Skip to playerSkip to main content
AJ McKenzie
  • 2 days ago
The struggles of the bipolar baseball star
IG: aj_mckenzie416
Twitter: AJMckenzie94847
Transcript
00:00There's a long poke in the deep light center field, way back, way back, Pearsall leaping up, and he wraps
00:07it with a homerun!
00:09With a homerun, with high air up there in the left-back bullpen, and he had a sensational catch by
00:16Pearsall.
00:17Jimmy Pearsall was pretty near as good as you'd want to get in the outfield in the big leagues.
00:23That's a high confidence, he was an excellent poke.
00:25He was outspoken, he was emotional, he was very aggressive, and he was fearless.
00:32If you were a reporter and you needed somebody to fill your notebook after a game, Pearsall was your first
00:39stop in the clubhouse.
00:40There was always an element of danger about him, which I suppose made him fascinating on one hand, but also
00:47made you want to leave the room on the other.
00:49He was crazy, and you never knew what he would bring to the game.
00:53He had this singularly captivating guy in center field with a personal history that was certainly out of the ordinary.
01:05In spring training of 1952, Jimmy Pearsall was already a subject of discussion on the Red Sox.
01:13I'd heard about him when he was playing with Scranton, that he was an outstanding center fielder, and that he
01:22was going to take my place when the time came.
01:24When I was a kid, I was always a Red Sox fan. Jimmy Foxx, Bobby Doerr, and Ted Williams idolized
01:30as a hitter.
01:32And then he got to be Ted Williams' teammate, so that's pretty cool.
01:38Then all of a sudden, the biggest thrill of my life was to be able to make the Red Sox.
01:44That thrill was to turn into a nightmare.
01:47Hints of trouble were revealed before opening day, when manager Lou Boudreau moved his high-strung rookie to shortstop.
01:55He was a center fielder, but we had a center fielder, Don DiMaggio, and really didn't want to play shortstop.
02:02I didn't like the idea because I'd made an all-star team in the minor leagues, and now all of
02:06a sudden, here I am going to have to learn something new all over again.
02:09He had the feeling that they didn't want him. They were trying to put him in a position in which
02:13he wasn't qualified to play.
02:14He couldn't understand that. After all the priming and the outstanding success he had in the minors, they finally brought
02:22him up.
02:23And here he was, being asked to play shortstop.
02:26I did what he wanted, and I kept saying to myself, boy, I hate him.
02:31He had his own nervous problems at the time, and I think that extra pressure on him caused him to
02:38crack up.
02:41On May 24th, Pearsall matched his temper against someone of equal volatility.
02:48He taunted Billy Martin one day when the Yankees were taking fielding practice.
02:52Amazing.
02:53And Martin came over and beat the hell out of him in the dugout.
02:55Billy was a terribly insecure player who always was afraid that he was going to be shipped out, and Pearsall
03:02was the same way.
03:04I was writing him from the dugout, and I guess I got a little personal.
03:08So Jimmy being Jimmy, he took him on, and it was right in the steps of the dugout, but it
03:14didn't last long, a couple of wild swings, and we broke it up.
03:18Alice Kenner, the relief pitcher for the Red Sox, came along and just grabbed both of them and bumped their
03:23heads together.
03:24And that was the end of it.
03:26But it wasn't.
03:28Pearsall then unleashed his anger on a teammate.
03:32I got in a fight with him, but I knocked him into a locker, and I went to Pudrow.
03:36I still have to tell you something, pal, there's something wrong here with this kid.
03:39He used to keep candy bars up in his locker, Hershey bars, for energy.
03:44They stole all his candy bars out of his box, and he came in, and he asked me who did
03:49it, who took him.
03:50And I couldn't tell him, and I said, I don't know who, geez, he got me in the corner, and
03:54he's hitting me left and right.
03:55If he had a good day, he was on top of the world.
03:58If he had a bad day, he was lying on the floor.
04:01If anything went wrong in the clubhouse, he was almost as if he were a nervous wreck.
04:08Most of Pearsall's early days were subpar.
04:11He committed nine errors in 30 games at short, and he wasn't doing much better at the plate.
04:17In an effort to settle him down, he was moved back to the outfield.
04:20Still, the rookie acted strangely.
04:23I saw him one day when he climbed the backstop.
04:26He crawled all the way up that backstop and told the people to cheer.
04:30Fans behind home plate were getting on him and taunting him.
04:34He knew he couldn't do anything, but as a way of getting back at him,
04:37he ran right toward the screen behind home plate and started climbing up the screen as if to say, I'm
04:43coming after you.
04:44Well, he wasn't going after anybody.
04:46He was just saying, you better leave me alone.
04:49A lot of guys on the team thought that this was really a good show.
04:54I'm not sure that they were convinced that Pearsall was nuts.
04:59I think they felt he was doing exactly what he wanted to do to get the attention that he wanted.
05:05He wanted the spotlight.
05:07He wanted to be the showman.
05:09He wanted to be everything.
05:11The St. Louis Browns came to Boston for a night game.
05:14An old satchel page that came in relief.
05:17I got a bass hit off a satchel.
05:19I butted it and beat it out.
05:21And then I was imitating his delayed motion when I was on first bass.
05:24And then first I got on second and halfway stood on his head.
05:28And all kinds of faces.
05:32He liked scratching himself like he was an ape or something.
05:38I said, this is something I have a problem with.
05:43Who is he to even mock Satchmo?
05:48Really?
05:49Satchel Paige?
05:49This is who we're going after?
05:52Something wrong with that kid.
05:54I said, that's not Jimmy Pearsall that I knew.
05:58I became physically and mentally tired.
05:59Worried about the fact that I wasn't hitting as good.
06:02I had gotten out of hand as far as my not being able to calm me down.
06:08On June 28th, Pearsall was sent down to AAA Birmingham, where it was hoped he would collect himself.
06:14It was the only thing they possibly could do at the time to settle him down.
