uncertainties, but I got to tell you some of us did lose bowel control. There after, when that doorbell rings and the question is posed, “Brother, have you ever had a life changing religious experience?” My response is always “Why yes Brother, I batted against Steve Dalkowski - - five times!” Steve’s stats that day, 18 Ks, 18 walks, 5 hit batsmen - yours truly included. Epilogue: Recently it’s been reported that Steve’s former catcher Frank Zupo and Steve’s sister, Pat, convinced him to enter New Britain’s Walnut Hill Health Centre where, after many unsuccessful attempts, sobriety has been achieved. Here’s hoping Steve’s finally out of that pickle. Matt Hart Retired after teaching and coaching for 38 years in Trenton
@dRATS it’s just a damn lie. Addicts don’t live life to the fullest. Addicts are fools who destroy their life. Pretending addicts live their lives to the fullest doesn’t help addicts. You are ignorant.
Until this video, I had not heard of this fellow. May his soul R.I.P. Great story. Amazing he lived that long.
Best thing I have seen on TH-cam in a while. Thank you.
I heard about him in the 1990's. There was an umpire who saw Dalkowski pitch and said he threw harder then Ryan and Johnson.
I believe that was Doug Harvey. He was umpiring in the California League back then.
Really, all you need to hear about is Ted Williams stepping in for a batting practice session, and almost immediately leaving the cage saying he couldn't see the ball.
Right! Ted's vision was perhaps his greatest attribute as a hitter. If Ted couldn't get a handle on Steve's stuff it must have been electric as all hell.
Original 110 mph pitches
@@lloydkline1518 perhaps more ... wish we could verify !!!
@@brucewayne3602 i hear there a limited on how fast a human can threw without arm problems,, i hear he threw harder than alot a youny nolan ryan plus a lefty,, sandy kofax had control problem but he took stuff off this fastball & rest is history, still need another pitch
But is that true? It was shown here in this video on a list of myths.
I haven't thought of Earl or Cal Sr for many years. It was nice to see them both talking again. Nice to see Earl not yelling for a change.
Turn up the volume..
Wonderfully done.
I knew of Frank Zupo from his playing days and (especially!) from his being in the 1958 Topps card set. I never knew of his role and devotion with Dalkowski.
absolutely wonderful, yes ... the internet says today's pitch speed is measured 50 feet from home plate - obviously by the time it reaches home plate the speed is decreased meaning what ??? ... re Ted Williams, perhaps the pitch was too high to follow - lol ???
My dad named the family dog Zoop after Zupo because that card. He just liked the name. The dog's nickname was "noodles".
@@TheTicktockman321 LOVE IT!!! :-)
Frank Zupo: Best Unibrow ever! Glad to see he got that somewhat under control in his later years. Frank seems like a decent, stand up guy though. I’m admire him for trying to help out a friend.
I knew of Dalkowski but not nearly this in depth. Nicely done.
This is an amazing and sad story at the same time and needs to be made into a movie/MLB missed out on a great talent that would have been fun to watch.
I was born in New Britain in 1954 and as I began playing ball he was still in the minors and each year the story was, "Is this the year he makes it?" When I started playing fast pitch softball in 1970 one of Dalko's NBHS teammates, Ken Cullum, who had just finished his own minor league career was established veteran player on my team. Himself a terrific hitter Ken also had his issues w/the bottle. He told me stories of he and Steve from NBHS days that curled my teenage hair and this is when the drinking age was 21. Dalko's life was a literal Greek Tragedy but, in the end he was able to go home to NB and have some quality years. I didn't know this movie existed until today and am glad I got to see it.....many familiar names on some of the NB references.
Jim TY for the story sir.
Great story. Thanks for this.
What a nice piece. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Tom, for making this film on Dalko. I met him and Pat in 2009 at the Baseball Reliquary's induction of Steve into "The People's Hall of Fame."
Amazing story - very glad I found this video.
This was outstanding. Well done!
Very sad..I can relate to the addiction..Its a tough thing to shake..I started life one way and ended up struggling with addiction for many years..Im now 51 and sober five years..we can and do recover..
Thanks for your comment and glad you're doing well.
Imagine if he played today with today's medical technology and pitching training
No Tommy John surgery back then.
