t was in a bar
in Cleveland
a few years
ago when I
first heard
about Ray “Slim”
Caldwell. For a good hour- and indeed, it was a
very good hour – a
grizzled local excitedly
regaled me with the story
of the pitcher who was
struck by lightning on
the mound and who, after
being unconscious for
five minutes, did not
merely finish the game
but won it for his team.
Saturday marks the
100th anniversary of one
of sport’s most
remarkable tales and,
doubtless, many Indians
fans will raise a glass to
the spitballer who
refused to submit to
30,000 volts.
Yet while they toast
this great baseball
character, and as my old
friend says to his
companions the same as
he said to me – “Imagine
Why sport
should not
be letting
lightning
strike twice
Century of ‘Slim’s’
remarkable tale
of gutsy defiance
masks a serious
concern, writes
James Corrigan
today’s multi-millionaire
wimps acting the same
way as Slim” – they will
be perpetuating one of
sport’s most dangerous
myths: that tough guys
always get up and carry
on, no matter how big the
knockdown.
Of course, the
admiration for Caldwell
is understandable,
because this is an
irresistible yarn. The
former Yankees man was
making his debut for
Cleveland at League Park
and at the top of the ninth
innings had inspired the
Ohio side to a 2-1 lead
over the Philadelphia
Athletics. Seeking the
final out, Caldwell
prepared to pitch to Joe
Dugan when it happened
... BOOM!
“A blinding flash
seemed to set the
diamond on fire and
Caldwell was knocked
flat,” the Cleveland Plain
Dealer reported. “His
team-mates feared he
was dead.” And then
came the second
exhilarating moment that
sent shock waves
throughout the stadium.
Opening his eyes to the
relief of all those around
him, Caldwell spotted the
ball in a team-mate’s
hand. “Give me that,”Slim whispered before
clambering to his feet,
“and now point me in the
right direction.” With the
crowd in stunned silence,
he proceeded to wave
away his manager, who
actually leapt into the air
after touching his
pitcher’s still cracklinghair, and then to strike
out Dugan.
“My first thought was
that I was dead,” Caldwell
said. “But when I looked
up and saw I was still in
the diamond and that the
fans were still in the
stands, just as they were
before I was hit, I had to
laugh with joy. I realised
the trumpets were not
sounding for me yet.”
In truth, they have
been blowing for his
memory ever since.
Legend has it that the
electricity made him
stronger. A few weekslater he threw a no-hitter
and the next season he
guided the Indians to
their first World Series.
It did not end there, as
Caldwell did not only
survive the bolt, but also
the bottle, the notorious
alcoholic living until he
was 79. In his obituary,
the Plain Dealer
remarked that Caldwell
“did everything on his
own terms” and
recounted how he had it
written in his Indians
contract that he was
“allowed” to get drunk
after every game. “They
don’t make them like
Slim anymore,” my
Cleveland drinking
friend told me. “A proper
man.”
Yet was he? And is not
the fact that we are here
in 2019 still celebrating
sportsmen defying
medical opinion more
than a little concerning?
Look at Steve Smith at
Lord’s on Saturday.
Knowing what we do
now about head injuries,
every observer must have
felt uneasy when the
Australian returned to
the crease within 40
minutes of being hit on
the neck by that 92mph
delivery from Jofra
Archer.
Except, if we are
honest, how many of us
felt at least a degree of
admiration for Smith’s
courage. As Luke Griggs,
deputy chief executive of
brain injury association
Headway, said on BBC
Radio 5 Live, it is this
entrenched attitude that
sport must eradicate if it
is fully to tackle the
alarming proliferation of
concussion. “It is a
problem in all sports and
we are struggling to get
rid of this perception that
you are being really brave
for going back out there,”
he said.
So think of Caldwell on
Saturday and breathlessly
recite that extraordinary
incident, but try to avoid
the lazy comparison with
today’s mollycoddled
superstars. Thankfully
we have moved on – but
we have so far to go yet.Miracle man: Ray Caldwell
(above) survived a lightning
strike in 1919 as reported in
the Cleveland paper (right)I
In tomorrow’s Sport section
Best for Ashes
Scyld Berry reports on
the start of the third
Test at Headingley
Final whistle
20 *** Thursday 22 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph
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