The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds - 479 - Harry Decker

Episode Date: May 4, 2021

Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds examine baseball catcher Harry DeckerSourcesTour DatesRedbubble Merch

When you're staying at an Airbnb you might be like me wondering could my place be an Airbnb and if it could what could it earn? You could be sitting on an Airbnb and not even know it. That in-law sweet guest house where your parents stay only part-time Airbnb it and make some money the rest of the year whether you could use a little extra money to cover some bills or for something a little more fun. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.ca slash host. You're listening to the dollop on the all thangs comedy network. This is a

bilingual American history podcast where each week I, football watcher, man who likes pants, not bald. Dave Anthony reads a story from American history to his friend. Gareth Reynolds who has no idea what the topic is going to be about. Great list there. I feel like that's the second time you've bragged about how you're into pants. Good for you. Yeah here's the thing about me Gareth. I like pants. Yeah cool you're a good guy. I'm a pretty big fan of having a piece of clothing that goes from my waist. You're not going to define what pants are to people right because that would be like a crazy thing to do. All the way

down to my ankles and then there's holes in them and I can step in right and then pull them up and they and they just kind of cinch around that whole area and they keep me warm. Okay. They keep me protected from insects. I was trying to support you and you're making me regret it. I think a lot of people and we have a lot of listeners around the world and I look I haven't traveled very much but I don't think people outside of America know what pants are so it's fine to explain to people what we do in America which is wear pants but don't protect ourselves from COVID and don't take vaccines and we shoot at each other. Also

nobody likes each other and we're probably going to end up like the road warrior in about four years. That's honestly generous. That's exciting. Shocked to hear that. And in a way it's nice to sort of see the prophecy coming towards us. Sure. We've talked about it a lot. Sure. And we're getting there. Yeah. So it's cool. It's cool when people have pretty much the same chance of being shot as much as getting a shot. That's a cool country. It's so great to see one of the foreign comedians. I don't know if he was Australian or. Oh yeah. But he said he showed he showed he explained how they have better health care in

Grand Theft Auto and he's right. It is. It is. It is one of those bits where you're as a comedian you're just jealous because you're like holy shit did he condense that nicely. And then I tweeted about it and I didn't put his name and I felt like a dickhead because I was like if that was me I'd have been Tim bat is his name. He's an Australian comedian and his bit on America is is pretty much word perfect. I can't say no notes bit. So I'm going to steal it. I'm going to start doing that. We'll do it on our tour of Australia. I'll do a little stand up up front and I'll just take his bits. Yep. That's America. American and I say

fuck you. And called it quote his jam pack. I'm the fucking hippo guy. Okay. My name's Gary. My name's Gary. Wait. Is it for fun. And this is not going to come to Tiggly clock. Okay. Now hit him with the puppy. You both present sick arguments. Actually part. No. I see that my friend. Monday October 11th. That's when our tour of Australia begins. So we're going to be going to Perth Adelaide Sydney Brisbane Melbourne. Canberra. New Zealand should be on there. Canberra. Canberra. So go check that. You can go to dollpodcast.com for tickets and then we also have a dollop. Yes. Coming up on May 14th. 14th. You can get to looped live a live dollop. We've done a

number of these. They are pretty great. Dave really brings a lot of media to these events. So join us for one of those May 14th looped live. September 3rd 1864. Year of our Lord Jesus Christ. Can I jump in for a second. It feels like every year is the year of our Lord Jesus. Well they all are. Okay. Every single one since since his birth has been. This year. They're all it's the years are are from when he he kicked it or was born one of the AD cares. Sure. So so that's that's why we say that because the calendar is based on our Lord Jesus Christ death. We've established that every year is the Lord. So great. Yeah every every Lord is the it was it's based on his death when he got killed. So this is

September 3rd 1884. Did you say. Yeah. He was. Okay. Let's just start. And then they put him in a hole and he can't. Let's just jump back in. I shouldn't have jumped in. I really wanted the history. You got it. Thank you. Thank you so much. Straight out of the history books. I really appreciate it. Earl Harry Decker was born in Columbia County New York. His parents were Philip Decker and Margaret. And they lived in Lockport, Illinois for a very short time in 1867. They moved to Chicago as we call it. Shietown. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Wendy City. Wendy the Windy Sit. Philip Decker was a very skilled carpenter. He built up a successful contracting business. And by the 1870s census it was recorded. He owned 10,000 in property.

So dad's doing good. Right. So he's so I just realized the year I suggest that it was is totally wrong because this is in the 1870s. Okay. All right. So is dad's doing well? Would you think 1884 was what I guessed? That's different. 1864. It's my attention to detail. I think that keeps the people coming back. So why people love it? So the family's the family's well off and Harry doesn't want to go into contracting carpentry work. Why? Because Harry is in love with a game known as baseball. Okay. Okay. Okay. Harry is very good at baseball. Well, he's just a teen. He landed a place on a team sponsored by the local board of trade. Okay. So this is baseball is just getting going. And okay. And it's

the rules are always changing. It's all different stuff. There's a couple of major leagues. But like every town has a team and every every group has a team. Like it's just everyone's got teams, right? Okay. So he gets on one of those teams. And then after that, he gets scouted and seen and then he signs up with one of Chicago's top amateur clubs known as the unions. The unions. Yes. Lord, imagine trying to name a team that today. All of the people would go crazy. Oh, they wouldn't like that. Cause unions were the unions. Yeah. They destroyed America. People don't know that. But that's yep. Slowly. Harry and this in the army around this time. But when he gets to Fort Leavenworth, he's like, I don't like

this and he leaves. That's a real rich guy move. Yeah. That's that really is a spoil. That's just like, you know, I think I want to join the army. And then you're there just like, Oh, it's not a lot of combat. Is it? I'm all muddy mother. My band that hurt my nail. So he bails. Now that's obviously illegal. And there are no one knows exactly what happened. But there's reports that he stayed to stand a prison. He claimed insanity, but there's no confirmation. It was said he had to go to an asylum for a bit for a very brief period. So it's possible. It's very possible. So I thought a newspaper now of him being welcomed as the new catcher for the local Des Moines, Iowa team on July 13th, 1883. Okay. So he's

what 19. So he went, he kind of, he basically went AWOL, then went to a mental institution. And now he's a catcher. That's right. Mm hmm. As that was to the announcer said, little background here. Didn't play any college ball, but did join the army for about six hours, which point he went totally AWOL. And now we play Bay ball three and two full count bottom of the six. So in 1884, he signs his very first pro contract with the Evansville team, which is in Indiana. He, he, he is there known as a very cocky and confident player. Right. By the way, when you moved to Evansville, the group of Evans. Oh my God. Your name's not Evan. They do not like it. And there's a lot of violence. Yep. He, he got the nickname

the Adonis while he was there. He's a chubby fella. Yeah. It's chubby. He once, once asked to umpire a game and it was very hot day. So he said he'd only do it if he got a chair fan and an umbrella, which isn't really, it feels like potentially a pampered individual. A little bit. I mean, it's definitely, it definitely feels like he came from a very rich, easy life. Did they now? I mean, I could go either way on this, but did they accommodate? Yeah, I believe they did. They did. So he got a chair and fan and an umpire game. Yeah. The ups of sleep again. I'm just so comfortable. Yeah. For people who don't know baseball, umpires don't sit down. No. And they certainly don't have fans in the stands or blowing on

them. No. Uh, could I just get another bowl of grapes? Now he's not pampered because he's, he's a catcher. Uh, so it's, it's arguably the most brutal position that has ever existed in sports is a catcher from like 1860 to the 1890s. So baseball is pretty new at this point. Rules are constantly changing. Teams are trying to establish themselves. Leagues are shifting. I mean, when I say rules are changing, like one year, there's no foul. You can't hit anything foul. One year, there's no foul. There's no, at the beginning of baseball, there's no fouls that you just had to catch the ball wherever it went. And wait, wait, wait, I'm sorry. I'm wait. So if you, so there was, was there any, there was no out of bounds?