@@scott7377 I know I meant if he played today he would have access to Tommy John surgery.
don't forget the enhancement drugs used today.
The one guy said it all. Dalkowski was never properly coached in all phases of his life. Sad story.
Amen. He needed better coaching. Also, Polish, he should have gone to a Catholic Parochial School. Had Steve learned and believed about Jesus Christ, his downfall would not have occurred. A person’s faith gets them through hard times. People without faith get discouraged and give up. There is nothing in this film that addresses his beliefs in God. Only the opening shot had some church spire.
@@thomaspick4123 Sir this is not true. I was saved and a Christian,,,,,,,, and I fell into drinking and drugs for 20 years. finally I got help and have been sober since 1986. Christians can fall into darkness also. Remember that satan is on this earth also. I Gave back to others by preaching in jails and shelters up till 2 years ago and had to stop due to a stroke and bad heart. But my soul belongs to the Lord God. Blessings to you sir!.
@@thomaspick4123 Many Christians have fallen due to temptation of drugs and drinking, Many believers have gone down the tubes and thru faith got back to normal....also many atheists have dropped and turned things around.
With all due respect to Ron Shelton (who said exactly that, on camera), the opposite is true.
Dalkowski received a great deal of coaching, both from the Orioles and from his best friends,
on and off the field. If anything, "too much fuss" was made over him, as one of his mentors
(Frank McGowan) explained, albeit with perfect hindsight (cf. Dembsky, Thomas, and Vikaden,
Dalko [Nashville, TN, 2020], 189). Between being a "bonus baby" and having the velocity of his
fastball measured at Aberdeen Proving Ground (1958) as an elaborate publicity stunt to boost
ticket sales, Dalkowski was constantly distracted. McGowan insists, no doubt rightly, that he
would have been better off "if they just left him alone." Conversely, he benefited from expert
instruction in all phases of pitching, from the likes of Harry Brecheen, who believed that S.D.
had "the best arm he ever saw" (Dalko, 42), and nurtured him for several years, as did owner
Paul Richards, whose faith in him was almost unwavering. Though Brecheen was eventually
fired for "developing a string of promising young pitchers" who came down with arm problems
(Dalko, 128), that too is hindsight, based on what we now know about pitching mechanics and
(thanks to sports medicine) how to treat distressed hurlers. Besides, Dalko's problems weren't
due to his mechanics; they resulted from a combination of injuries and intemperance. When he
hit the dirt, he hit the bottle, and vice versa. So much so, that in the end, neither Cal Ripken, Sr
nor Earl Weaver (who managed Dalko to his best season [Elmira, 1962]) were able to help him.
Neither was anyone else, with but a few noble, long-suffering exceptions. That is a sad story.
But there are no heroes, no villains, and no convenient scapegoats in it. Just people, and the
pain they endure, wandering forever on a barren field of broken dreams.
I'm reading his book "Dalko" now. I recall hearing about this phenom back when I was a boy and how on at least one occasion he was "clocked" at 128 mph. It's unknown how fastballs were measured on the field back in those days without advanced technology , but some of the old timers were clocked by going to a military facility which were able to measure the speed of bullets. At any rate, it was said that he averaged between 110-115 mph right out of high school and into the minors. His problem was control. He couldn't control the rise in his fastball at those speeds. One year in the minors he had 262 strikeouts and 262 walks. It was said that people close to the field could "hear" his pitches, and on more than several occasions he caused wrist injuries to his catchers. He never made it to the majors, but many say that better coaching could have gotten him there, and that he may have made it to the Baseball Hall of Fame. RIP Dalko.
Interesting comment, thank you
Thanks for sharing. Bought the book but need to read it.
truly incredible ... forever fascinating ... Bless you Steve !!!
There's no way he threw the ball that fast. Maybe 102 mph.
@@JoeGunn84 would have to agree but the world may never know
Steve Dalkowsky 🌟 R.I.P. 🌟
He had at least one true friend. Frank Zuppo. Bless him.
One of the most incredible "What If" personal sports stories of Americana that I never heard until now. It shows that how extremely some talented people can lose their way if that talent goes awry and being unable to handle and adapt to using that talent.
