Eddie Waitkus...The Natural

Bill Matteson
Uptown Chicago History Correspondent

Eddie Waitkus was a born baseball player. He was so good that when he played minor league with a small town in Maine, they called him a Natural. He was born of immigrant Lithuanian parents on Sept. 4th 1919.

He  signed with the Chicago Cubs in about the1939/1940 time bracket, playing full time in 1941. Then the war broke out and most able-bodied ball players signed on to serve their country.

Eddie went with the Army and fought many a bloody battle in the Philippines, winning 4 bronze stars.
He returned to the Cubs in 1946 playing 1st base, replacing  Phil Caveretta, who moved to left field.

Eddie was a highly educated sportsman and everyone liked him. He could speak five languages and was the poster boy of sportsmanship for the media. Yes, everyone loved him; maybe a little too much.

In 1948 he was traded to the Philles for three players, including Dutch Leonard, a great knuckleballer.
Now the Phillies had been scheduled to play 11 games over the 1949 season.

Arriving in Chicago June 14th, 1949, he registered at one of Uptown's finest hotels, the Edgewater Beach. A lot of out of town sports figures stayed there, while most of Chicago's players stayed at the Sheridan Plaza.

Unbeknownst to Eddie, he was being stalked. He had an admirer.

Ruth Ann Steinhagen was uncontrollably infatuated with Eddie. She registered at the hotel under the name of an old classmate of Eddie's and sent him an urgent message to meet her in her room.

When he walked in, she shot him in the chest with a 22 cal. rifle; she then called the desk and explained what happened. When help arrived, she was cradling  Eddie's head in her lap. Eddie almost died several times, but they were successful in removing the bullet, which narrowly missed his heart.

On Aug.19., 1949, just 2 months after being shot, Eddie suited up and played at Shibes Park for Eddie Waitkus Night.

Today, our highly paid athletes get a hang nail or a sprained finger, they sit out the season.

Ruth Ann Steinhagen never went to trial. She spent a long time in a mental institution and died of natural causes last December 2012.

Sometime in 1952, a book was published, written by Bernard Malamud, inspired by these events. Malamud took parts of the Eddie Waitkus story and then borrowed from the life of Shoeless Joe Jackson, a few more baseball role models, including Christy Mathewson, the greatest pitcher of his day and the inventor of the fade-a-away, the present day screwball, a reverse curve, so to speak.

Christy was a role model for all young boys, not ever drinking or smoking and going to church. Christy even became the role model for the Frank Merriwell adventure series with over 800 books, movies, and radio programs

(I like to mention this part about Christy because his family changed their name from Matteson to Mathewson while living in Pennsylvania.)

Bernard Malamud wrote The Natural. Roy Hobbs was molded after all players mentioned.

A lot of good things come out of Uptown, or at least Uptown played a major part in them.

Editor's note: Bill Matteson grew up in Uptown in the forties and fifties. You can read more of his recollections by clicking the link "Bill Matteson" below.

Aerial of Edgewater Looking Toward Uptown

Aw, this is after the poor Edgewater Beach Hotel was no longer on the lakefront, so this image was taken sometime after 1955. My own condo (rather, the previous house on the same location) has just barely been clipped out of the picture. I have yet to find an aerial image and closeup view clearly showing the blocks around Argyle. If you have one, I'd love to see it.

Jumping off the Edgewater Beach Hotel, 1922

I've had this image on my hard drive for a while, but I can't remember the original source. (If you recognize it, please let me know!) It shows a person making a low jump with a parachute off the roof of the Edgewater Beach Hotel. Hard to believe there was enough clearance for that!

Aeriel View of Uptown, Looking Toward Edgewater Beach Hotel

The main road at the left in this picture is Sheridan Road, looking north toward the former Edgewater Beach Hotel located near Sheridan and Foster Ave. The Trib had this identified as 1934, but a reader pointed out that can't be right because of the 4+1's and the Tides Motel visible. Anybody have a better date?

Brown Bowler / Derby Hat from Edgewater Beach Hotel

This has to be one of the niftier collectables we've found from the Edgewater/Uptown area—a brown derby hat (like the one worn by Charlie Chaplin) designed by Knox of New York and sold at Plum's of the Edgewater Beach Hotel. It actually says Edgewater Beach Hotel in the band in the lining! I wasn't able to find out much about Plum's, other than it was a shop in the EBH. Does anyone have more information?

You can put your bid in on eBay here: http://bit.ly/12nBiHF

Here's the history of the derby hat (as found on Wikipedia): 

The bowler once defined British civil servants and bankers, and later American workingmen. It was devised in 1849 by the London hatmakers Thomas and William Bowler to fulfil an order placed by the firm of hatters Lock &  Co. of St James's. Lock & Co. had been commissioned by a customer to design a close-fitting, low-crowned hat to protect Coke's gamekeepers' heads from low-hanging branches while on horseback. The keepers had previously worn top hats, which were easily knocked off and damaged. Lock & Co. then commissioned the Bowler brothers to solve the problem. Especially in Great Britain, most accounts agreed that the customer (and designer of the hat) was William Coke. However, later, a nephew of the 1st Earl of Leicester, provided research that has cast some doubt on this origin story. It is now believed that it was Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester, who invented the hat design.

When Coke arrived in London on 17 December 1849 to collect his hat he reportedly placed it on the floor and stamped hard on it twice to test its strength; the hat withstood this test and Coke paid 12 shillings for it. In accordance with Lock & Company's usual practice, the hat was called the "Coke" hat (pronounced "cook") after the customer who had ordered it. This is most likely why the hat became known as the "Billy Coke" or "Billycock" hat in Norfolk.