06:19And he went down there and we heard some strange stories there too.
06:23The umpire calls him out on a bad third strike.
06:28But he didn't say a word.
06:30He just stood there, reached in his back pocket and come out with a water pistol.
06:35When the umpire had hurled, he fainted dead away.
06:40Went up on top of the stands and all he had on was a jockstrap.
06:45And, you know, the fans were going crazy.
06:46They were pointing up at the stands and the umpires.
06:51They wouldn't let him play the second ball game.
06:53Mr. Yockey invited me back into his little restaurant bar there.
06:56He said, Pearsall just squirted his home plate with a water pistol as he crossed the plate.
07:01And he's putting the numbers up on the scoreboard.
07:03We've got to get him out of there.
07:05And he belongs in the hospital.
07:07In mid-July, Pearsall was scheduled to undergo psychiatric testing.
07:11His stay was short.
07:13He tried to put me into a small sanitarium and I ran away.
07:17I had just gotten so wound up that I lost all control of my memory.
07:23Days later, Pearsall woke up in what was called the violent room of the Westboro State Hospital.
07:29I think I was the only guy who went out to see him.
07:31We sat on one of the open porches that they have there.
07:35And we just sat around in a rocking chair and chatted for about an hour.
07:39And when I got back, they surrounded me with sports writers and said,
07:43Well, what do you think?
07:44It was always a little difficult for him to control himself.
07:47And until they came up with lithium to treat manic depressives, he really struggled.
07:53But once he got on some lithium, he became much more in control of things.
07:57He also had electric shock treatments.
07:59It was sort of like a vestibule at first.
08:01He talked to me about the shock treatments that he went through and what medication he had to take.
08:07And if he did not take his medication, you know, he'd just go off.
08:12And I was worried sick.
08:13Because I didn't know when I'd come out of the hospital where I could catch the ball,
08:16where I could throw the ball, where I could play, or how people were going to receive me.
08:20Most writers said I'd never play again in Boston.
08:22They said that I didn't have a chance.
08:27Jimmy Pearsall was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, on November 14th, two weeks after the 1929 Wall Street crash.
08:36During the Depression, it was kind of sad, you know, to see so many people who were unemployed.
08:44There was, at the golf lots, what they call shantytown, and many people lived there who were unemployed.
08:53I didn't realize that there was a Depression.
08:55Because I was playing sports, all kinds.
08:58We'd play across the street, through alleyways, where we'd play stickball.
09:02We developed a game where we'd use bottle caps.
09:06We'd pitch the bottle caps.
09:07Of course, you could do a lot of things with bottle caps.
09:09You'd curve them and everything else.
09:10And we used to play with them and use a broomstick to see if you could hit them.
09:16Buoyed by dreams of Major League Stardom, Pearsall practiced tirelessly at nearby Hamilton Park.
09:25It seemed like he was always there, chasing fly balls.
09:28And if anybody came out to the park, he would say,
09:31Here me some fly balls.
09:33Here me some fly balls.
09:34We'd just spend hours and hours.
09:35Once a ball was hit, he could get it.
09:37I don't think there was a ball that they could hit Hamilton Park that he couldn't catch.
09:41He was just aggressive.
09:43He was a lad out there that seemed to stand out to me to get on that field.
09:47He had a lot of pep fire.
09:50He played very hard.
09:52And he worked hard at perfecting the game even further.
09:56Of course, he also had his father, who was constantly coaching him, urging Jim to excel.
10:02On or off the baseball field, life under the exacting hand of John Pearsall was never easy.
10:09Dad was a house painter.
10:11And it didn't always work, because it wasn't always work.
10:14I knew that when his father said something had to be done, Jim made sure it was done.
10:20If it was being home at a precise time, Jim was there.
10:25I never did get the feeling that he was terrified, but I certainly got the opinion and the feeling that
10:32he made sure that he didn't cross his father.
10:35He was a normal father who was very intense on making me take care of myself.
10:40When I got in high school, he was a little tougher because he wanted me to go play or wouldn't
10:43let me play football.
10:44The father wouldn't allow him to play, and Jim was playing, and he did get hurt.
10:50And, of course, he was terrified of what would happen coming home.
10:54The first thing the father said, there goes your baseball career.
10:57The feeling was, this is just a father who knew his kid was talented and wanted him to make the
11:02big time.
11:03While his father pushed him to excel, Ginny's mother, Mary, was less accessible.
11:09She suffered from severe depression.
11:13She seemed very reserved and very quiet, as if she was rather withdrawn, and she would be away at times
11:19in an institution.
11:21My mom, God love her, worked on a record for the priest.
11:25She made linens, she washed linens, she was a very quiet lady, very religious.
11:30He thought that his dad could be more supportive of her rather than being his strong, forceful self.
11:41Despite his grim home life, Pearsall rose to captain of Leavenworth High's baseball and basketball teams.
11:48I think by playing basketball, it helped my quickness.
11:51Learning how to be on your toes, learning how to anticipate, learning how to concentrate.
11:56He had a knack to size up a situation on the board so he can get into a position to
12:00get that ball.
12:01He was very aggressive.
12:03Any rebound was his.
12:05His mind was intent on scoring, driving to the hoop, being aggressive.
12:09He was high-strung in high school.
12:13He had to be the star, I know that.
12:16Usually, he was.
12:17Scoring 29 points, Pearsall led his team to the New England High School Championship.
12:23Jimmy was that go-to guy, and he was having an exceptional game.
12:27Jimmy...
12:27I mean, crap, this is the...
12:31Uh, this is what, the late 40s, mid to late 40s?
12:36When even NBA players weren't that good compared to what they are today?
12:39I could have played these guys.
12:43In basketball.
12:44Most cases, uh, threw his shot and followed his own.
12:47A couple of times, I think he got the rebound and put it back in.
12:50One of my friends said he was sitting by a scout, and the scout asked him,
12:52Could I play baseball?
