Eddie Gaedel, who was 3' 7", jumped out of a cake between games then appeared as a pinch hitter in the bottom half of the doubleheader. He was the first — and only — midget to ever appear in a Major League ballgame and Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a one-of-a-kind photo gallery.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Eddie (Gaedel) I've got your life insured for a million dollars. I've got a gun stashed up on the roof. But don't you let any of that bother you. You just crouch over like you've been doing and take four pitches, huh?" - The Autobiography of Bill Veeck (1962)

Eddie Gaedel

Eddie Gaedel Game Worn Jersey

Eddie Gaedel Game Worn Jersey
(Photo by National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc.)

Photo Gallery

Eddie Gaedel Cache

Eddie Gaedel 40th Anniversary FDC
(Photo / Art by Gateway Stamps)

Eddie Gaedel Autograph

Eddie Gaedel Autograph
(Part of Seth Sewirsky Collection)

Eddie Gaedel

Eddie Gaedel
(Photo by Baseball Magazine)

Eddie Gaedel Poster

Eddie Gaedel 24x17 Poster
(Poster by Taylor)

Eddie Gaedel At-Bat

Eddie Gaedel At-Bat
(Photo by the Associated Press)

Eddie Gaedel Photo Gallery
baseball almanac flat baseball

baseball almanac fast facts

On September 2, 1951, Eddie Gaedel was arrested in Cincinnati for screaming obscenities. He attempted to convince the policeman he was a big league player. He was arrested for disorderly conduct and released on a $25 bond.

When Eddie Gaedel was laid to rest (read his obituary here) only one former major league ballplayer was in attendance. It was Bob Cain — the pitcher who walked him — who said, "I never even met him but I felt obligated to go. It kind of threw me for a loop that no other baseball people were there."

"I didn't know whether to throw the ball underhanded or overhanded to Gaedel," Bob Cain later told sportswriter Danny Peary. "I just wanted to be careful not to hit him. Dizzy Trout told me later that if he'd been the pitcher, he'd have thrown the ball right between his eyes."