No. Okay. So, but, but there's no, so you just hit a ball anywhere and run. It must have been a really high scoring sport. Yes. There used to be like 80 runs a game. You used to hit the ball. You could, you could, if you couldn't hit the ball, if the pitcher, pitch of S you could hit it backwards. You could just like tip it and then run. Like it was just all the rules we think about baseball now didn't exist and they're coming. I'm ready to go back to that. Oh, I'll do that. That's going to get me watching again. I'll do, I'll do one on that for sure. That was actually how I found this because I was going through the old rules and then I was like, Oh, this is a cool story.

It's like cricket. Yeah. It's, it's very, it's, it's a lot like cricket when you start reading about it, but more brutal, like they wore pads and stuff and created Americans like no pass. Use your face and your hands. Best country. So, so there's the two leagues. There's the national league and the American association. Those are the two pro major leagues. And then this new group comes along the union association. They're trying to create a third week and a league and try to break in. And so to do that, they refuse to recognize the contracts of the other two leagues and they're just like, I will sign anybody. It doesn't matter. They're just poaching. Yeah. I mean, I guess you could call it poaching. They're,

they're like, yeah, we don't believe in, in your contract. So we can sign into your guys. So it's baseball polygamy. Yeah. But it's really good for the players because now there more players can play and get, make money and they can move around and make more money. So it's helpful that. So Harry was signed to play with the Indianapolis team in the American association. And while he's playing for Indy, two men from the Kansas city club of the union association come to the game and sit right behind them. Now one was a peekaboo beach. Okay. So what, how do you want to handle it? What do you mean? How do you want to do it? It's just, how do you want to dish this out and sort of split it up or? That's what

he's known by. He's known as peekaboo peekaboo. It's just a guy's name. What's your deal? Don't name shame. No, no, it's just like, it sounds like a, it's like a child fantasy character. It's a little, it's not like, it sounds like a boogeyman cousin. It's, it's not a, yeah, it's not a great name for a grown adult. You know what I mean? Like a grown adult probably shouldn't be named peekaboo. Yeah. I'm assuming he did this a lot with the kids, but sans or adults. Yeah, it has to be everybody. If that's your name, if you met peekaboo, he would just put his hands in front of his face and then he thinks he's gone. Hey, how it's nice. There he is. Yeah. I'm 41. So I don't need that. Hey, I love

it. And I'm a, got your nose, Schmidt. So it's the room of paper quote in the second or third inning beach held up a big role of $1 bills. Oh, deck. He called look here when Decker's eyes cited the wad and the nod. He was wild to get out and fable says he stuck out his finger and got hurt in the sixth inning so he could hurry up and join the Ted in peekaboo. There is absolutely no way there's a crazier thing in this story than what you just said. So he holds up money and the guy's like, Oh, ooh, la, la. And then he intention like, does he bunt with his index? Okay, there's no, there's no replacements. You can't replace a player. The only baseball is amazing. I would watch this shit. The only way you could replace

a player was if he was hurt so badly that the other coach agreed that that guy's too hurt to play. And he goes with finger and the other coach is like, Oh man, it looks pretty swollen. Well, the fingers, I mean, these guys fingers are just broken all the time. So yeah, it would make sense. Okay. So Harry, Harry goes to Kansas City and in India, I cannot believe his plan. I cannot believe that peekaboo beaches plan just worked. So he leaves every he just owes everybody money when he leaves Indianapolis is landlady is his laundry person friends. Great. And at the end of the season, I'm noticing a pattern. It's a does it's not finishing. At the end of that season in Kansas City, the Union Association

folds and most players who had hopped over were forgiven by the National and American Leagues. Some weren't and Harry was one who wasn't. And he found himself blacklisted from the pro teams. Okay. I wish I knew what peekaboo was. I want to kick that guy's ass. I'm behind my hands. Don't tell him. I heard him. He's around here somewhere. Yeah, I heard him again. Shut the fuck up. I hear him. Oh, find him. Give me that bat. Damn it, peekaboo. What? I should have talked over him. I know what I'll bet. So the next season, he signs with a semi pro baseball team in a price is wrong. I'll get a bunch of things. Kier Cook, Iowa. And people loved baseball in Kier. Quote, baseball was a great craze. A kid could that

Kier Cook at that time and the members of the crack home team were verifiable heroes. And Harry is the biggest star on the team. So, okay, in this town, which I'm assuming is just not that big, but he is king shit. Right. He's a catcher. Catchers are the king shit at the time. They are like folk heroes because the position is fucking brutal, broken fingers, broken. They have, they wear, there's no mask. There's no pads. There's no mask. Well, then say no more, Dave. Say no more. I mean, that is a very dangerous position. They're using their hands to catch the ball. There's no gloves. They're using their bear. Okay. So I'm sorry. I, okay. So they are just taking like probably 80 mile an hour roughly

as balls thrown directly into their bare hands with no masks. And these are super, super hard rubber balls. It's just solid hard rubber. Oh my God. And there's no cup. I mean, the whole thing is you basically just like you've, you've turned the catcher into like a, you know, like, I mean, pillows and cages is what a catcher is basically wearing. Yeah. And, and, you know, catchers would stand 20 feet behind the plate. Like they would have stood in the parking lot. So there's tons of concussions. There's broken noses. There's, you know, eyes are destroyed. Anything a hardball could do. And, but Harry has skill. Okay. So he's kinked in the town. He is also a ladies man. And I think they call them a Donna. So I would

assume he's attractive and, and then he falls for a 15 year old girl in town. Boy, we sure hear that statement a lot on this show, don't we? Sure. Seems to just be real regular time when it was just fine. It's bad, but it's not. I mean, he is, he is 20, I think, maybe 19. So it's not terrible. It's, I mean, yes, it's not as bad as some, I mean, it's, but it's, I mean, obviously creepy. Yeah. So they're really into each other. Her name's Angelina Annie, her nickname's Annie. And soon, pretty, pretty quickly, she gets pregnant. Okay. They, they get married on July 16th, 1885. His friends are like, there's no way this is going to last at all. Okay. And now it's very hard to keep teams. Does he, does he, when the