12:54And he said, he plays baseball better than he does basketball.
12:57So, that was a...
12:59That really helped the Red Sox got interested in me.
13:01There was never a question in the father's mind
13:04that Jimmy wasn't going to be with the Red Sox.
13:07True to his father's and his own wishes,
13:10Pearsall signed with the Red Sox in 1947.
13:13Neither father nor son had an...
13:16What the...
13:17What the...
13:19Weren't a lot of people around then.
13:22Never mind professional athletes
13:24who would be incarcerated in a state mental institution
13:28and go on to a more productive life after that.
13:31He went on to play Major League Baseball.
13:34He was huge.
13:35In his own way,
13:36he was his biggest star in the 50s,
13:39as was Ted Williams.
13:41He certainly was a popular player
13:43when he played for the Red Sox in the early 1950s.
13:48The breakdown and his ability to come back from that
13:51is something that fans can relate to
13:54and has increased his popularity.
13:56The story itself has always gripped me
13:59of the way he is driven to the point of madness
14:01and then is able to fight his way back.
14:03In 1953, his first season back,
14:07Pearsall batted .272 and let up the American League
14:10with his fielding,
14:11making just five errors in 151 games.
14:15Pearsall was a genius as an outfielder.
14:18At the crack of the bat,
14:19he knew right where to go now.
14:21Boy, what an outfielder that kid is.
14:24He's got to be one of the greats of all time.
14:26He was one of the few centerfields
14:28that I saw who played shallow.
14:30He said,
14:31there are more balls hit in front of me
14:32than there are behind me.
14:34Nobody went back on a ball any better than me.
14:36Nobody, because I practiced so much.
14:38He played that fence as good
14:39as anybody ever played that fence out there.
14:41He'd go out there every day
14:42and work balls coming off the fence.
14:44The flagpole used to be uncovered
14:46so the ball could go around behind the flagpole.
14:49I remember one time him jumping up
14:51and pulling himself up on the flagpole
14:53to make a catch.
14:54The one catch I remember he made
14:57was off Mickey Mantle with the bases loaded
15:00in Fenway Park.
15:01He ran to that wall,
15:03climbed right up that wall
15:05and grabbed the ball
15:06and then crashed into the wall
15:08and fell to the ground.
15:10Casey Stengel,
15:11the manager of the Yankees
15:13who'd seen baseball for 900 years,
15:15said that's the greatest single catch
15:17he ever saw in his life.
15:19He wasn't afraid of the wall.
15:21He wouldn't shy away from
15:23crashing into the green monster out there,
15:26leaning over the bullpen.
15:28He was a tough, courageous baseball player.
15:30He had a contest in Boston one time.
15:33Pearsall was going to throw
15:35from the outfield with Willie Mays.
15:37Now that's about as good as you can get.
15:39Jimmy Pearsall
15:42was one of the finest defensive ballplayers
15:45I've ever seen in my life.
15:47I didn't think he was going to hit.
15:49He didn't look like a hitter to me.
15:50It turned out to be a pretty good...
15:53Hitter.
15:53He was a lot stronger
15:54than people think he was.
15:56He turned out to be
15:57a doggone good hitter.
15:59Swung on as you drive
16:00to deep right field.
16:01That ball is going, going down.
16:04Hold on to Jimmy Pearsall.
16:07Although Pearsall became
16:08a two-time all-star
16:10and won two gold gloves,
16:11he gained a reputation
16:13not so much for what he did,
16:14but how he did it.
16:16Out there with him,
16:17Jimmy Pearsall.
16:18Jimmy, you stand up and take a bow.
16:23Jimmy always knew
16:25where the camera was
16:26in New York one Saturday.
16:28He had been called out
16:29on a tough play
16:31and he got out there
16:31and he started kicking the turf
16:33and they had to
16:35get the ground crew out there
16:36to replace the turf
16:38in center field.
16:39Jimmy would be
16:40having a great time
16:41with the fans
16:42and ball balls would be hit.
16:44Forty rows up in the seats
16:46and he'd run towards the seats
16:47like he's going to climb up the stairs
16:48to go catch it.
16:49On one occasion
16:50when I caught a ball
16:51in right center field,
16:52he came behind me
16:53and mimicked me step by step.
16:55I knew he was there.
16:57Dominic would make a good catch
16:58in center field.
16:59Run and catch
16:59and maybe down here
17:00at Sheetop.
17:02And after he'd catch it,
17:02throw the ball in,
17:03Jimmy would take off his glove,
17:04put it under his arm,
17:05throw it to the stand
17:06and give him a hand.
17:07When I were in Chicago,
17:09Mel Parnell was on the mound
17:11and all we heard was
17:12yay, Pearsall,
17:13yay, Pearsall.
17:15Marnell backed out the mound
17:16and there's Pearsall
17:18leading the crowd
17:20in cheers for himself.
17:22At Yankee Stadium,
17:23a dispirited Pearsall
17:24sought solace
17:25from a great player
17:26who happened to be
17:27on the far side of time.
17:30We had our fourth pitcher
17:31coming in
17:32so I sat up on the monitor
17:33and I'm talking to the baby.
17:34I said,
17:34babe,
17:35you're so lucky
17:35you didn't have to play
17:36on a team like this.
17:37I was the hitter
17:38and there wasn't
17:40a center fielder.
17:41Pearsall was out
17:42behind the monuments.
17:44Then in the next
17:45couple of pitches,
17:47he was the extra infielder
17:48who was playing
17:49behind second base.
17:51Somebody on the Yankees
17:53hit a shot
17:55into the center field stands
17:57and it looks like
17:58it hit in and bounced out
17:59and the umpires
18:00ruled it a home run.
18:02And Pearsall
18:03came running in
18:04from center field
18:05with a ferocious look
18:06just running in full tilt.
18:07Yeah,
18:07funny,
18:08you only get any
18:08theopires
18:09and winning the argument.
18:10The umpire called him
18:10out on strike us.
