veeck, as in wreck, and eddie gaedel

The most famous stunt in baseball history occured on August 19, 1951 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Bill Veeck, owner of the dreadful St. Louis Browns, hired a stage performer named Eddie Gaedel to pinch hit that day against the Detroit Tigers. Gaedel stood all of 3 feet 7 inches tall and weighed in at an imposing 65 pounds. His uniform number that day was 1/8, and, instead of regulation baseball shoes, Gaedel wore little elf slippers with the toes turned up. St. Louis manager Zach Taylor sent the diminutive Gaedel up to the plate in the bottom of the 1st inning to pinch hit for Frank Saucier. Tiger manager Red Rolfe protested, but Taylor produced an official contract signed by all concerned and filed with the American League office, so Gaedel was allowed to bat.
Veeck had instructed Gaedel to crouch as low as possible at the plate, and to not swing his little toy bat at any of the pitches. In his low crouch, Gaedel had a strike zone that measured only 1-1/2 inches, so it was next to impossible for Detroit pitcher Bob Cain to throw strikes. Gaedel walked on four straight pitches, and was promptly removed for pinch runner Jim Delsing. The crowd gave Gaedel a standing ovation, but American League president Will Harridge was less than amused. He denounced the stunt as an affront to the dignity of the game and voided Gaedel's contract the next day.
Veeck continued to employ Gaedel in later years for various non-playing stunts. In 1959, for example, Gaedel and 3 other little people dressed up as Martians and presented "ray guns" to White Sox players Luis Aparicio and Nellie Fox at a game at Comiskey Park.
The short life of Eddie Gaedel came to a sad and tragic end in June of 1961. By this time, Gaedel had become a raging alcoholic and was not in particularly good health. He was mugged in Chicago and died of a heart attack at the young age of 36.