baby is delivered, does he sort of stand like in this catcher stance, like five feet away from her, gives a little signal, give it a curve, baby. Out, out of the baby comes breaks, breaks his finger. It's a boy. So at this time, it's really hard to keep teams together because there's so much competition, like I said, every organization, every club, like everybody has a baseball team. So they're all trying to get players. And the kicker team breaks up. So Harry then sides up with the Decatur, Illinois team. Is it Decatur? I think it is. Yeah. Yeah. Decatur, Illinois. In the spring of 1886, Harry and Annie have a baby girl. And then surprisingly, surprisingly to every single human being, he, it's a calming

influence on him. He becomes a doting father and a good husband. And it's like, you know, it's that thing that everybody wants, you know, with the dream, the magic dream of that guy will settle down. Right. Right. Right. So, so after that season ends, he's taken off the blacklist from the major league pro teams and he signs for a major league team in Macon, Georgia. Again, he, he fawns over his daughter so much that they have a big ceremony at one game and he's given a baby carriage by locals. Like he's known as the dad who loves his daughter. Okay. I like, I love that by the way. We found a real weirdo who cares about his daughter. Give him a baby carriage. Ironically, that'll teach him. Got

to award, award this guy because most everybody like to take the daughters down to the river to beat them on the rocks, throw them in. Get this. He sticks around. I tell you what, I first saw him and it was clear he loved his daughter. I was just laughing at him making fun of him. And then I was like, well, that's, that's actually not that bad that a man would enjoy his daughter. It's, Oh, you don't know what he's disgusted. Yeah. Loving a daughter. Now I've heard everything. It's really weird. So Harry also becomes a better player. Other teams want to sign him. Detroit makes an offer, but the Macon team is like, no, he's too good. We're not selling

them. Cause at this point, we signed him to a six carriage deal. At this point, catchers are literally the baseball team because of the rules. If you didn't have a good catcher, you lose. If you have a good catcher, you win. And when I go through the episode, I'll explain why, but it's just the way the rules were. And so they're like the gods of the game. Okay. It's just all about the catcher. So after two months of Detroit, just hounding Macon, Macon gives in and sells Harry to Detroit. Okay. First game. He impresses everybody. Detroit's got a really good team. It spent a lot of money on good players. You know, it's sort of a dynasty, like a Yankees situation, right? That we would think of today. And okay.

So he's on a really good team and they're just rolling over other teams. By the end of July to have a 55 and 14 record. Wow. And on the way to a game, Harry is switching trains in Illinois and other players are too. And players are just walking up to him and congratulating him on his good fortune. Like he, everything's turned around for Harry. They're like, your life's amazing now. You're on this amazing team. Can't believe you love your daughter and stuck around. That is super weird, man. We don't, we talk about all the time. Like that guy loves his daughter. It's a freak show. Whatever. Yeah, it's crazy. Congratulations. Yeah. Congratulations. It's just, you're an oddball, but yeah, strange. But then by August,

the wheels come off and Detroit falls apart and they're just losing players are being sold. Harry was then bought by the Washington, a senator team and they're a terrible team. So two months, I mean, the senators in Washington. So two months, he goes from being on this amazing team to being in the worst team with a 15 and 75 record. And then on top of that, they're not playing him. So he's frustrated. He's bored. And then that turns to the old pre-married Harry going out and having good times. Oh, okay. So, okay. So it's a balance he's got. And now we're taking one of the Jenga blocks away and we're wobbling. Everything falls apart. Right. So near the end of the season, his manager was sent several telegrams

that warned him a lot of betting was happening on a game when they were going to play Kansas City. Were they singing telegrams? Cause no, they were, that would be amazing. Like that should be. Hey, boss, there's a, there's a panda out here. Hi, I just wanted to give you some news. You're the coach. Yeah, I'm mad. Okay. Well, all right. Well, I hope that you don't make me go, but the game some of your players will throw. They don't want to help you out. They're going to do it in the dugout. If that exists, not sure it does, but I just wanted to let you know the way it was. The guys got a plan and they lied to you. And that's why the panda bear will do the panda dance dishonesty. It's a panda

123. You're a little confused about what I'm doing. I'm just telling you the players will ruin the season if you're not careful. So I've just got to tell you that it's me, the singing panda with bad news. Son of you, don't be afraid to tip son of you considered not having a horribly embarrassing job. Well, I'm at a guy. He was rude. His first name was peekaboo. He told me he'd help me out. But in the end, I have a lot of problems. Yeah. Why are you a panda? Well, I bought the suit. It was pretty cheap and benefits. I will reap. It's just me a panda bear. This fucking life is so unfair. Yeah, thanks for the. Yeah, that was really great. Did you get out of here? It's really upset in the team at this

point. I understand the guys look weird and kind of sad. Makes Mr. Panda feel pretty bad. I'll go this way. Say goodbye. But once I leave the room. Well, boy, boy, my ear cry. Okay. I just want the panda gone. Because you boys, could you get the panda out of here? I don't want I can take my genitals out through the suit. Okay. All right. Let's have a stay. I'm in the locker room. Let's see. Turn on some music, boys. We got a show. No, you boys not a party. All right. So so he starts getting a bunch of telegrams saying that there's going to be betting a lot of betting on this game and specifically not to use the pitching catching combo of Frank Gilmore and Connie Mack, which are the two main guys. Okay. But the manager

is getting so many of these that he he starts to think the gamblers are just trying to get him to sit. Those two tell a scam. Yeah. So that Harry would play. And so he's all suspicious. So he sticks with Gilmore and Mack. Harry plays shortstop in that game. Okay. And then Gilmore pitches a one hit shutout. But Harry makes three errors and is thrown out at home plate. Okay. He did get two hits, but it's a bad look for the information that came through. So they're so now they're sort of like they think that the telegrams were fake and that Harry's probably related in some sort of conspiracy or something. They now they're thinking, well, the coach is right. The coach is right. He shouldn't have had Harry play catcher. So

there's a lot of scrutiny after the game on the players performance is obviously Harry sticks out. People think he tried to throw the game after the season. The suspicion increases and Harry's thinking the team's going to cut him. So he goes and he begs them to keep him. He said he didn't play well because his wife was sick. It wasn't about throwing the game. He just it was a bad day. Now other teams know there's a situation developing here. So they start making offers. Okay. So before this season, the next season is supposed to start. Washington, Rochester and Toronto all make offers. Okay. Each each also the players would get advances on their salaries. So they'd be like, okay, see $2,000 advance or whatever.

Right. So each team offers an advance. And so Harry takes all three advances. Sure. And that's how it's done today. Yes. No, it turns out he's actually going to side with all four of the teams interested in puzzling move. Not sure how he's going to pull this off, but what a deal for Harry. So Peyton Manning now a Denver Bronco, a San Francisco 49er, a Chicago bear and a Tennessee Titan. Unbelievable. Can't wait to see what that Jersey looks like. It's going to look like the quilt they all made once. I don't remember what it was. No, obviously he can take all the advances, but that's going to catch up to him when the season starts. He can take all the advances. Yeah. Why not? Oh, right. Yeah. Right. Yes. Okay. Yes. Right. Yes.