18:12He called him out
18:12and he went to center field
18:14to flagpole
18:15in Fenway Park
18:16and he sat behind
18:17the flagpole.
18:18Playing against Jimmy,
18:20I thought he was
18:21the rottenest
18:22ballplayer ever lived.
18:23I really did.
18:24I hated him.
18:26Fear strikes out
18:27with Anthony Perkins
18:28scoring the dramatic
18:29sensation of the year
18:30in the real life story
18:31of young Jimmy Pearsall,
18:33Major League Baseball star.
18:35In 1957,
18:36Pearsall was transformed
18:38into a national curiosity
18:39when the movie version
18:41of his autobiography
18:42Fear Strikes Out
18:43opened in theaters
18:44coast to coast.
18:45That's how we all
18:46discovered Jimmy Pearsall
18:47from If You Didn't Live
18:48in The Wing One.
18:49I remember reading the book
18:50and seeing the movie
18:51and of course Hollywood's
18:53version of the story,
18:54like most Hollywood versions
18:55of these stories
18:55have been bizarre.
19:06That was ridiculous.
19:07It really made me look...
19:17Anybody who's seen
19:18in the movie Fear Strikes Out
19:19or indeed read the book
19:20would have to treat
19:22these antics of Pearsall
19:24very, very differently
19:25from the way they were treated
19:26in the media at the time.
19:28These are not colorful events.
19:30These are the signs
19:31of a deeply troubled guy.
19:32Sports writers didn't write
19:33about the negative very much.
19:36Pretty much what you did
19:37on the field.
19:38And Pearsall kind of changed
19:39that a little bit
19:40and began to look into
19:41the personal life
19:42of the people a little more.
19:44This was a period of time
19:45in our lives,
19:46in American life,
19:47when everyone had
19:48and maintained
19:49a sense of privacy.
19:51So here you had people
19:52knowing about
19:54Jimmy Pearsall's
19:55personal life
19:56through a book.
19:57I mean,
19:58the guy actually sits down
19:59and writes about
20:00the torment of his youth
20:02and the troubled aspects
20:03of his adolescence.
20:05It was captivating
20:06for a lot of people
20:07and I think only added
20:08to the element of excitement
20:10that he brought
20:11to the game every single day.
20:13We used to run into each other
20:14on a banquet circuit
20:15and I remember him
20:16going through a little
20:18address book type thing
20:19when they were making notes
20:20and I said,
20:21Jimmy, what the hell?
20:22And he said,
20:23no, no, I keep a record
20:24of everything I do out there
20:25on a day-to-day basis.
20:26Those S-O-Bs,
20:27when I go in a court contract,
20:29despite the fact
20:30that I'm the best offensive,
20:31they tell me how terrible
20:32I am and I say,
20:33hey, now, what do you mean?
20:35Look at this book.
20:36That blew my mind.
20:38After the 1958 season,
20:40Pearsall was dealt
20:41to Cleveland
20:42where he continued
20:43his antics.
20:47Bill Vack had put up
20:48the exploding scoreboard
20:50at Comiskey Park
20:51and when the fireworks
20:52went off after a home run
20:54by one of the White Sox,
20:55I mean,
20:56he sort of lost it
20:57so he brought some baseballs
20:58out with him
20:58for the next half inning
20:59and peppered that scoreboard.
21:01He scared me half to death.
21:03I would put a pick-off play on
21:05and he turned around
21:06and he started screaming at me,
21:07don't ever put a pick-off play
21:08on Jimmy Pearsall.
21:09What are you doing?
21:10Who do you think you are?
21:11And I went back to shortstop.
21:12I said, geez,
21:13I will stay away from this guy.
21:14He always had that smile like this
21:17and he was always
21:18kind of running
21:19in choppy steps, you know,
21:21and kind of looking around.
21:22Everything was like
21:23staccato with him.
21:24He would do things
21:26like get in the batter circle.
21:28The pitcher would be warming up
21:29and he would sort of,
21:30like he's going to swing.
21:31Well, the pitcher didn't like that
21:32and they said,
21:33you better not do that anymore
21:35or they'll throw at him
21:35in the batter circle.
21:37He's on deck circle
21:38and I'm taking my warm-ups.
21:41He's just up at timing me.
21:42He's got about four or five
21:43bats in his hand.
21:44He's just timing my pitches.
21:45So I threw the ball at him.
21:47And then he threw all five bats
21:49out to the mound at me.
21:51Pearsall had a way of working himself
21:54up before a game.
21:55He would go into the cage
21:57and he would be muttering curses
21:59against Mickey Mantle
22:00who was the star
22:01and Dan Topping and Del Webb
22:04who owned the team.
22:05And he'd be working himself
22:06into a frenzy
22:07in the batting cage.
22:08We were playing the Yankees
22:08at doubleheader.
22:09Meryl and Maris were going
22:10for 56, 57,
22:12whatever home runs they could get.
22:13And I had made the statement
22:14that we're going to walk them.
22:16So it's the second game
22:17of the doubleheader.
22:18My dad has just passed away
22:19in previous four or five days.
22:22And I wasn't feeling too good.
22:25And out comes two kids
22:26out of the stands.
22:28And somebody takes a swing
22:30and pierce the hole.
22:31Two men take a swing
22:32and pierce the hole
22:33and he goes after them.
22:35As soon as the one got near me
22:36I knocked him down.
22:37The other one started to run away
22:38and I kicked that guy
22:38right in the butt.
22:39Jimmy dropped one
22:40one after the other.
22:42And the Indian ball club
22:43got out there in a hurry.
22:45And I think at times
22:46he felt as a player
22:48that people were still
22:49hearkening back
22:50to the time
22:50when he had the nervous breakdown.
22:52So I think he was
22:52a little bit defensive
22:53about that.
22:54The fans in center field
22:55had been giving him
22:56a lot of grief
22:56about his past.
