There have been many inside baseball with a gift for gab; however, in my book no one ever beat Charles Dillon Stengel for his way with words. I was early on in my writing career going around interviewing for one of my baseball books with a letter from a publisher asking that “all professional courtesies be extended to Dr. Harvey Frommer.”
Luckily and unplanned, I came across old Case sitting (or sleeping) in the dugout. I introduced myself. He was taken by the “Dr.” in the letter.
“I’ve got a pain in my ass, doc,” he said.
I am not that kind of doctor,“ I replied. ”I am a professor.”
The “ol' perfessor,” (he once taught) and the new one hit it off. He gave me time and memories and shooed away his regulars press guys for a bit:
“Can’t you guys see, I am doing an interview with the Dr?”
From that long ago time, I have always had a fascination with the man of many words. What fellows is just a brief batch of his bon mots and also what others said about him.
