THE FLAMETHROWER

Author

Matthew Garringer
August 08, 2023

Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The daily newsletter that loves baseball as much as Matt Garza loves Popeyes Chicken.

Let’s dive in.

Today’s story is about the life of a legend, shattered dreams, and redemption.

If you’ve seen Bull Durham (everyone should) then you probably remember Nuke LaLoosh - that character was based on Steve Dalkowski.

Many people say Steve threw harder than anyone in the history of the game, but he had no idea where the ball was going.

His fastball was impressive, but it was equally terrifying.

Radar guns didn’t exist when he was playing, but teammates and coaches that saw him pitch estimated that he threw around 110mph, maybe up to 115 on a good day.

His left arm was basically a one-way ticket to the Hall of Fame.

But all his life, he had control issues.

Bill Huber, Steve’s high school coach, said that Dalkowski struck out 15 hitters in the first game he ever pitched.

He walked 13.

That year, he struck out 313 batters and issued 180 walks.

On his graduation day, scouts had limos lined up outside of the housing project Steve and his family lived in.

Everyone wanted this guy.

He decided to sign with the Orioles, and pretty quickly, things went left.

During a game in ‘57, Steve hit a player named Bob Beavers in the side of the head and he had to be rushed to the hospital - the guy never stepped on a baseball field again.

People were worried that Steve would accidentally kill someone.

He spent several years in the minors working on his accuracy and honing his craft, including some time playing for Earl Weaver on the Elmira Pioneers.

Steve finished the second half of the season in ‘62 looking better than he ever had - in about 52 innings, he had struck out 104 batters and only walked 11.

It was all finally coming together.

The next year, Steve got invited to Spring Training in Miami.

Unfortunately, on March 22, Steve was pitching against the Yankees when he heard the noise that no ballplayer ever wants to hear.

Dalkowski wound up to throw a slider, tried to put a little extra on it, and according to his teammate Boog Powell, “you could hear his elbow pop all the way from first base.”

Steve tried to keep throwing, but after two pitches, his coach came out to pull him - he was never the same after that.

He bounced around and played a little minor league ball, but by age 26, he was out of the game completely.

Dalkowski lost his identity that day, and his future didn’t look very bright.

Going back to migrant work and hard labor after being days away from playing in the big leagues is a hard pill to swallow.

Steve moved out to California and fell into alcohol addiction.

For years he struggled with it and even got to the point where he was sleeping in alleys and dumpsters.

His struggle was only made worse by the passing of his mom and dad, and before long, Steve was so deep in the throes of addiction that he didn’t even show up to his mom’s funeral.

And this continued on for decades.

His old teammate, Frank Zupo was able to finally able to get him treatment in ‘92, and it lasted for a few months, but then Steve returned to the streets.

In what can only be considered a complete miracle, he was found by a couple in a laundromat on Christmas Eve.

Dalkowski returned to his wife, who ended up passing away a year later.

Eventually, he wound up back in New Britain, CT where he had spent his childhood and everything came full circle.

Steve continued to maintain his sobriety, and some pretty incredible things happened during the final years of his life.

He was invited to throw out the first pitch at Camden Yards in ‘03, and he also had the opportunity to do it at Dodger Stadium.

Steve was also featured in the film “Fastball” in 2015, which is a great doc if you haven’t seen it.

Dalkowski passed away in 2020 due to Covid-related health issues, but you know what they say.

“Heroes get remembered, but legends never die.”

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STRANGE NAMES

If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.

Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.

If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.

Today's winner is:

Timothy Berry aka “Cannonball” was also nicknamed “Showboat Mike.”

He was primarily a pitcher, and played with more than half a dozen teams over the years.

Even though his major-league stats aren’t much to look at, Berry was known for his electric fastball - very “on brand” for this email.

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