The first Hall of Fame baseball player I ever met personally
has died. He was quite a character as I recall, and
a great pitcher: 266 wins, 2581 strikeouts, 3 No hitters, and 12 one hitters, all on top of losing 3 years in his prime due to joining the military for World War II. He would easily have had 300 wins and 3000 strikeouts had he played those 3 years.
He explained to me at the time I met him that the famous picture here was not a trick shot or weird pose, but a normal windup. The cameraman slipped on a bat and as he was falling, the photograph was accidentally snapped.
Rest in Peace, Rapid Robert.
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