The stories of the QB phenom Marinovich and OK running back Marcus Dupree come the closest in never fulfilling their true potential. On the other side of the spectrum is the Greek tragedy of Red Sox star Jimmy Piersall journey of psychological breakdowns and his struggle in finding himself (which in a fashion he found out he was a jerk) even with his bipolar personality.
😢 watching this brings back alot of memories. Virginia was my grandma and I always considered him my grandpa he toght me how to throw a baseball when. I remember one day we were playing with his hats trying to hook him on the hooks on the wall. And that's when he showed me the fast ball.
truly wonderfully sad & incredible ... wow, wish we could ask Ted Williams today !!!
Lots of hitters know about him,, sandy koufax tiook speed off his fastball
@@lloydkline1518 absolutely ... baseball with the endless & incredible memories !!!
Nolan Ryan was clocked at home plate throwing a 100.8 mph fastball. If that pitch had been measured out of his hand, like they are today, it is estimated at 108.5 miles per hour. Because of the measuring device, where it was recording, and the entire setup, this is still recognized as the fastest pitch ever in baseball.
Steve delkowski was said to throw a little bit harder than Nolan Ryan, but I doubt that it exceeded 110.
For those doubting how fast Ryan actually threw. Just know, that the resultant speed on pitch FX is the speed that the ball is traveling around the plate, aka the speed as it would have been recorded in Nolan Ryan's day. This speed for guys like Justin Verlander who used to hit 102, is adjusted to something more like 94 as a resultant speed. Nolan Ryan had pitches between 98 and 101 miles per hour in resultant speed.
MLB recognizes Aroldis Chapman's 106 mph pitch as the fastest ever.
Ya, Dalko supposedly threw so hard he ripped a guy's ear off. What do you do when Ted Effing Williams says "I hope I never see him again."??
@@1981lashlarue No, it was initially recorded at 106.1 & dialed back exactly 1 mph. A Mr. Jordan tied it, last I heard someone not in the majors hit 105.5. Google it!
You misremembered the numbers: it was 100.9, & an estimated 108.1.
Given all the information available I do not doubt Dalko hit 110 & more routinely, & had a ceiling around 115. This is not merely due to the seemingly universal opinions about him being easily faster than folks from Ryan-Feller-Johnson...
But he was timed at 93.5 mph.
Sounds unimpressive right?
But TRANSLATED to what we record today-it was measured over the plate when any ball loses around 10% of speed, not within 10' of the pitching rubber & much closer to where the ball was released-it would be 102.5!
But that does not consider that he had thrown a typical massive # of pitches via a full game & endless walks & KOs the day before.
AND had to throw for 40 minutes just to get a *single* pitch through the apparatus.
AND no mound (likely adds 3-5 mph).
And on a tarp, absent spiked shoes.
And everyone present agreed it was not near his fastest.
Add it all up, 110-115 is very plausible!
I remember Dalko and that early O's pitching staff they developed in the mid 60's. Ryan had his control problems early in his career too.
Sandy koufax, randy johnson,
Walnut Hill Park was jammed with traffic just to see him pitch.
Shame that there wasn’t a single piece of footage of him pitching
Fascinating story/life. I never knew of him and I was an avid baseball fan and New Englander. Damn booze, though. I played as a musician for years with some excellent young talent. One, in particular, was an extraordinary guitarist who just couldn't stay away from the bottle and he drank himself to death by the time he was 30. Having seen the results of alcoholism up close in those days, it forever soured me on drinking.
He was a drunkard.
Yeah, just look at Hank Williams.
@@mungous1000 Yes, sadly, the list is long for both alcoholics and drug addicts...they're both scourges.
What was Zupo and him doing playing in Stockton?
After seeing this, I'm assuming no live footage exists of Steve pitching. If true, that would be a shame. I'd love to see the hitters trying to hit his fastball.
As far as is publicly known, there is no footage of prime Steve pitching. If it exists, it's hiding somewhere, like some old archive footage in a studio vault or some random attic. I hope we find/share it someday, and it doesn't get tossed out when the owner passes away or something and the family has no idea what it is.
Those eyebrows at 16:20! Scarier than Dalkowski's fastball.
Thank you, Professor, for providing this intriguing subject matter.