22:57He judged the ball
22:59and as he looked
23:00at the flight of the ball
23:01he turned around
23:01and it seemed like
23:02he talked to him
23:04for minutes
23:05but it probably was
23:05just several seconds.
23:07But he kind of
23:08laughed at him
23:08and then he turned around
23:09and caught the last
23:10out of the game
23:11and ran off the field.
23:12People come to see
23:13entertainment
23:13and baseball
23:15can be very dull
23:16because not too many
23:17players can entertain.
23:18I remember him
23:19coming to the bat here
23:21and coming up
23:22to the plate
23:23and singing
23:23I got the whole world
23:25in my hand
23:26and he's hitting off
23:27of Mel Pappas
23:28and he's singing
23:29while he's at the plate.
23:30Despite finishing third
23:31in the American League
23:32batting race
23:33for the .322 average
23:34in 1961
23:36Pearsall was shipped out
23:37to Washington
23:38at the end of the season.
23:39A year and a half later
23:40he was unloaded
23:42on the Mets
23:42and their 72 year old
23:44manager Casey Stengel.
23:45Pearsall treaded
23:47on Casey's thunder.
23:49Those early Mets teams
23:50were terrible
23:52absolutely terrible.
23:54That was their
23:54expansion years
23:56and
23:58Pearsall didn't
23:59deserve that.
24:00And would tell Casey stories
24:02and you didn't tell Casey stories.
24:05You know
24:05you worked for
24:06Mr. Stengel
24:07and you didn't
24:08tell stories about him
24:10sleeping on the bench
24:11or
24:13funny antics
24:14that he did.
24:14You didn't tell him.
24:15You let the writers tell him.
24:17He and Casey
24:18did not get along.
24:19We once talked to him
24:21after a game.
24:22You know
24:22tabloid reporters
24:23were just trying to
24:24stir the pot
24:25and we
24:26we tried to get him
24:27to talk about
24:27Casey.
24:28He tells a good story
24:30he says.
24:30You know how a lot of
24:31old people
24:32tell the same stories
24:34over and over?
24:35Just
24:35Casey doesn't do that.
24:37Not too often.
24:42Jimmy came up to me
24:43and he says
24:44you didn't get much
24:44coverage for your
24:45400-ton run.
24:46He says
24:46I'll tell you what
24:47I've got 99
24:48when I get my
24:49100th
24:50I'll get more ink
24:51than you got
24:51for your 400th.
24:53A fly ball
24:53hits right down
24:54the right field line
24:55if it's Terry Sparrett
24:56might do it
24:57and a squatch
24:57home run
24:58for Jimmy Perisall.
25:00Perisall is running
25:01the bases backwards.
25:03And he jogged
25:04backwards
25:05all the way
25:06around the bases
25:07first,
25:08second,
25:08third
25:08into home
25:09coming in
25:10backwards
25:10standing up
25:11and the
25:13crowd
25:13there were maybe
25:1415 to 20,000
25:15people in
25:16pole grounds
25:16giving him
25:17the standing
25:18ovation
25:19and being
25:19absolutely
25:20hysterical.
25:21Jimmy Perisall
25:22has said
25:23that when he
25:24hit home run
25:25number 100
25:25of the major leagues
25:26he was going to
25:27run the bases
25:27backwards
25:28and he's doing it.
25:29I thought Richie
25:31Ashburn
25:31who was a pretty
25:32loose
25:32easy going
25:33guy
25:34would absolutely
25:35die.
25:36I can remember
25:37him saying to me
25:38as Perisall
25:38was going backwards
25:40around the bases
25:41this guy's always
25:42been a screwball
25:43and he always
25:44will be a screwball.
25:45I thought it was
25:46kind of a showboat
25:46type of thing
25:47but we
25:49and we
25:50hadn't been clowns
25:51up until that point
25:52now we're clowns
25:53or an act.
25:55The next morning
25:56I figure I'm going to
25:57get some ink on this
25:57so I wake up early
25:59and I go to
26:00get the papers
26:01so I take him
26:02to the ballpark
26:02and I say
26:03so I told you Duke
26:04I go coast to coast
26:05and if you watch
26:06Johnny Carson tonight
26:07I'll be on with
26:08Zaza Gabor.
26:09I got released
26:10three days later
26:11in case he didn't
26:11like my act.
26:13Huh.
26:13Next stop was
26:14the Los Angeles Angels
26:16where Hollywood
26:17and television
26:18beckoned.
26:19There he is mom
26:20Jimmy Perisall.
26:22Jerry do you play ball?
26:23Only in the little league
26:24once he hits
26:25the no hitter.
26:26Yeah what was the score?
26:27Eight to nothing.
26:29Nice win.
26:30He lost.
26:31When he was with
26:32the Angels
26:32just about everyone
26:33was crazy
26:34and it was such
26:35a terrible ball club
26:37that I guess
26:38his behavior
26:38became more
26:39than norm
26:40than something
26:41I'd say was outrageous.
26:42He was the kind
26:43of guy who played
26:43to the fans
26:44and for the fans
26:45and he had a flair
26:47about him
26:47let's put it that way.
26:50I think a lot
26:51of the fans
26:51came out to see
26:52Jimmy Perisall.
26:53He just had
26:54so much charisma
26:55and he was a fun
26:57loving guy
26:58that showed
26:59the expression
27:00and the feeling
27:01and the emotion
27:02that there is
27:03in the game.
27:08In 1968
27:09Peersall
27:10now the father
27:11of nine
27:12divorced his wife
27:13Mary
27:14and began
27:14an odyssey
27:15into the peripheries
27:16of the game.
27:18Jimmy Perisall
27:19a gentleman
27:20with a very
27:21colorful past
27:22became a
27:24broadcaster
27:24for Charlie Finley
27:26for two seasons
27:27but his
27:28more prominent role
27:29was probably
27:30as a gopher
27:31for Charlie.
27:32As it turns out
27:33he was like
27:34a flunky
27:35but I assumed
27:36that Perisall
27:37would also be
27:38joining us
27:39for lunch.
