Waite Hoyt and the Dead Body in the Trunk!

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Amidst all the “heavy” writing we do around here on Baseball History Comes Alive, it’s fun to sit back every once in a while and have a good laugh. I guarantee that will be your reaction when you read Ron Christensen’s essay today about Waite Hoyt and the Dead Body in the Trunk. As far as I know, Waite joins with Andre Dawson as the only two ball players who were also morticians, although Waite joined the profession while still an active player, whereas Andre bought his funeral home in Florida after he retired from the game. (Click on this link to read about Andre’s unusual post-baseball career.) Anyway, read Ron’s essay and have a good laugh! -GL

Another Edition of:

From the Lighter Side!

Waite Hoyt and the Dead Body in the Trunk!

You never really know baseball until you put on a pair of cleats and get out and play it, and if you play for five years, you still don’t really know what it’s about. –Waite Hoyt

Waite Hoyt was the best pitcher on arguably the greatest baseball team ever to take the field – the 1927 New York Yankees.  Alongside the ‘Murderers Row’ fueled offense, Hoyt led an accomplished pitching staff in wins, games started, complete games, and innings pitched.  His 22 wins tied him for the American League lead, and his .759 winning percentage was league best. Over his career, the well-travelled Hoyt place for nine teams and posted a 237-182 record (.566), with a 3.59 ERA, 26 shutouts, and 226 complete games. He was a key contributor to three Yankees World Series championships (1923, ’27, and ’28) and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1969.  (1)

Waite Hoyt’s Unusual Profession: “The Merry Mortician!”

Waite Hoyt was also a mortician.  His father-in-law at the time owned a funeral parlor in New Rochelle, and Hoyt apprenticed with him to learn the business, believing that one day his wife would inherit it.  As a result, Hoyt was branded with the nickname ‘The Merry Mortician,’ and the name stuck.  (2)

Among his more interesting duties were his trips to the Manhattan morgue to retrieve bodies for delivery to the funeral parlor in New Rochelle.  Hoyt would do this in the morning before ballgames, and while in Manhattan, would stop for breakfast at his favorite local eatery, Wing Sing’s Tea Parlor on Doyers Street in Chinatown, which was close to the Manhattan Morgue.  Hoyt would refer to these runs as his ‘Breakfast and Body errands.’

On one such errand, Hoyt took teammate Myles Thomas with him.  Arriving in Manhattan, the two stopped first at Wing Sing’s for a breakfast of dim sum, then headed to City Hall and to the morgue to sign out the body. 

Waite Hoyt’s Unusual Cargo!

After a brief wait, two attendants came out with a body sealed in a body bag being wheeled on a gurney.  The attendants helped move the body to Hoyt’s vehicle, placing the body in the backseat.  Hoyt noticed the time and realized there was no way they could drive the body back to New Rochelle and return to the Bronx in time for the game.  Believing their only viable option to be to drive directly to the Stadium, Hoyt decided to do just that.  He told Thomas that when they arrived, he would call his father-in-law and tell him to come and pick up the body.  Thomas, liking the idea less and less, was assured by Hoyt that all would be fine and that he had done this before on other occasions.  But first, the two had to move the body from the backseat to the trunk so that the body wouldn’t be visible inside Hoyt’s car in the Stadium parking lot while waiting to be picked up. 

The Game Infringes On Waite’s Professional “Duties!”

When they arrived at the Stadium, there were no shaded areas to park in, and the day was proving to be a scorcher.  Hoyt told Thomas that even in the sun, the body would keep for an extra hour or so until his father-in-law could arrive to take it.  As the two entered the stadium, they were met by team trainer, Doc Woods, who told Hoyt that Miller Huggins was looking for him and wanted to see him right away.  Hoyt postponed the call to his father-in-law in favor of seeing Huggins in his office. When Hoyt entered, Huggins proceeded to tell him that he was pitching today, something Hoyt wasn’t expecting because he pitched in relief the day before.  Now Hoyt’s mind became preoccupied with preparing for the game he had to pitch against the Red Sox, and of course, he forgot to call his father-in-law about the body temporarily entombed in the trunk of his car in the parking lot of Yankee Stadium.

The game moved along well for the first three innings.  Hoyt was cruising, almost untouchable, surrendering no hits, no walks, and allowing only two weak fly balls to left field.  Then, in the fourth inning, everything changed.  Hoyt appeared to lose his composure.  He paced around the mound, kicking up dirt.  He walked the first batter on four pitches, gave up two quick singles, and before an out was recorded, the Sox scored two runs.  All the while, players inside the dugout could hear Hoyt continually repeating the word “Goddammit!, Goddammit!, Goddammit!”  Hoyt had finally remembered he hadn’t called his father-in-law about the body in the trunk.

All’s Well That Ends Well…I Guess!

Huggins sent Bob Shawkey to the mound to try and calm down Hoyt, and when he got there, Hoyt told him about the dead body in the trunk of his car and told him to return to the bench and tell Thomas to get some ice to cover the body with.  Shawkey laughed, obviously not anticipating this circumstance when he walked to the mound.  He returned to the dugout and relayed the message to Thomas, who, with the help of Doc Woods and two of the ballboys, put twenty pounds of ice into the trunk of Hoyt’s car.  When the inning finally ended and Hoyt returned to the dugout, Thomas confirmed that the ice was in place and that, at least for the moment, all was well.  “I just hope this doesn’t go extra innings!” he said to Hoyt.  (3)

As soon as the game ended, Hoyt jumped in his car and drove the body back to New Rochelle.  This may well be the first and only time a dead body has attended a baseball game at Yankee Stadium.

Ron Christensen

We’d love to hear what you think about this or any other related baseball history topic…please leave comments below.

CITATIONS:

1. Baseball Reference
2. Schoolboy – The Untold Story of a Yankees Hero, by Waite Hoyt with Tim Manners
3. Hoyt the Mortician, by Myles Thomas, 2016

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