The fact that he lived till the age of 80 after decades of alcoholism and homelessness is an impressive feat.
He looks like Pete from Ghosts without the arrow in his beck.
I remember Boog Powell and Earl Weaver discussing him. Pat Gillick played with him also. His drinking was out of control!
Lo recuerdo cuando jugo con los Indios de Mayaguez, P. R. y le dieron de baja ya que daba muchas bases por bola. Luego paso a jugar en la Guayra, Venezuela. DEP
Many of the Orioles in the 60's said he threw harder than Nolan Ryan (100.9, 10 ft from plate) vs today (10 ft out of hand) estimated at 107-108. Earl Weaver said he threw much harder than Ryan. General consensus is he threw at least 110+.
My father Dick Wilson was a hard hitting minor leaguer his last year 1960 he was playing for Bakersfield in California League he faced Dalkowski 7 times in one game in that game Dalkowski struck out 17 and walked 17 my father walked 4 times struck out once on the only breaking ball he saw in that game struck out on a checked swing he hit a ball approximately 420 caught by the center fielder against the fence then he hit a long fly ball to win the game Dalkowski was pitching for the Stockton ports my father's approach to hitting Dalkowski that day was to imagine a rattlesnake coiled up in front of him and to knock off its head he described those swings as the bat getting in the way of the ball But also he said Dalkowski wasn't ALL that wild he just had TOO much the ball would start at your knees and jump up to above strike zone he coupled with high velocity of only he could have got it under control also he said the ball just exploded on you
You do know that PERIODS and COMMAS are allowed in writing, do you not? Your story would be a lot more interesting if your punctuated it for clarity. Just a suggestion.
@@michaelwolf6424, editing is important, too.
“… if your punctuated it…”
No, it’s: “ … if you punctuated it..”
That would be the sentence in need of editing in your post.
@@robertsprouse9282 YOU"RE right. I missed that one. I sometimes miss simple items even AFTER I've edited it. I put the keyboard in my lap and fly along seldom looking at it. Yet, things do get missed. It's called getting old.
@@michaelwolf6424 , I know the bleepin feeling..
oh..quotation marks instead of an apostrophe on YOU’RE, not YOU’’RE..
Just trying to help..
Excellent!
My Dad had a friend, who's son was a top pitching prospect, I even had the guys 1970 Topps Rookie card. Alcohol derailed his career. I have a close friend, who set our states Batting record .620+ BA. He was a 2nd round draft choice, out of High School. Won the Rookie League Batting Championship. I saw him blow his hamstring in a AAA game in my hometown. Alcohol derailed his promising career too. (my friend did make it into 6 MLB games.) Who knows what might have been?
Beautiful
Very well done
If only Dalkowski could have hung in there and overcome his injury. On the bright side, Dave McNally made the roster in 1963 and he turned out real good for the Birds. With the exception of Pappas, the rest of the Kiddie Korps pitchers all had arm troubles but the Orioles pitching staff persevered nonetheless.
I faced 2 guys in high school that made the "show" .....................Hell; a 95mph fastball makes a sound thru the air...................I cannot imagine what a 105mph+ fastball sounds like.
I vividly remember Steve Dalkowski, and the comparisons that were made (at the time) between him
and (e.g.) Ryne Duren, Sam McDowell, Sandy Koufax, and several others. However, to the best of my
knowledge, Lou Brock (who is interviewed in the film, at 5:13--5:25) never batted against Dalkowski.
His only opportunity to do so would have been in 1961, when Brock played for St. Cloud in the Northern
League. By then, Dalkowski was no longer pitching for Aberdeen, but had joined the Tri-City Atoms in the
Northwest League. The following year, Brock was a rookie with the Cubs, destined never to return to the
minors. Nor did their paths cross in spring training, since the Cubs trained in Arizona, the Orioles in
Florida. Likewise, Brock wasn't traded to the Cardinals until mid-season of 1964, by which time any
chance of encountering Dalkowski on the field had vanished. Yet Brock, who died just a few months
after Dalkowski's death in 2020, seems to recall an incident in which Dalkowski threw him a terrifying
pitch that Brock "never saw," although it "hit the peak of my cap and spun it around," nearly killing him.