27:41Well it turns out
27:42that Perisall
27:42was actually
27:43serving us lunch.
27:44He had some
27:45falling out
27:45with Charlie
27:45and Charlie
27:46fired him
27:46and I managed
27:47to catch up
27:47with Perisall
27:48sort of on his
27:48way out the door
27:49and I said
27:49you know
27:50what's going on
27:50Jimmy?
27:51He goes
27:51you know
27:51I'll tell you
27:52about Charlie
27:52Finley
27:53if he was
27:53walking down
27:54the street
27:54and his eyeball
27:56fell out of his
27:56socket
27:57and was rolling
27:57down the hill
27:58I would kick it.
28:01In 1977
28:03Perisall
28:03learned the
28:04White Sox
28:04were seeking
28:05a broadcast
28:05partner
28:06for Harry Carey.
28:08They were
28:08auditioning people
28:09in different cities
28:10to be an analyst
28:12and I figured
28:13well what a nice
28:14chance
28:14I didn't care
28:16because I didn't
28:16get the job
28:17I'm kneeling
28:18Harry and
28:18he liked it.
28:19Hey Jimmy
28:19Yeah
28:20Can you lend me
28:21about a thousand
28:22bucks?
28:23How's your
28:24alimony famous
28:25coming?
28:26I've never
28:27missed one
28:27Can you say
28:28that?
28:29They were way
28:30ahead of their
28:30time
28:31If they were
28:32on today
28:33in their prime
28:34they would
28:35they would be
28:35just tremendously
28:37popular
28:37I never walked
28:38up to the plate
28:39thinking about
28:39them
28:40in contact
28:41with my
28:41motto
28:42Well you only
28:42finished 635
28:44behind Babe Ruth
28:46They had fun
28:47together
28:48They worked well
28:50as a combo
28:51as far as
28:52they were
28:52concerned
28:53It's just that
28:54sometimes
28:55the players
28:55took a beating
28:56Here's Saul
28:57was very
28:58critical
29:00extremely
29:01critical
29:02which
29:02got to
29:03some of
29:03the players
29:04Boy Harry
29:05that's terrible
29:06and the kind
29:06of bread he's
29:07making
29:07he's gonna
29:07run on that
29:08plane
29:08The fans ate
29:09him up
29:10I think he
29:11was one of
29:11the reasons
29:13the White Sox
29:14had a
29:15Kind of looks
29:16like Bob
29:16Odenkirk
29:17in that picture
29:17He brought his
29:19opinions to the
29:20booth
29:20and Jimmy
29:21was not
29:23without intelligence
29:25he was a
29:25sharp guy
29:26He was just
29:26sticking up the
29:27joint
29:27I can't blame
29:28me or the
29:29fans
29:29He is just
29:30not a center
29:30fielder
29:31he don't
29:31belong out
29:31there
29:32I'd have
29:32players
29:33please trade
29:34me
29:35I can't
29:35stand it
29:36you know
29:36and my
29:38wife's so
29:39upset
29:39I want
29:41out
29:41Every
29:42visiting
29:42club
29:43would
29:43between
29:44hands
29:45run up
29:45and watch
29:46the TV
29:47monitor
29:48and listen
29:48to Jimmy
29:49and Harry
29:50rip
29:51the White Sox
29:52players
29:52it was unbelievable
29:53for me
29:53it was
29:54the hatchet
29:55was not
29:55big enough
29:56I do remember
29:57coming into
29:58the clubhouse
29:58during the
30:00announcing
30:00in the lineups
30:01and I was
30:01listening to him
30:03and he was
30:03announcing our
30:04lineup by
30:04salaries
30:06that's the
30:07first time
30:07I'd ever
30:07heard that
30:08Jim Pearsall
30:09walked up
30:09and he was
30:09going to do
30:10an interview
30:10or something
30:11or just
30:11talk with me
30:12a little bit
30:12and I turned
30:13around and I
30:13said
30:13hey crazy man
30:14how you doing
30:15and I stuck
30:15my hand like
30:16that
30:16and he looked
30:16at me
30:17and he went
30:18and he just
30:19he put his
30:19hand down
30:20he turned
30:20around
30:20and he just
30:20kind of
30:21walked away
30:21and I went
30:22oh no
30:24what did I
30:25say
30:25if Pearsall
30:26was sensitive
30:27about being
30:27called crazy
30:28he could be
30:29equally insensitive
30:30in the booth
30:31there was a pop-up
30:32to second base
30:33and one of the
30:33Yankee players
30:34at the time
30:35we were very good
30:36Yankee teams
30:37he was a Latin
30:37player
30:38and he kind of
30:39circled the ball
30:40circled it
30:41two or three
30:41times
30:42and finally the
30:42ball dropped
30:44behind him
30:44Jimmy says
30:46well Harry
30:47you know
30:47those Latin
30:48players
30:49they can't catch
30:50pop-ups anyway
30:51what
30:51is this on the
30:52air
30:53and I said
30:54to the guys
30:55I said
30:55what he said
30:56did he really
30:56say that
30:57I don't think
30:58Jimmy can help
30:59himself
30:59he's just gonna
31:00let it rip
31:01no matter where
31:02he is
31:02he needs that
31:03that 10 second
31:04delay button
31:05and even then
31:06that probably
31:07wouldn't help
31:07it maybe a 10
31:08day delay
31:09there's no
31:09filtering system
31:10with Jimmy
31:10Pearsall
31:11he will tell
31:12you what's
31:12on his mind
31:1324 hours
31:14of every day
31:15I don't know
31:15how many times
31:16I heard
31:17Jimmy say
31:19well I can
31:19run faster
31:20than that guy
31:21can run
31:21or I can
31:22hit better
31:22than that guy
31:23can hit
31:24and he's up
31:24in the booth
31:25you know
31:25let me tell you
31:25I could have
31:26bunted that ball
31:26with a broom
31:27what you do
31:28is you turn
31:29around
31:29you put the
31:30bat on here
31:30like a gun
31:31a man
31:31getting on TV
31:32with a broom
31:34showing the
31:35viewers would watch
31:36how to bunt
31:37you should bunt
31:38with a broom
31:38or how you
