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Eddie “The Natural” Waitkus Photo Gallery

Today Mike Janacek returns with a “deep dive” into the shooting of former Cub Eddie Waitkus by stalker, Ruth Steinhagen in Chicago’s Edgewater Beach Hotel.  At the time of the shooting, Eddie was a member of the Phillies. He is believed by many to be the character portrayed by Robert Redford in the movie, The Natural. Eddie survived the shooting, while Ruth was committed to an institution. Whether or not you’re familiar with this incident, I think you’ll find Mike’s essay interesting. -GL

Eddie “The Natural” Waitkus Shot by an Obsessed Femme Fatale!

If I can’t have you, nobody else can either!” –Ruth Ann Steinhagen to Eddie Waitkus, just before shooting him.

I’ve watched the movie, ‘The Natural’ featuring Robert Redford, half a dozen times, and recently I came across a story that made me sit up and take notice. The movie could be based on actual events that occurred on June 14, 1949.

Edward Waitkus was born on September 14, 1919, the son of Lithuanian parents who met on the ship coming to America. Educated in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, he began playing baseball at nearby Cambridge Field. Eddie was a right-handed pitcher, but when his father bought him a first baseman’s glove, he didn’t want to disappoint him by telling him it was the wrong glove and hand, so he taught himself how to throw left-handed. In high school, young Eddie was a star baseball player, hitting .600 in his senior year, and making every scholastic team in the Boston area. He was an honor student and graduated 6th out of 600 in his class. After school, he played in the Suburban Twilight League, moving on to the Maine League. While the Yankees showed interest, the Cubs beat them, signing Waitkus for a $2500 bonus. Named to the all-star team in the three I League, the Cubs then sent him to the Texas League.

Making the Cubs out of spring training, he made his debut on April 15, 1941, and appeared in 12 games before being sent down. The following year, he played in the Pacific Coast League, and when the Cubs were looking to bring him back up in 1943, he was drafted into the army. After basic training, Eddie was posted to New Guinea, where he was involved in assault missions as a machine gunner. Waitkus was a war hero earning four Bronze Stars, four overseas bars, and numerous other ribbons and stars. Back with the Cubs for spring training in 1946, he made the team and hit .304, finishing 13^th in MVP voting. Named rookie of the Year by the Chicago chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Traded to the Phillies in 1948, he was hitting .306 at the beginning of June and leading the All-Star vote for first basemen.

Ruth Ann Steinhagen, a nineteen-year-old typist, had been infatuated and then obsessed with Eddie from the first time she saw him play in 1946. When he was traded to the Phillies, she was determined to kill him, later stating in court. “I used to go to all the ball games to watch him. We used to wait for them to come out of the clubhouse after the game, and all the time I was watching, I was building in my mind that idea of killing him.”

When the Phillies came to town for a Series with the Cubs in June 1949, Steinhagen booked a room in the Edgewater Beach Hotel, where the visitors stayed under the alias of Ruth Ann Burns. She left a note at the front desk asking Waitkus to come to her room on an urgent matter; another version has it that a bellboy delivered the note to his room. Waitkus believed the note was from a friend of Ruth Ann Burns, as he knew some people by that name. When he arrived at the room, Steinhagen shot him in the chest with a .22 Remington rifle. The bullet pierced his lung, missing his heart and ribs, lodging in the muscle near his spine. After the shooting, Steinhagen called the front desk and help was sent. She was found holding his head in her lap. Taken to the Illinois Masonic Hospital, Eddie had several operations and spent a month in the Hospital. Steinhagen was diagnosed as schizophrenic and sentenced to a mental hospital.

Returning to the Phillies in 1950, Eddie was part of the ‘Whiz Kids’ team as they came to be known, and was a popular teammate. “With Waitkus on first, you don’t have to waste any time aiming the ball before you throw, you just let it fly. You know that if it’s in the right general direction, Eddie will come up with it.” Granny Hammer, Shortstop, Philadelphia Phillies.

Despite having a good season, hitting .284 and scoring 102 runs, Eddie began to grow weaker as the season progressed. He started smoking again, drinking to deal with his depression and inability to sleep. The Phillies won the National League pennant but dropped the World Series to the Yankees. He had four hits in fifteen at-bats. After the season ended, he had tests done, and it was discovered he was anemic. Sold to the Baltimore Orioles in 1954, he was given his release in mid-season 1955 and signed back on with the Phillies. He had 30 hits in 107 at-bats, including a home run in his last Major League game. Released after the season ended, he retired.

As a rookie way back in minor league ball, he had been given the moniker ‘the Natural’. Bernard Malamud wrote and published a novel in 1952 called ‘The Natural.’ While it was a fictional story of a young baseball player named Roy Hobbs, it featured a scene where an obsessed woman shot Roy in a hotel room, very much like the events that occurred in Eddie Waitkus’ life.

After his career ended, Eddie was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, likely from his experiences in the war. He had insomnia, anxiety, depression, and avoidance issues. His drinking got worse as he self-medicated with alcohol, and his marriage fell apart. In 1969, the Philadelphia fans voted him the greatest first baseman in Philadelphia history. Eddie was always feeling ill with a persistent cough and little energy. In August 1972, he was admitted to the Hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia. After biopsies were performed, he was told he had esophageal cancer and passed away on September 16, 1972, at the age of 53. An autopsy later revealed he also had lung cancer. Always a steady performer, great teammate, and all-around fan favorite, Eddie rebounded after his career was derailed twice, once by the war and a second time by the shooting. His story is sad, yet it also tells the tale of a great man overcoming the odds to achieve success.

Mike Janacek

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