Right now. Yes. Right. There is a long term problem. Yes. There is a long term problem. There's going to be a day when they have to play. Yes. And when they all think he's going to show up to play. Exactly. Yes. Okay. Good. Same page. Harry doesn't seem to care. Sure. And it's also like it's not just that it's that everyone's going to know immediately, like all the fans and all the sportswriters never will immediately know what he's done. So he doesn't seem to care. And he takes two checks. Wow. He takes two checks to one bank to cash them. So he goes to the same banker and is like, Hey, I want to cash these two advanced checks and ones like from Rochester, and then from Toronto or whatever. And that banker, it turns out, had once been the director

of the Washington Senator's baseball club. My Lord. Okay. So that very immediately put an end to his amazing plan of catching the advanced checks. Just, I mean, the it's amazing because he's like, God, I would just love to do two trips instead of four. He seriously, he couldn't even go to two different banks. Yeah. I mean, it's just two tellers go to four different tellers go four different days to the same bank. So Harry's response is to create an alias Cal Broughton. Now, this is this is a this is one of those plans that is only good for a little bit. You're creating a fake person.

Well, so so catchers were so desperately needed at this time that we don't even care if he's real. Well, kids, young kids and people, they're mostly young, young teenagers and stuff or, or, you know, teens, they would just write a letter to like the Boston Red Stockings and be like, Hey, I'm a catcher. I'm really good. And they're so desperate. They'd be like, well, give me a shot. And so sometimes kids would just come in and play one game. And and having written this stuff about a great thing and played the worst game anyone's ever seen and then be on a train back home to Iowa or wherever. Hey, I would love to take a shot at being your catcher at some, you know who I am, right? Do you remember me? No, no, I don't.

Oh, I was singing the telegrams for the team a little while ago. Oh, yeah. That's the singing panda. You were the guy who took out your genitals in the locker room. Yep. Yep. But don't worry. I sewed that up. I'm really sorry about all that. That was a little crazy. But I'm I'd love a shot with the team. I'd love to try out the Panda outfit. No, we don't actually pandas on the pandas in baseball. Give me a shot to try to catch your team and me is most likely a match. Yeah, this is an old saying. There's no pandas in baseball. There's another old saying. What? I'm dying for food. But the thing was, is if you're like a baseball president or whatever and some guy writes and

says, Hey, I want to play for your team and you turn him down and then he does go play for another team and he's good. Well, then you people are desperate for catchers. The fans are like, What the fuck did you do? Yeah. And you're like, No, no, no, no, worry. Literally anyone who asks can catch our plans now. It's not a crazy plan. We can't evaluate these guys. Get him out here. So so that's what he does. It's not that crazy that he pretended to be someone else. Soon Cal Broughton gets sent to check as as did Harry's other new catcher alias, David Oldfield. David Oldfield. Yeah. Uh huh. I mean, how long until peekaboo beach is getting a check? So a man and I don't know exactly how this worked. Like the team must have hired someone.

But a guy is sent to the addresses that were given. And and somehow the I think he I think he wrote to the same team and got both the same team to send a check to send checks to two guys. Oh, wow. I mean, there's a bit of laziness going on. Oh, no, he's so brazen that it's like, is there something wrong with his brain? Like it's it's so like it's so like who gives a fuck. So so they send a guy because the addresses are the same. And it's just a vacant lot where the checks are supposed to go. And then he sees and then he sees Harry quote walking up and down the street waiting for the mail carrier. Uh huh. Cool. So this is before Harry knew what suspicion was. Or I mean, just walking waiting

for the mail while they're like, this is okay. And where would you put the mail in a vacant lot? I guess that's where he comes in. He comes over. He's like, Hey, hey, hey, you got a you got mail for this address. Yeah, it's me. I live in this dirt. Why would it be a scam? It's just kind of weird that you live in a dirt lot. I mean, where do you sleep? There's nothing here. It's a vacant completely vacant lot. Hey, my dad was a mole. Oh, don't make fun of my people. Okay. Well, here's your check. Thank you. See you later, mole boy. Uh, so he's exposed. His scam hits the press. It's revealed he had already pulled it off on a Denver team as captured Jack Hayes. So he's already got money from the Denver team as Jack Hayes.

And then what does he do? Does he just sign the checks over to himself? That's what he does, right? Yeah, I think so. I think it's really easy to do that. Yeah, I'm sure back then it was just like, you swear to God, that's your name. Here's your money friend. So he he just is insistent that he's innocent. He's just like, no, I didn't do anything. A Rochester player confronts him. And Harry said, quote, he'd been blacklisted once and did not want to run any chance of again being blacklisted. And what? So then don't invent six guys you are. Yeah. So he's and so he's like, why would I sign two contracts if I didn't want to be blacklisted? But that's exactly what he had done. I love those excuses. Those are those are the best when someone has done something so crazy.

And then they're just like, I mean, how would I kill my parents? Think how crazy that is? You're like, yeah, but there's so much evidence. That's just a weird thing to say. But would I not want to have parents? I mean, think about that. It would be so crazy for me to do that. I mean, honestly, think about how crazy that would be. I would ruin my life. So he's admitting he knew he would be blacklisted again if he did it. I mean, by saying that, he's admitting he knew what the consequences would be. Yes. So he starts, he starts sending letters to sports editors, giving completely bananas explanations. At one point, he claims EH Decker and EN Decker are different people. Sure. Quote, he never did play with the

Washington's and at the same time that he did play with the Detroit. So he's just literally, like, it's like a puzzle that doesn't make sense that he's trying to wrap an explanation around to get out of it. There's no getting out of it. So his explanations are crazier than the actual crime. And are people, I mean, are people buying it? No one. No one's buying it. So that is the best too. When someone, everyone knows someone's lying and they're just doubling down on the lies. Yeah. And yeah, his reputation's in shambles. But remember, he's a catcher. He's a catcher. It's the it's like, if you don't have a good catcher, you don't win a baseball game. It's that it's about having a catcher who invents aliases constantly to get paid. That's, but there's,

there's like, there's like four teams that have, there's like four catchers and they just keep shifting around teams and a team will be at the top of the league and then the catcher will move to the other team the next year and they'll be the worst team in the league. Like it's just, it's crazy. Okay. Okay. Right. So he's a catcher. They're basically the team. So Toronto buys Harry from the Washington centers and he played in Toronto for two years. Okay. And he played really well. They won the pennant in 1887. And this is a minor, this is a very top minor league team. And in 1888, they come in second and Harry's second and hitting on the team. He's not getting into any trouble. Everything seems fine again. Sure. Now, Harry already wore a chest, chest

protectors had started coming around as a masks. So those two, those were two things where there are a lot of people who were like, I'm not going to wear this mask. It's mind control. Yeah. People had a lot of problems accepting the chest protector and the catcher. The first time Harry put on a chest protector, a sports reporter wrote, it was quote, a contrivance that likened him to a muffin maker. I mean, well, like, there's just sometimes on the show where you cannot relate to the things people are saying. And like, what, what, what the fuck is he talking about? You know, muffin makers, they got to protect their chests. He's saying he looks like he looks like he has an apron on.