31:39should go
31:40after a fly ball
31:41he would do it
31:41no one ever
31:42said a word
31:43to me
31:43about that
31:44except Gar
31:45Ralph Gar
31:46and Ralph
31:48had a terrible
31:48time in the
31:49outfield
31:49one day
31:50I said to Harry
31:50every ball
31:51that goes
31:51to the left
31:51is an adventure
31:54and he came
31:55up to me
31:56the next day
31:57by the cage
31:57and he starts
31:58saying
31:58did you ever
31:58make an error
32:00I said
32:00well I feel
32:01that 997
32:03he walked
32:04away from me
32:06Pearsall's
32:07shotgun candor
32:08exploded
32:08when he leveled
32:09his sights
32:10at the wife
32:10of White Sox
32:11owner Bill Beck
32:13wow
32:14Jimmy Pearsall
32:15had been relentless
32:17in attacking my mother
32:19he called her
32:20a colossal bore
32:21he said that she
32:22ought to stay
32:23in the kitchen
32:24and I just
32:26thought
32:27that enough
32:28was enough
32:29he was always
32:30making
32:30just
32:31I think
32:32terribly unkind
32:33comments
32:34and so
32:35I went
32:36after
32:37I remember
32:38the night
32:38that Jimmy
32:38tried to
32:39strangle
32:39a sports writer
32:40named
32:40Rob Gallus
32:42the White Sox
32:43pitching coach
32:43Dave Duncan
32:44literally had to
32:45pry
32:46Pearsall's hands
32:47off the guy
32:51Mike Beck
32:52and the reporter
32:52Pearsall
32:53then went
32:54on a brief
32:54leave of absence
32:55before rejoining
32:56Kerry in the booth
32:57six months later
32:59Bill Beck
33:00sold the team
33:00they were the only
33:02asset
33:02I'll tell you that
33:03because
33:04Bill Beck
33:05didn't have any money
33:06we didn't have
33:07any players
33:08and
33:09they were
33:10the show
33:11problem was
33:12it caused
33:12the conflict
33:13was that
33:14the station
33:14in Chicago
33:15was promoting
33:16Harry Carey
33:17and Jim Pearsall
33:17and not the White Sox
33:19and Tony La Russa
33:20Jim Leland
33:21and the rest of the staff
33:22resented that a little bit
33:23all of a sudden
33:24here's La Russa
33:25coming in with
33:26Leland
33:27and Lachali Lau
33:28to harass me
33:29at the station
33:30Leland was so mad
33:31he was having a bag
33:32he tore his shirt off
33:33from that day
33:34there was a bad incident
33:35last night
33:36between Sox manager
33:37Tony La Russa
33:38and announcer
33:38Jimmy Pearsall
33:39La Russa
33:40upset with some
33:40of Pearsall's criticisms
33:42took two of his coaches
33:43Jim Leland
33:44and Art Custner
33:44and actually went
33:45to Sports Vision Studios
33:47to accost Pearsall
33:48you couldn't blame
33:50Tony La Russa
33:52and the coaching staff
33:53and the players
33:54at times
33:55too
33:56want to defend themselves
33:58because they were
33:58at the mercy
33:59of being scrutinized
34:01or comments being made
34:02that really
34:03were uncalled for
34:04late in the 1981 season
34:07Pearsall
34:08crossed the line again
34:09this time
34:10this time
34:10on a local TV show
34:11with newspaper columnist
34:12Mike Royco
34:13he said to me
34:14how are these wives
34:15trying to get you fired
34:16because they were
34:17calling a sponsor
34:18trying to get us fired
34:20and that's when
34:20I made the statement
34:21that I called them
34:22horny broads
34:24and it didn't go over
34:25too well
34:26I remember
34:27the horny broad thing
34:29I think I was
34:30in the clubhouse
34:31at the time
34:32and heard that
34:33and you're just
34:34kind of like
34:36wow
34:37it's almost
34:38you had to think
34:39for a minute
34:39did I just hear
34:40what I think I heard
34:41needless to say
34:41we had a total revolt
34:43on our hands
34:44when I got there
34:45and I talked to Jerry
34:47about it
34:47and I said
34:48well we're going to have
34:49to do something about it
34:50when Jimmy Pearsall
34:51was threatened
34:53with being fired
34:54which happened
34:54quite often
34:55and finally
34:56was fired
34:57I wrote columns
34:58in his favor
35:01for one important reason
35:03because he was part
35:05of the greatest
35:06broadcasting team
35:07in the history
35:08of Chicago
35:08what Frankie tells me
35:10so it seems
35:11kind of strange
35:12that when I read
35:14the letters
35:15my fans
35:16and
35:16they make
35:18please
35:19Jimmy Pearsall
35:20just live
35:21the way
35:22you are
35:26when we return
35:27we'll sum up
35:28Jimmy Pearsall's
35:29life on the edge
35:30number 37
35:32the pride of
35:33Waterbury
35:33Connecticut
35:34Jimmy Pearsall
35:36Pearsall married
35:38his third wife
35:39Jan
35:39the next year
35:40he was fired
35:41by the White Sox
35:42then in 1986
35:44Pearsall resurfaced
35:46as a minor league
35:46outfield instructor
35:48for the Cubs
35:48I think that he was
35:50one of the best teachers
35:51because he was so verbal
35:52and so animated
35:54one of the best teachers
35:55of the art
35:56of playing the outfield
35:57that I've ever heard
35:57I've spent 14 pretty good years
35:59working with the kids
36:01the greatest
36:03thing I've ever done
36:04in my life
36:04was to see
36:05help the kids
36:05be successful
36:06in our game
36:07but occasionally
36:08Pearsall's dark side
36:09comes out to play
36:10I was with Pearsall
36:12at the Chicago Cubs
36:15fantasy camp
36:16Jimmy was managing
36:17a team
36:18and there was
36:20a woman
36:21playing on that team
36:23and she made a couple
36:25errors in the field