As Brock relates, "my brains could have been scrambled eggs, right there at home plate." No doubt it
happened at some point in Brock's Hall of Fame career, but I suspect that someone else threw Brock
that particular fast ball, and that his memory became a bit scrambled, as is all but inevitable with the
advent of old age. That is how legends are created, even as myths outlast time, and transcend truth.
When the legend becomes fact...print the legend. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Yes, I was alluding to that famous film (1962, dir. John Ford). Incidentally, it is barely
possible that Brock was thinking of McDowell, whom he might have faced once or twice
in spring training (1962-64) when Brock was a newborn Cub, and "Sudden Sam" was a
rookie with the Cleveland Indians (as they were known then), since both teams trained
in Arizona, as did the Orioles prior to 1959, when they moved their facilities to Florida.
McDowell played in Salt Lake City until he made it with the parent club in 1964, but in
that year, Brock wasn't traded to the Cardinals until June 15, so they might have been
adversaries in the Cactus League, now and again. Since McDowell wrote the foreword
to the new biography of SD (Bill Dembsky, Alex Thomas, Brian Vikander, Dalko [Nashville,
TN: Influence Publishers, 2020], that is only fitting. Both pitchers struck fear into batter's
hearts, as did Herb Score, before Gil McDougald's line drive in 1967 turned the tables on
yet another southpaw who seemed destined for greatness, only to fall victim to blind fate.
Earlier in the film when talking about him throwing the ball through the fence, the person being interviewed said he did so without even warming up. When you read the newspaper article they show about the same incident, it clearly states he did warm up before the throw...
@@1981lashlarue I'm sorry, but I don't see what that has to do with (not) facing Lou Brock.
Also, what does "throwing the ball through the pitch" mean? Please explain. Regards, D.
@@dennisrohatyn7782 I meant to say "throwing the ball through the fence." It was an error. I have corrected it.
I never said it had anything to do with him not facing Lou Brock. Memories, especially when retelling stories that happened years ago, often get lost in the shuffle of time, misremembered, or exaggerated. That's all I was trying to say and it appeared you were saying something similar in an attempt to explain Brock's apparent errant storytelling. As the legend grew about Dakowlski, no doubt others stories and memories of him grew with it. Just like the contradiction I pointed out in the documentary with the fence incident.
How did Pete Rose get the nickname Charlie Hustle? Listen to Rose's version and Mickey Mantle's version of it sometime in recorded interviews. The are diametrically opposed. Rose claims it's because he won the game on a sac fly scoring from second. Mantle says it's when he hit a towering, 500-ft plus homerun that was still rising and Rose was still climbing the fence trying to catch it anyway. They even both named different Florida cities the game happened in. The only agreement between the two was that it occurred during spring training in his rookie year of 1963. It just shows how unreliable eye witness accounts and anecdotal evidence can be.
Interesting that there was no film on him. It's not like he played during the 20's or 30's. Would have love to watch him throw a baseball
It also takes skill to be consistent. Throwing the ball in the same spot. That is a hard thing to do and why so few make it to the Majors .
the fastest ever. respect for the LEGEND.
Drunks don’t get respect.
5:30 if there ever was a mobsters role in films, this gentleman would be PERFECT! 😂
Earl Weaver said he was much faster than Nolan Ryan.
Nolan was wild too
@@PInk77W1 his guy was a lefty like sandy koufax
@@lloydkline1518 yeah. A little before my time.
I was a huge dodger fan from 1972 on.
My older brother told me much about
Koufax
@@PInk77W1 i hear stories about him before , before my time too,, sandy koufax had control problems,, too, he just took speed off his fastball, plus sandy koufax had legendary curve ball., it about being a lefty, randy johnson had control problems too
@@lloydkline1518
Johnson was 6’10
That’s crazy. LoL
My first game I ever attended was
Dodgers v Mets
Claude Osteen v Jerry Koosman
We appreciate all of the comments. GHTBL Vice President, Andy Baylock (at 11:16) was Steve Dalkowski catcher at New Britain High School.