I mean, you're essentially saying, okay, like these guys are like the John Waynes of the country. And sure catchers are just the ultimate guy. And so they're like, Oh, look at this guy. It's like he's making pizzas. Like it's like, this guy cares about his chest. What a puss. Well, so they caught the ball with their fingers, the really good ones would catch the ball, catch the balls with their fingers. And they would kind of just stand slightly askew to the plate. So now they could just sit behind the plate and let the ball bounce off the chest. So it's a whole different, it is truly a different thing. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So people are mad about that. And catchers, they use gloves, but they're not the gloves we can think of it. It's their oven mitts. I mean,

he's really just dressed like a muffin maker. He's got a little chef's hat on. He's got flour on his goddamn cheeks. So, oh my God, he threw a muffin back to the picture. This is literally a muffin maker. So the gloves they wore were the same gloves you would wear if you went to New York and put gloves on. They're leather gloves, but they would just cut the fingers off. So it didn't do shit. Right. Right. They're driving gloves. Essentially they look like driving gloves. That's right. Yeah. They didn't do much. They don't really stop paying. So in 1888, Toronto's backup catchers' hands were badly, quote, swelled and bunged. Oh, man. I hate when my hand gets all bunged. It's nothing worse. I got a bung thumb. Hey coach, my hands are pretty bunged. Can I

sit this one out? I don't know. We got a bunch of players who got bungy hands, but yeah, you look pretty bunged up. Sure. Yeah. Okay. They're really bunged, I'm just saying. They're bungy. They're very bunged. Medically speaking, you've got bung paws. Okay. So Harry looks at this guy's hands and he said he needed, quote, a mattress made in the style of a glove. And then he starts just walking around picking up stuff in the locker room and putting it together to make a big glove. So he's doing what like a bird would do for its nest to his catcher's myth. Yes. Not enough for him, for his, for his team. Oh, for his bunged up buddy. Right. Yes, bunged buddy. Hey guys, some gum, some twine, a couple of leaves. That's pretty nice. Well, he's

joking and he's walking around doing it. But as he's doing it and joking around, it starts to be like, oh, this spot actually work. That's amazing. That's how a catcher's mitt got made. Some guys sarcastically going like, yeah, well, what do you know? Why don't we take this little glove right here? Let's put some things on it. Oh, how about this little piece of felt? We'll put that there. Let's put a shirt in there, huh? How about some of these socks and a little bit of chalk? I'll tell you what, I'm joking, but this thing's starting to look pretty goddamn appealing. So when he was done, all the players realized this was actually a thing that could work. I mean, imagine wearing something like this. That's fantastic.

Now, others claim that they made the first catcher's mitt and probably more than one guy came up with the idea at the same time, the big mitt. Sure. Yeah. So many hands were getting bunged. Yeah, it's an obvious change with all the bunging that's going on. Yeah, yeah, everyone's bunged up. But the catcher's mitt. And does the catcher's mitt have a bung hole in it? It's got a, yeah, it's got a, yeah, I mean, it catches and also sends it out. It's a right. Got it. So it's right. Right. So he, uh, it catches on pretty quick. People just take to it. It catches. Of course it catches on tape. It's a catcher's mitt. I did comedy. I did comedy. All right, settle down. Get out of the winner's circle. Um, pretty soon almost every catcher is using one.

Um, now Harry has long rates are dropping. Harry, Harry's long been considered by many to be the inventor. Sporting life would always say he invented it. Uh, corresponded RM Larner praised Decker's inventive genius and referred to the mitt as his improved catcher's glove or lace glove, which is now so popular with the leading catchers of the country. Right. Now Harry's never has sarcasm been so useful. Harry is still in his early 20s. Wow. Okay. Most catchers were, most catchers didn't make it past the early 20s. You just couldn't do the job. Yeah, of course. You had to be really skilled at catching the ball without letting it hit your hand and healing and healing and healing. Yeah. So she's not a position that

leads to leads to a long term career, but he's good, but still not back in the major leagues. And then the catcher's position goes from being incredibly important to a lot less so because all the equipment changes. Yeah, right. Yeah. So everyone looks like a goddamn muffin maker. Right. And they go from being like the people see them as courageous warriors playing with no protection to guys with chest guards, masks, and mitts. And suddenly they're not manly or heroic. And people started calling them mere backstops. So they're like, that guy's like the wooden thing back there. There's no fucking difference anymore. I remember when they used to catch it and have their eyeballs pop out, but now, now the guy isn't breaking his nose. Now he's just like,

I got the ball. Like it's just bullshit. It is really amazing how the like the crossover between, you know, what the competitive nature of sports is and just the inherent how much people just want to see injuries. Like that's still that's still so much what we watch in sports. And yeah, like they do emasculate or, you know, denigrate people who they're like, oh, it's too soft. Can't hit him with the helmet anymore. Yeah. I mean, I know the players are shooting themselves in the chest, but this is Monday night football. Well, that yeah, I mean, that's a great example. Like everybody knows players should not be wearing helmets and probably take off the pads. Like yeah, the game would people would be getting hurt a lot less. So it's the same deal. Right.

So yeah, the Philadelphia Phillies offered Harry a return to the major leagues. Actually, I think at this time they're called the Quakers, the Philadelphia Quakers, but the next year they they switched the Phillies. So they offer Harry a return to the major leagues in 1889. Right. He's having marriage problems because he's just enjoying all the ladies on the road. His parents try to talk him into leaving baseball, getting a normal job to live a normal husband father life. Right. So between the 1888 season and the 1889 season, he works as a porter for a Chicago grocer. His dad probably got him the job with his connections. What is it? I don't know what a porter is. What's a porter? I think it's just like it's like

kind of like a go to guy. Like he's just like maybe delivering and doing other stuff like that. Okay. Okay. All right. Gotcha. So he also at this time goes into business with a guy named Paul Buckley to manufacture the catcher's mitt that Harry invented. Okay. Now he had filed for a patent and they're waiting on the application to be approved to begin producing the editor of Sporting Life wrote Harry's patent quote is sure to be profitable since the gloves bound to come into universal use and further improvement seems impossible. So he I mean, they're really saying like he is going, he has created one of the integral things in baseball and it's rich as shit. Basically every kid's going to have one. It's just some players already were making good

money selling baseball equipment and Harry would have a patent on the standard piece of equipment. He's going to be fucking rich. Right. But he doesn't seem to give a shit. Interesting. He didn't pay minor fees that were related to the patent application. Oh my God. Okay. But then it's in Philadelphia. He comes up with another invention. An improved turnstile investors are immediately like this is amazing, including the co-owner of the Phillies. Players are impressed. Players are like, oh, this guy, this guy's made a rich baseball. Guys are everyone's impressed. But then it's revealed that Harry had just taken one of the turnstiles that the Phillies already used and

filed the inventors name off and put his name on. Oh my God. It's getting egregious. I mean, this is now very, okay. I mean, this guy's got, I mean, this is, there's a lot of criminal behavior going on behind the scenes of this genius. People for years would still say he invented the turnstile, though, like somehow just caught on. So Harry's life takes a horrific turn when his daughter dies at two. So, so now he's also at the same time, he's trying to get this business baseball mitt thing going while playing baseball. It's all really too much. So he bails on the partnership with Paul Buckley. He's just like, I'm out of the baseball mitt thing. Wow. Three months later, the patent comes through and he just sells it to Spalding's

sporting goods company. Well, Dave, no one's ever heard of them either. I mean, for people who don't know, that is like literally who I was thinking of when I think of like baseball equipment and Spal. I mean, are they, they're the biggest ones probably, right? Yeah, pretty much. Yeah. Okay. So he just sells them the catcher's mitt technology. And they start making Decker's patent and gloves. So his fucking name is on it. His name is on it. Oh my God. It's sold for years. Catcher's mitts were sometimes just called Decker's. And he's making no fucking money. Okay. Smart. So he's savvy. He ends up playing two years in Philly. Over that time, he sees less and less playing time.

