Charles “Gabby” Hartnett

by Michael Ceraolo

You know why someone gets the nickname Gabby
And you can probably guess why someone
gets the nickname Old Tomato Face
(hint: Chicago during Prohibition, and after)
I know injuries are a part of the game,
but we would have won back-to-back Series
if I had been healthy in ’29
and Hornsby had been healthy in ’30
You know I was behind the plate
when Ruth allegedly called his shot;
he pointed to our bench with two fingers
(both teams had really been riding each other),
saying that was only two strikes, he had one left
You know about the famous homer in ’38,
but you may not know I got called on the carpet
for having my picture taken with Al Capone
after I had given him an autograph
What was I supposed to do, refuse his request?

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