We have one correction for this video. Dalkowski had 24 strikeouts in a nine inning game. Yes, but it wasn’t the record because GHTBL Hall of Famer Johnny “Schoolboy” Taylor had 25 strikeouts in a nine inning game on June 2, 1933, for Bulkeley High School against none other than New Britain High School. It’s still a state (Connecticut) record.
Minor league baseball players are professionals.
He was the “Wild thing!” From the movie, Major Leagues. Did they have a speed gun in those days? I wonder if he threw 100+ mph? According to one of the newspapers in the background , Apparently he threw only 85mph. Today kids throw 100, no sweat. But also, today he would have had surgery, maybe Tommy John type orthopedic surgery, and he could have continued his career. In the 60s, Sandy Koufax, of the Dodgers, had to end his career early too due to an arm injury. But before that he was able to enjoy extensive success in the majors. He has been able to stay around the game working in the Dodgers organization. I believe he has lived a normal retirement.
85? Impossible. Guys who throw 85 don't average 2 K's/inning like he did. Earl Weaver doesn't say guys who throw 85 have more ability than anybody's he ever seen.
I thought they said that Ryne Duren was the inspiration for “Wild Thing” in “Major League” and that Steve was inspiration for “Nuke Laloosh” in “Bull Durham.”
"Apparently he threw only 85mph." STFU. Earl Weaver said he was the fastest EVER.
@@charlesdivers4592 geezus dude.
I also don't tend to believe the "110 mph" stuff (likely only a few hit 100 back then)... but 85 though? I imagine him more as a 'wild' version of Billy Wagner: a shorter guy who can hit 100-101-102 but Steve didn't have the control Wagner did, and threw more over-the-top. Since he threw way harder than others back then, and today the benchmark is 105, I think that's where this fabled "110-115" comes from.... but it was likely more like 100-103, which is still incredible for a 5'11 pitcher in the early-1960s. Also likely why his arm gave out so young - just too much for the arm to take. He was likely never going to have a long career, no matter if he made the MLB....
Too bad they didn't have radar guns on pitches back then for guys like Dalkowski and Ryne Duren.
The Bill Murray story?
I never heard of him….great job….we want more
Anyone know if Frank Zupo is related to Tony Zupo? There's a field, Tony Zupo Field, in Lodi, California, and was curious if there's a relationship.
Quite a story, but someday, all of this will cost me a lot of money. Hoping to finish the 1963 LA Dodgers (Topps) team set, and I want to include card #496 that has Jack Smith on it. Coincidentally, that card also has Dalkowski on it..................I couldn't figure out why this card was demanding such high prices!
It won’t cost you nearly as much as #537 Ken McMullen.
@@davidkurvach3993 LOL Boy....you got that right!! Don't think I'll ever be able to justify buying that one! Another (less) expensive coincidence.....1962 # 594 has Doug Camilli, but unfortunately also Bob Uecker
Watch the Documentary Fastball
Ought to be made into a movie.
lived 30 yrs sober. AWESOME. HE COULD ACTUALLY HAVE A LIFE.
I have a lot of questions.
He was a real life Sidd Finch before Sidd Finch was a thing.
I read The Sporting News voraciously as a kid and I vaguely remember Dalkowski references. I also remember Greg Arnold another pitcher that I believe was one of what they called "bonus babies" when they signed for big money. Seems to be some hybrid of both these guys in " Bull Durham" from what I read. I vividly remember a picture in The Sporting News, I swear, of Greg Arnold with Jim Palmer on one side and another player on the other. Palmer was sent to Class A Miami cause he had some arm trouble really early in his career. Wow, got curious and found the photo. The other guy is Marcelino Lopez, a lefty. Read Shelton's book on the the making of "Bull Durham" where he says Dalkowski threw a ball so hard it blew a hole in the steel netting behind home plate of a minor league park. He also said he went to the same old park and actually found that the hole was real and still there! Thanks for this well researched story on Steve cause it filled in most of what I had not known.
Earl Weaver said he threw 109.
Drug addiction is horrible.
you'd think with an arm like that, someone would have recorded him pitching. his story is similar to sandy koufax, who struggled for years before finding the strike zone, who wanted to quit, then putting together a 5 year run that's legendary. crazy numbers tho, 20 strike outs, 13 walks in one game. 313 strike outs in 154 innings, slightly better than 2 every inning. striking out 24 in one game, and they somehow got 2 hits? talk about dominating.