In 1890, he was traded to Pittsburgh. And for the first time in the majors, he became a regular starter. Now that, a lot of that was because a third league again tried to, tried to form. So more catches are needed. There's another catcher drought. But he would, he would later say his most notable moment in Pittsburgh was when a pitcher hit him in the head with a ball, with a pitch. Okay. I was hoping it'd be with a ball. No idea if things, these things are related, but things went rapidly downhill at this point. Oh, wow. Really? Okay. The third league folded, which meant fewer catchers. So he ended up being, he's out of the majors. He switches to minor league team, the New Haven nutbags. Oh, well, Dave, they don't sound like they're a step

down. I mean, that's, come on. We're playing the Cincinnati cinemas in the egg nog, double header. He still has reputations of ladies, man. Sports reporter, OP Kailer, quote, someone suggests that the New Haven girls will give Harry Decker a rousing reception, probably, but that's not the vital question. What will Harry give the New Haven girls? Harry is very excuse me. Excuse me, Mr. Purvey reporter. What are you talking about? What will he give him? Oh, boy. Harry is very generous, you know, and when he meets a few girls who believe in reciprocity without protection, there is likely to be an increase of commerce. I'm sorry. Well, maybe he's talking about fucking without a condoms, bro. Yeah. He's talking about

I mean, yeah. So he's, he said everything, but do later. He, yeah, this reporter's story is crazy. Yeah. Boy, the women love Harry and boy does he love unprotected sex and ejaculating inside those women when they're ovulating. Get ready, everybody. Get those catcher's mitts out. There's going to be a lot of little Harry's wandering around. Boy, this guy can shoot them. Today's headline coming in the girls. That's a Harry Decker story. It's called a double Decker. There. But before the season even started, Philadelphia cops came and arrested Harry for several crimes he had committed in Philadelphia. I won't hear of this. One was the seduction of an underage girl. Well, that sounds pretty right. She had been working

at the Mitt company. He had also stolen clothes. Can you imagine how sad his pickup line is at the Mitt company? Like he didn't do shit. You know, I came up with all this shit. Excuse me. I'm Decker. Oh, so you, oh, so you work for Spalding? Not, not really. I mean, I, I sold the idea for pennies. Oh, that's pretty foolish. Well, no, but then, then, well, then I got hit with a ball in the head. Oh, yeah. Um, I'm super horny. Excuse me. Oh, shit. Cops here. Cops here. At cool. At cool. At cool. At cool. He also stole clothes from his ex roommate and forged the names of the owners of the Phillies on some checks. On some checks? Oh my God. Wow. Most of it. I mean, why, why did you sell the patent, dude? Oh, God. I mean, you had it. Yeah, he had it. You had it.

He absolutely had it. The one thing this guy couldn't catch was a break. So a lot of the, a lot of the people just took restitution and this, that probably came from his father. Harry still denies all of it saying he was actually the victim of people trying to cheat him out of his. I was underage when she was hitting on me. Harry, you're almost 30. Yeah, I took pills and I got older when she got younger. Yeah. So no more questions. Hey, look, an open window. Harry, Harry. I can fly. Harry. Oh, he really bunged his head up. So most, most of the charges were quietly dealt with and went away, but the forged checks and stolen clothes went to trial. He, he doesn't matter about the underage. Right. Don't

worry about that. He pleaded guilty. He was let out after pleading guilty. They didn't give him any time in jail. Okay. And he files for divorce, but then immediately comes back. Baby, I'm sorry. Okay. Oh, thank God. You get it. That was something. Yeah, I love you. You really, we really, you don't hold a grudge, do you? We really made it to that hard time. No, I have, I have hamster brain. So I don't think it's, hold on, hold on, sweetie, sweetie. Yeah, shut up, shut up. Would you look at her? I'm going to go and get some milk. Don't worry about it. I want a divorce. I'm in love with this girl on the street. You'll look, you'll find someone. I'm moving on. Hi. Hey, it's me again. So she's dating someone. I love you, baby. Take me back. Okay. Oh, thank you.

Yes. Oh, hello, lover. Who are you? It's Harry, Harry, baby. It's Harry. Look, it's Harry. Yeah. Let's open this window. Who the hell is that? Oh my Lord. She's beautiful. Yeah. No, sorry. I didn't realize you were, are you hearing me talk about her? Yeah. Okay. I'm going to go try to marry her. I'm so glad. That's good for you. You should be happy. I will be happy. Yeah. All right. Well, good luck with everything. I hope you land on your feet. Oh, God, she's gorgeous. Hey, honey, it's me. Hi. Hey, look, I had a four month relationship with her, but it didn't work out. I just, I'm so sorry. What? Oh, right. God, this is super crazy. What an awesome situation this is. It's just so fantastic for me. All right. Well, look, I'm going to leave for a couple

months and date a bunch of girls, okay? Okay. All right. And then I'll come back. And we're still going to be fine. Hi. I haven't left yet, but hi. Yeah. Hello again. Sure. So I love you. I love you. Oh, you are empty headed. Hi. Okay. Just sort of noticing that head wound in the back of your head here. Yeah, I play baseball. Okay. It's really bunged up. Oh, gummy. Speaking of bum. Oh, honey. He was. So he gets out. She comes back. He's immediately arrested again in June for forging checks to a tailor. Sure. To a tailor. A nutmeg teammate loaned him money and let him stay at his house. And then Harry. I like to call him nutmates. I like to call him. Wait, he stayed with him

and he stole from him. Yeah. Yeah, he just steals from him. Sure. A girl said he promised a marier and he denied all these new accusations and called himself a victim. Quote, baby, they made it all up. I would never do that to you. This girl is lying, baby. Quote, I think I am a most unfortunate man. It seems to me that if I merely look at a girl, she fancies me so much that a breach of promise suit is the result. I never flattered myself that I was invincible, but I am gradually arriving at that conclusion from the force of events. I'm sorry. How are you walking away from this being like, I'm invincible? I have no fucking clue. You're like, how is that your takeaway? You're very invincible, very invincible. So he writes his sports papers again, blaming

his problems on people. Sports papers like this guy is so full of shit. He's blaming on his problems on people who are, quote, trying to push me down. The new charges are dropped. It seems his dad had once again paid off the victims. Harry's now not at all wanted by baseball teams. New Haven lets him go on mid June. Reporters wrote this guy's never going to play again. So he moves back to Philadelphia and he has to get a job selling sewing machines. Okay. But he didn't really work like he had the job, but he would just go play. He learned how to play billiards and just spent all his days playing pool. Okay. So it feels like he's not much of a sewing machine salesman. No, because he wanted to learn how to, you know, hustle people at pool. And then he wrote more bad checks.