In the Americas the bowler, not the cowboy hat or sombrero, was the most popular hat in the American West, prompting Lucius Beebe to call it "the hat that won the West". Both cowboys and railroad workers preferred the hat because it would not blow off easily in strong wind, or when sticking one's head out the window of a speeding train. It was worn by both lawmen and outlaws, including Bat Masterson, Butch Cassidy, Black Bart, and Billy the Kid. It is in America the hat came to be commonly known as the "Derby", and Wild West outlaw Marion Hedgepeth was commonly referred to as "the Derby Kid".

The bowler, called a bombín in Spanish, has been worn by Quechua and Aymara women since the 1920s, when it was introduced to Bolivia by British railway workers. For many years, a factory in Italy manufactured the hats for the Bolivian market, but they are now made locally. Another region that appreciates the bowler hat is the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. The men of this region use this hat as a fashion accessory, along with a walking stick. These fashion accessories, which have become a staple part of the regional costume, were introduced by British colonials in the 1900s.

Skating at the Edewater Beach Hotel, 1934

Edgewater Beach Hotel Flower Shop, 1941

 

Edgewater Beach Hotel flower shop, 1941. Original image available on eBay at time of writing, item 200705408208

Edgewater Beach Hotel, 1941

The Chinese Room at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, 1941. Item available on eBay, auction number 370579944464

Moving Day at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, 1967

What a sad day it was in Uptown when the elegant Edgewater Beach Hotel closed its doors. Older residents of the neighborhood still speak fondly of dancing under the stars and swimming in the cool waters of the lake. We won't see its like again! Image available on eBay at time of writing, item 260914235721.

Edgewater Beach Hotel's Gray Goose Air Lines Service, 1928

The swanky Edgewater Beach Hotel once ran a flight service for its guests that would take you from the frozen north to the sunny south in just seven hours.

Text reads:

Direct to the Gulf Coast by Airplane
A Special Service for Edgewater Beach Hotel Guests

Rise from the Municipal Airport, Chicago, and after seven delightful hours, find yourself at the Gulfcoast.

On wings of luxurious comfort, speed your way Southward, from Winter's blustering blasts to balmy summer zephyrs.

Loll restfully against the handsomely appointed upholstery of your easy chair as you are wisped along with the speed of the wind.

At your will enjoy exhilarating freshness of the open window or the snug comfort of the closed one.

All the attendant comforts of travel are provided: heat, light, and lavatory.

Come as you would, dressed for street or ordinary travel.

----

Update: I did a little more poking around on the Internet, and found this old advertisement as well:

Edgewater Beach Hotel Student Dorm

Before it was finally torn down, the Edgewater Beach Hotel served briefly as a student dorm for Loyola University.

Image currently available on eBay: item 270806123289.

Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, 1963

Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. during a press conference at the National Conference on Religion and Race at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, Chicago, 1963.

Original image available on ebay at time of writing

Garage Entrance to Edgewater Beach Hotel

Not a view of the Edgewater Beach Hotel you see too often. I had to post it because of the marquee.

From the IDOT collection.

Source: Illinois Department of Transportation Chicago Traffic photographs
Collection: IDOT Chicago Traffic Photographs (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Repository: Special Collections and University Archives, University of Illinois at Chicago Library

Storming the Beaches of Uptown, with View of Edgewater Beach Hotel, Chicago, 1959

A great press photo from 1959 showing Marine maneuvers at Montrose, with the Edgewater Beach Hotel in the background. Original available at time of posting from here: Marines!

Edgewater Beach Hotel Dishes in Use

Okay, this isn't a terribly interesting picture, I know. The caption reads, "Chicago socialite Mrs. Berta Baurf adjusting her earring while talking with Everett Dirksen, candidate for U. S. Senator, at a luncheon in the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago, October 13, 1950."

But if you're like me, and collect old dishes and glassware from the Edgewater Beach Hotel, you can't help but notice what they're eating from. This is the only photo I've seen that has a close up of the dishes in use.

Edgewater Beach Hotel Under Construction

Edgewater Beach Hotel, Unit 2, Now Under Construction for occupancy in 1924:

The original card is available here (at least it was at time of posting): Edgewater Addition

Edgewater Postcard Showing Broadway Surface Lines, Elevated

Can you spot your house in this postcard? Note the elevated and surface lines are marked. This was created before the lakefront was filled in.

Original postcard available for purchase at time of writing from here: Edgewater Beach Hotel

Images of Edgewater, with a Cessna in the Foreground

Images of a Cessna that ran out of gas in Edgewater, 1959.

Original images available at time of posting from here: Edgewater Beach Hotel

Two Early Postcards of the Edgewater Beach Hotel

What a glamorous place the Edgewater Beach Hotel was! The top postcard, of the Black Cat Room, I haven't seen before. The bottom one of the fountain I have a copy of in my own collection. These vintage photo ones are among my favorites of the Edgewater. Both are currently being auctioned on eBay here: Early Postcards Edgewater

I wonder what ever became of the chandeliers? That's the type of thing I'd really love to collect for my 1920s two-flat.

Cowboys at the Edgewater Beach Hotel, 1955

Members of the Texas chapter in Chicago for the Combined Group Insurance Convention, August 14, 1955. The woman is Miss Combined Group Irene Kennedy of Houston. The cowboy holding the horses is Vince McCue of Dallas. They rode horses down Sheridan Road to the convention at the Edgewater Beach Hotel.

Original image available for purchase (at time of posting) from here: Giddyup!