True, but here's the difference: Sandy Koufax had a mentor who told him "You're throwing the ball too hard, ease up a little and you'll STILL blow the ball by hitters". His mentor was his catcher Norm Sherry.
He was a real person spooky speed
Rip steve discovered this guy on the documentary called fastball such a shame what happened to this guy hardest throwing pitcher of all time they say people who played with him say he prob woukd own all the fastest pitching records to this day prob 107 mph 108 maybe
White Lighting! Legend.
wonder boy. he struck out the whammer
I ACTUALLY PITCHED ON THE SAME FIELDS AS DALKOWSKI.
Please do tell, Sir!
@@donnatlaw6172 BLUEFIELD, KINGSPORT, JOHNSON CITY, ET AL OF THEAPPALACHIAN LEAGUE, PROBABLY TWO DECADES AFTER DALKOWSKI PITCHED THERE.
Awesome, Mr. Travers... funny. The friggin' Mets gave up Nolan Ryan as they thought HE was wild! Who knows what Dalkowski could have done if the O's had brought him up! Oh man, if they did, there'd be no Amazin' Mets in '69! What team were you affiliated with, Sir?
@@donnatlaw6172 St. Louis Cardinals.
WHOA! The team 2nd to the friggin' Yankees in WS rings. I feel it's still an incredible accomplishment that you made it that far! I was a few years after Title IX, couldn't even play Little League even though I could kick the boy's butts! Thank you for sharing this. ✌❤🍕
Great stuff I learned alot that I didn't realize. His Sister Pat was attractive when she was young!
Reminds me of a man I knew as a child,,,,his name,,,,Pete Gray
Wild thing
Beer tastes good... :)
Best not to go to that rehab center.
I never heard of him
🎶Wild thing! 🎵You make my heart sing !🎶
This is the worst saddest story I ever heard!
Born In A Pickle
Some folks are born on third base while others enter life in the middle of a run-down between first and second. Steve Dalkowski belongs to the latter group. Dalkowski, acclaimed by many as the fastest pitcher ever by such baseball luminaries as Earl Weaver, Ted Williams and Ted’s 1946 World Series nemesis, Harry “The Cat” Brecheen, never made it out of the Baltimore Orioles farm system. Never-the-less legends abound about this six foot, 180 pound left hander from New Britain, Connecticut. Some of the most repeated tales are: Dalkowski’s fastball, from first pitch to last, hovered between 100 to 105 miles per hour, that one of his pitches tore the ear off a batter during his first year in the minors; that his fastball broke an umpire’s mask in three places; that on a bet fired a ball through an outfield’s wooden fence and then threw another ball over the same fence from 440 feet away. Bob Lemon has been quoted that he saw a game where a Dalkowski’s pitch hit a fan waiting in line at the hot dog stand and later saw that fan ask Dalkowski to autograph it. We do know that he struck out future Yankee, Joe Pepitone five times in the same game and newly minted bonus baby, Rick Monday, four times. It’s been written that after each Monday strikeout Dalkowski was heard to mutter, “$104,000 my ass!” Many have said that the character Nuke LaLoosh in the film Bull Durham was created with Dalkowski in mind. Countless theories have been offered why Dalkowski never made it to the majors, perhaps the best being Pat Jordan’s award winning piece, “Going Nowhere Fast” where he describes Dalkowski’s life with alcohol as a portrait in melancholia. It is so utterly apropos that after finally finding the strike zone and about to make the Orioles’ roster, Dalkowski should blow his arm out throwing to first base to get Jim Bouton whose claim to fame (some say shame) is for writing a tell-all book titled, “Ball Four.”
My one and only knee-knocking encounter with Steve Dalkowski was during the first Eisenhower administration when he and his New Britain High School Hurricanes came to Dillon Stadium to play the Hartford High Owls of which I was a member. Hartford at that time had three high schools: Bulkeley High whose most famous alum is Edward Bennett Williams once owner of the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Redskins, Weaver High where guard Johnny Egan played before going onto Providence College, the Pistons and the LA Lakers and Hartford High, the second oldest public high school in America ( it sure looked it.) whose most noted graduate is Lindy Remigino, the Helsinki Olympic Gold Medal winner in the 100 meter dash.