And Lord, once again, started writing baseball teams using aliases, saying he was a very good catcher and asking for signing advances to play for the team. Boy, Harry teams. Some teams went for it. Again, the checks were sent to a vacant lot. This guy lives at zero, zero, zero, nothing lane. What's his name? Not a Harry. Well, that sounds legit. It says to just send the check to a hill. Yeah, that's fine. Just address it to Hill. Does it say the city? The post office will figure it out. Don't worry about them. So he, he, everyone's onto him. He realizes he's going to get arrested again. He flees Philadelphia. Somehow, somehow Annie and Harry are still together. Wow. And they move in with her parents at Chicago. And while he's... Can you imagine the parents?

They're probably like, but it's really good to have you here, Harry. You've really been great to our daughter. Thanks for everything. So while he's living in this situation, he attempts to marry another woman using the name Milton Decker. I mean, that's just... I'm Harry's brother, Milton. I mean, he's living like his whole life is like a sitcom plot. I mean, yeah, it's really just like moment to moment, whatever I'm doing in the moment. Yeah, like the decision making of a shark, essentially. Yeah, there's, there's no like this. There's no like I could get caught. There's none of that. There's no plan. There's no conscience. Yeah. Nothing. Just... So, and, and look, he was a catcher. So this guy could have been taken ball after ball off the head. Like this could

just be terrible CTE, right? Right, right, right. Yeah. So, so right. So he tries to marry this girl. He doesn't marry her because someone figures it out and he is charged with bigamy. Okay. And more for... I guess it was pretty bigamy when you think about it. And more forgery and larceny charges are come. Sure. Like, like you said, he's not even trying to hide his crimes. Quote. Yeah. This is someone who was around. Quote. Decker's hallucination is that he owns the city of Chicago. He's in the habit of entering saloons and ordering wine for everybody present and then walking out with the belief that the place belonged to him and he could give away his own wares if he saw fit. That, I mean, that is obviously, I mean,

it's a great move. Yeah. I mean, that is, I've never actually even really thought about that. You know, I've got some great news about everybody or a shot. Hey, where's that guy? But I think, yeah, you know, there might be some CTE, but it does really track with like his early life before he played baseball as well and the sense that he's kind of spoiled. He makes impulsive decisions and then when he can't survive them, he comes up with the simplest solution that'll benefit him the fastest. Yeah. I think it's a combination of whatever was going on before. Like he came in with some of this, but then there's also some, there's also some brain hit. He's got what we call bung brain. So, so a judge has him, has him examined and he's declared

insane and sent to an asylum. Oh, wow. Okay. But a month later, the asylum declares him cured and releases him. Yeah. We fixed him. Wasn't that hard either? A local paper quote, the prosecutor believed Decker insane, but if the Elgin asylum managers persisted in turning him loose, he didn't know what he could do with the man. So the prosecutors like, I have to charge him. He's clearly insane, but I have to, I got to do something. Someone said he had three more insane events, whatever that means. He probably had some sort of mental breaks before he went to trial. And that's obviously being followed by the courts. His parents then come into the picture and say they will keep him in the asylum until he's cured.

So he goes back in. Okay. But the asylum takes one look at him and they're like, he's fine and they let him go. What's going on at this asylum? And we really do more of a beauty examination. It's kind of like Miss America. His talent was unbelievable. I've never seen a guy take a ball off the chest so easily. So he gets out. He's very, very quickly arrested for stealing a horse. Also renting a bike and then keeping it and then a bunch of forgery. Okay. Wow. Wow. Okay. So it's a pattern, a very strong pattern. He acts as his own attorney for one charge. Always a Dave, always the best. He gets off. But then more charges are always coming. He paid rent by writing two bad checks.

And when he got out on bail, he forged AG Spalding's name on a check. So the biggest, the biggest sports equipment, this, this, this one I get. This is like the angle you should have been taking. Like you should really lament what that decision you made. But I would understand harnessing some animosity towards Spalding. Yeah. Take it out of them. So Annie is finally done. I mean, I know, I know, I mean, what was it? She's like, the seat goes down. I'm done. It's just like the shit that she stuck around for is incredible. Everything. But again, remember, she was 15. So she's fucking young. But yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So by the way, the next guy she dates, she'll be like, Wow.

It's just so much better. He has a job. Yeah, he's like not he's like, I mean, he's only dating a couple other women. So obviously, things are really, really bad for Harry. Good. Right. And he decides this is the absolute perfect time to get back into baseball. Honestly, at this point, he should just start making muffins. He hasn't played in five years. Oh, that's good. And what he decided was that he would be the player manager of a team in Decatur, Illinois. Okay. So now the reason he's going to the behind the scenes, the reason I say he decided it because there wasn't a team in Decatur. Interesting. And is that a problem for the hiring?

So is it bad to he rolls into town? No money. I'm the new manager. Why? I mean, if you're going to fully invent a position, couldn't you give yourself a bigger one? Well, listen, he's got no money, no money at all. And he goes to the local lumber company and gets $800 worth of wood on credit. Great. And then he rented land. And then he built a fence in a grandstand. And then I feel like he was hearing the field of dreams voice. And then he hired baseball players. I mean, Dave, does Shula's Joe walk out of a cornfield? And and then he paid a ban to play on Sundays for the games.

I I how what I just I would love to hear the the mission statement. I mean, it's got to all be with Forge checks and and credit. That means it's just all is he he's starting his own Decatur baseball team that he's going to be player manager of. Yeah, he has he can't he loves baseball. He can't play baseball. So he is inventing a baseball team because that's all he wants to do. Right. Right. He's going he's inventing a shell team to hire himself. That's right. So he's just shifting money around. Everyone in town thinks he's fucking loaded. They're like, this is great. We're getting another baseball team. This goes on for months. This creation of the baseball team. And then the season starts.

And the guy shows up and claims he's the manager. Now, of the team that Harry just kind of invented. Okay, so wait. So there's some guy. That's amazing. For Harry, he's like, what is real? Wait, I, I created a job for myself and then I hired a different guy to they hired me, Jackass. I'm in charge. I'm the manager. You work for me, Jackass. No, but I made you what I've made all this. I made it. I literally made it up. Like this is my imagination. I'm your imaginations manager and we're going to win the invented the invented penant. So this is the crazy thing. Harry just bolts. Interesting. But then everyone realizes there's no money behind it.

And he gets to Chicago and he's arrested on forgery charges and brought back. He could have handled this a lot differently. This part in particular. So this is the first time his parents didn't come to bail him out. Okay. And so he's stuck in jail waiting for the trial and he's tried in a courthouse that his father had built. That's tough. Cats in the cradle and the suit. Wait, that's all right. Yeah. Yeah. Wait, that whole wrong song. He, he acts as his own attorney. Okay. Now he's charged. It's one charge. He's charged with forging a name on a check, right? Yeah. But that name isn't on the check. So he argues that I think he took a check and then cashed it on another name. So whatever,

like you said before, like he, right? So he argued the check isn't admissible because he's being charged for forging a check that he didn't write to himself. The court agrees. Yeah. With no check, there's no case and he's acquitted. Right. A local reporter quote, he was acute enough to spell the name incorrectly when he wrote it on the check. But then he's arrested immediately again and charged with fraud and running a con. Right. This time, two expensive lawyers are brought in. So it's pretty obvious his parents are back in the picture. Right. And Harry's defense is fantastic. Quote, he did not remember signing the check. He said he was kicked by a horse a number of years ago and has since then had many lapses of memory and done things for which he is not responsible.

