Rube Waddell played baseball.
Unless a fire truck drove by the field.
If he heard a fire truck, he dropped everything and chased it.
Even if he was pitching.
It was such a compulsion that players on his team were ready to hold him down if they heard a siren.
But when he was on the mound, and in his right mind, Rube Waddell was the greatest power pitcher of the early 20th century.
He looked like this.
His fastball was overpowering.
His curveball was even better.
But that was only when his coach could get him to pitch.
Because Rube Waddell had a problem with distractions.
Shiny objects would send him into a trance.
And he had an obsession with puppies.
Opposing fans would hold up puppies in the bleachers to distract him.
Rube would jump into the crowd in the middle of his inning to pet the puppies.
Then sometimes he would just decide he wanted to go fishing in the middle of an inning.
But even with all the odd behavior, Rube Waddell was an ace.
He was so good that sometimes he would wave his teammates off the field and face the opposing team without a defense.
And whenever he did that, he would always strike out the side.
During the season he was electric and bizarre.
But during the offseason he was ludicrous.
Most players spent the offseason working jobs in the coal mines or tending stores.
Rube Waddell spent his off seasons doing things like wrestling alligators in a travelling circus.
Or he would tour the country as an actor in a play.
But he could never remember his lines.
So every show he just made it up as he went along.
The play ended up being a critical hit.
Then in one offseason he dated, married, and separated from his second wife, saved a woman from drowning, shot his friend in the hand, and somehow got bitten by a lion.
And all these exploits made him the biggest draw in baseball.
And eventually he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
And a guy that wrestles alligators, chases fire engines, gets bitten by lions, and becomes a successful actor, all while being the world's best pitcher is definitely a poster worthy person.
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