Hartford is also home to Trinity College whose two best known athletes remain Charlie Sticka, a 2000 + yard running back who played in the East/West Shrine Game and was drafted by the 49ers and Moe Drabowsky who still holds the World Series record for strikeouts by a relief pitcher. Drabowsky, enjoyed driving curmudgeon Earl Weaver crazy by ordering pizza to be delivered to the bullpen and by imitating Weaver voice and ordering different pitchers to warm up.
But the most beloved of all Trinity athletes by those of us who lived in the Frog Hollow section of the city was an unnamed sub on one of Coach Ray Oosting’s poorer hoop teams. In a game against the Lord Jeffs of Amherst College, Oosting with the game out of hand, finally signaled to the end of the bench for the last player to “Get in there.” What happened next will be remembered forever. With the Amherst players sprinting to defend their basket, the ball was in-bounded to the still nameless player who took a look at Oosting, saw the Lord Jeffs a full court away, did a 180 and put the ball in the Trinity basket. He then acted like he had just scored the winning hoop in the N.I.T. championship game before quickly exiting stage left. The rumor ran that after graduation he took a job writing for Steve Allen’s Tonight Show. All this occurred years after Jim Murray graduated and left for California and literary fame and years before columnist George Will arrived on the Hilltoppers’ campus. Will once reasoned that baseball proves the existence of God. He must have had Dalkowski in mind because there were no atheists in the batter’s box when he was on the mound.
On that spring day, when the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn and the Giants still played in the Polo Grounds and the heated argument raged, “Who’s better, Snider, Mantle or Mays?,”Steve Dalkowski arrived at Dillon Stadium with his Hurricane teammates, followed by a bevy of scouts. Word quickly spread like wild fire that this Dalkowski kid was faster than Feller, but even scarier - possessed a focus like Red Skelton’s Freddie the Freeloader. “Coach, I don’t feel so good” quickly became the Owls’ game face. Keeping with the story’s motif, I guess a sub-title could be, “Moaning Becomes Electra.” My greatest fear was that Dalkowski would play God and remove one of my ribs and give it to Joan Joyce who would probably use it to set a record in the boomerang. You know Joan Joyce, a.k.a. St. Joan of Bark, the fast-pitch pitcher who struck out Ted Williams and Hank Aaron. So how did a group of seventeen year olds whose fondest wish was to see eighteen so as to become legal drinkers in New York City handle getting into the batter’s box to face Connecticut’s version of Stevie Wonder? We blessed ourselves, Baptists included, said a prayer, grabbed a bat, mentally kissed our mamas goodbye and somehow faced upped to one of life’s great uncertainties, but I got to tell you some of us did lose bowel control.
There after, when that doorbell rings and the question is posed, “Brother, have you ever had a life changing religious experience?” My response is always “Why yes Brother, I batted against Steve Dalkowski - - five times!”
Steve’s stats that day, 18 Ks, 18 walks, 5 hit batsmen - yours truly included.
Epilogue:
Recently it’s been reported that Steve’s former catcher Frank Zupo and Steve’s sister, Pat, convinced him to enter New Britain’s Walnut Hill Health Centre where, after many unsuccessful attempts, sobriety has been achieved. Here’s hoping Steve’s finally out of that pickle.
Matt Hart
Retired after teaching and coaching for 38 years in Trenton
Classic PTSD. Terrible.
According to other sources, he was drinking while he was playing, and when they gave him an IQ test, it turned out he had a borderline IQ......
As soon as they said Dalkowski died of cvd19, I immediately stopped watching. I don't have time for complete nonsensical lunacy!
The Rick Ankiel of the 1960's.
There’s always hope.
He better have thrown 110-115, cause what’s the point of calling a guy a myth and legend when he couldn’t throw a strike 😂
Asinine statement at the end. Lived life to the fullest? He was an addict and a fool. Self control is a character trait.
So are empathy and understanding, neither of which you possess.
@dRATS it’s just a damn lie. Addicts don’t live life to the fullest. Addicts are fools who destroy their life. Pretending addicts live their lives to the fullest doesn’t help addicts. You are ignorant.