36:26and Jimmy went
36:27after her verbally
36:28with such a viciousness
36:30that it shocked
36:31everybody
36:32Jimmy quite often
36:33will do things
36:34and say things
36:35that are contradictory
36:37he'll do things
36:38to get into
36:39an organization
36:40and then he'll say things
36:41to get himself
36:43right out of the organization
36:44to undermine
36:44the exact thing
36:45that he is part of
36:46the Cubs
36:47fired Pearsall
36:48in 1999
36:48for saying something
36:50they judged to be
36:51inappropriate
36:51but he remains
36:52in the public consciousness
36:53as host
36:54of his Chicago
36:55based radio show
36:56he can say
36:57almost anything
36:58he wants
36:58and often does
37:00I want to tell you
37:00I got suspended
37:01for three days
37:02for just
37:02holding the bat
37:03on my shoulder
37:04arguing with the umpire
37:05behind the plate
37:05the third base umpire
37:06came up
37:07I let the bat go
37:08and he fell on his ass
37:09that cost me three days
37:10in the firings
37:11both with the White Sox
37:12and the Cubs
37:13whatever he has said
37:14that's been brash
37:15or off the cover
37:17spontaneous
37:18it only reflects
37:19his opinion
37:20it's never
37:21from the point of view
37:22of a bad heart
37:23he was the kind of fellow
37:25that when he put
37:26that uniform on
37:27he wanted everybody
37:27to see him
37:28and when he got
37:29on that field
37:30you're watching
37:31number 37
37:33I was warming up
37:34with Ted
37:34and one of the ushers
37:35said
37:36Mrs. Roos would like
37:36to see you
37:38I walked over
37:39and I said
37:39Mrs. Roos it's a pleasure
37:40to meet you
37:41she said
37:41I just wanted to tell you
37:42Jim
37:42to bathe with a lover
37:44to watch you play
37:45boy
37:46I mean like
37:48that's my hall of fame
37:49he was colorful
37:51he was colorful
37:51out there on the field
37:52he was colorful
37:53the way he played
37:54the way he talked
37:55some of his antics
37:56on the field
37:57one of the things
37:58that we as baseball writers
38:00and fans
38:01have done
38:03that I find
38:04absolutely appalling
38:05is the creation
38:07of this word colorful
38:08Jimmy Pearsall
38:08is always described
38:09as colorful
38:10when Jimmy Pearsall
38:11was seriously
38:12emotionally disturbed
38:13anybody who lives
38:14with somebody
38:15who is a diagnosed bipolar
38:17knows that
38:18you have
38:19things to handle
38:21there are times
38:22when it's not so easy
38:25but those
38:26are not the times
38:27you're going to
38:28dwell on
38:29or remember
38:30you remember
38:31the good things
38:31and there are more
38:33good things
38:33in times than bad
38:34he was a character
38:36in a game
38:37that does not come along
38:39very often
38:39he
38:41had no reservations
38:44he was Jimmy Pearsall
38:45he was himself
38:46he was his own man
38:47he was like an institution
38:48he had been in an institution
38:50then he became an institution
38:51it's a logical progression
38:52I always say
38:54oh you know
38:54this is the best thing
38:55that happened
38:55I got recognition
38:57I sort of
38:59learned
39:00more about myself
39:03and
39:04in the overall picture
39:05you know
39:06people always say
39:06he's goofy
39:07he's wacky
39:08you know
39:08my teammates
39:09used to give me that shot
39:10but then all of a sudden
39:11I started making money
39:12once you start making money
39:13you're no longer a wacko
39:14you're dumb like a fox
39:16he had
39:17at one level
39:18the courage
39:18to commit to paper
39:20something significant
39:21about his life
39:23and perhaps
39:24in coming forward
39:26at a very
39:28dark
39:29and private time
39:30in American life
39:31the 50's
39:31I think he probably
39:32helped people
39:33cope with the fact
39:34that they might have
39:36mental illness
39:36and helped society
39:37at large
39:38understand that
39:39you know
39:39mental illness
39:40is an illness
39:41and if you confront it
39:42and deal with it
39:43you can survive
39:44you can prosper
39:45you can lead
39:46a productive life
39:47and he certainly did
39:49he managed to channel
39:50what were many of his
39:52anxieties
39:52many of his psychological
39:53problems
39:54into a much more
39:56positive
39:57upbeat
39:58persona
39:58and of course
39:59he was then able
39:59to parlay this
40:00into an announcing career
40:01so Pierce Hall
40:02I think
40:03while many people
40:04remember him
40:05because of his
40:05nervous breakdown
40:06by the end of
40:07his career
40:08I think he
40:08represented
40:09sort of the
40:10exuberance
40:10and the joy
40:11of baseball
40:12as much
40:12as anything else
40:15Pierce Hall
40:16remains
40:16painfully candid
40:17in 1986
40:18when he began
40:19broadcasting
40:20AAA Portland
40:21Beavers games
40:22he described
40:23the tiny booth
40:24that peeked
40:25at the field
40:26through a chain link
40:26fence
40:27this is great
40:28he said
40:29with overbaked
40:30sarcasm
40:31I feel like
40:32I'm in a room
40:32in the sanitarium
40:33only it had
40:34a better view
40:35I'd like to see
40:36Vince Scully
40:36work in here
40:37he'd give it up
40:39one thing
40:40seems certain
40:41about Pierce Hall
40:41he would never
40:43give it up
40:43bad as it was
40:45he'd already
40:46been through hell
40:483SPN Classic
40:49Sports Century
40:50I'm Chris Fowler
40:51yeah sir
Comments