So he's pleading hoof. It's interesting. It's not a lot of people doing that. I used to have a buddy Jesse Aguilar in in college and Jesse, he went on to be a teacher, a big union guy. But Jesse would we would always go out partying. But if we drank tequila, Jesse would start drinking tequila and he goes, Now, remember, you guys, I am absolutely not responsible for what happens here on out. That's just that's what this reminds me of. Look, I got kicked in the head. Anything I do is not my fault. Right. Yeah. Right. God, that would be the worst thing to hear someone say. Hey, we're drinking tequila. Remember, I'm not responsible. It's like, I'm the contrary. You certainly are. That is just remember law and all that stuff. That is not how it's going to work.

So he's, he's found guilty. If you can imagine that, that horse, the pleading horse didn't work. And yeah, it's weird. He's given two to 14 years. He's in prison from January, 1897 to September 1905. And while there, he becomes, wow, he becomes a skilled carpenter. He goes back into his dad's work. He becomes a cabinet maker in prison. He also got a patent on a mint. Oh, here we go. A new patent after he talked a guard into filing it for him on the outside. So he gets out in 1905 and he's like, I'm going to work as a contractor and he moves to Joliet, Illinois. But that didn't take very well. And he soon is accused of forgery and he runs to Chicago. And then he's there very briefly and then he flees Chicago and goes to Sacramento.

Okay. And in Sacramento, he gets a job as a brass furniture in a real railway shops. He's working on metals. He, he has a cyst removed that's very, that's very, an identifying cyst on his forehead. Oh, I'm sorry. I, what I was picturing was a sibling. He has a, he has a what? He's got a cyst that will really, he has a cyst removed. He, it's, it's a cyst that everyone's like, that's Harry Decker. And you got to get that. I thought you said he had a sister moved. I was like, there's another one coming to town. Okay. So he gets a cyst taken off of his head. Yeah. In 1907, this is where my ideas came from in 1907 in Los Angeles, Earl H. Davenport began

courting mod McNeil. It was a very fast romance and they got married. And then he spent her money like crazy. Every, well, he, sorry, he was spending money like crazy. Every day he and his lady played slot machines with a big bag of coins. That's because he was now counterfeiting. He had taken his newly learned brass finishing skills and put them to use. His coins look incredibly real, but they're extremely light and could be cut with a pocket knife. Wow. So he is soon arrested and they find counterfeiting equipment in his boarding room. Stop. Enough. I mean, come on. Harry once again has an amazing defense. Uh-huh. He said he had been given the counterfeit coins by an anonymous stranger.

Yep. There you go. Perfect. He's not traceable and I don't know what his name is and I don't know where he lives and I don't know who he is and I don't know what he looks like. Just an anonymous stranger and he gave me a big bag of these coins and he said, go ahead. If I'm being 100% honest with everyone, I'm pretty sure he's from the future. So well, he sounds, he sounds innocent to me. Anybody else? Yep. I think we all would agree he's innocent. Yeah. So uh, and I know I'm saying that as him, but uh, you combine that with the kick from the horse and the guy who came to visit me from the future, you could see how easy it is to fall into a situation like this. So your honor, I sustain.

He again had been completely brazen, right? If he, like his plan was to go and, you know, make all these coins and eventually whatever, by property, something bigger, but he, he started making them and just couldn't help himself and he had to go start fucking gambling and he made it really obvious. Right. Ruining his own plan. So while in jail, just tons of young female admirers are coming out of the woodwork quote, they sent him flowers, cake and pie until he was obliged to enlist the service of the county jail tailor to enlarge his waistband. What? We're trying to make him really fat. By the way, we all got kicked in the horse that he got kicked by. We got kicked in the head by the horse. We

didn't get kicked in the horse. So language is hard after a kick. So counterfeiting brings in secret service and the Pinkerton's right. So now he's got a whole different sort of animal he's dealing with. So, but the biggest problem for everybody is trying to figure out who he really is. They had found three aliases, but they still didn't know his real name. So they put his photo in the LA Times and then I guess that gets carried around the country because his old manager from that Iowa team IDs him and detectives then put more and more past information together. And after all that, they're like, right, so they know it's who Harry Decker is, but then after they start digging through his past, they decide Harry Decker is

actually an alias. What? And his real name is Earl Alexander, but he's actually Harry Decker. Okay. So they're like, he's now like lied so much that they're like, he's not even real. I think he's that horse. I'm pretty sure he's just three children inside of a Harry suit. So Mod Bale's when she learns that he has a wife out East. Sure. During the trial, women are so weird like that. During the trial, he didn't try to argue he was innocent. What did happen was a couple of doctors testified that he was dying of tuberculosis. So he then pled guilty in exchange for being allowed to serve the time in Arizona, which is better for tuberculosis than desert. So as soon as that deal

was made, his tuberculosis completely vanished. Interesting. Got Arizona really worked, huh? Immediately. And in prison, quote, he received before you even got there, some say. So in prison, quote, he received as much mail as all the other inmates put together. So he's become like one of these. I mean, the newspapers are writing about how amazing of a lady's man he is. And so I think the newspapers are are creating the self fulfilling prophecy sort of, right? But he's just he's just now known because he's no one knows he's Harry Decker the catcher. It's a but all these women are just falling in love with him based on stories and stuff in the paper. Oh, wow. So they they don't know he is and that's because the police

still think he's fake. Yeah, I guess they think that's a fake alias. So it's a whole right. So they're they're still like that's good detective work, boys. So he gets out of prison in August 1911 and goes to California gets a job working for a contractor. I have a feeling, Dave, he's going to have a side job. No, no, no, no, no. Yeah, yeah. I feel like you will. It seems like every time he gets hired, the next thing we hear is anyone did something crazy. He rents a room from a widow Jane. Here we go. Jane is very impressed with Harry. Oh, you're such a liar. She said he was quote in every way a gentleman of culture and refinement. He was reticent to a marked degree and told us little concerning his past life. He

evidently had been raised in a good family. And then Harry begins courting Jane's daughter, Francis, a 42 year old school teacher. Interesting. So he's going the other way. Okay. They get married in May 1912. And after a few months, he had gone through all of Francis's savings and borrowed money from some of her relatives. And then he bailed. Hmm. So this is also a story about when teachers used to get paid well. That's right. Interesting. He forged more checks using a bunch of different using a bunch of different names including a US Marshal who had arrested him once. Great. Yep. I mean, he's honestly at this point, he's probably running out of names. So he's like, I'll just take that guy's real name.

He I couldn't figure this out, but he somehow got married again. Great. And lucky person. He forged a check to pay. And I think they were separated. This is a little murky, but he forged a check to pay rent for his wife. And then obviously that isn't great for her because it's not paid. Yep. So then she starts helping the investigators and turns on him. Okay. And then Harry started believing that a sailor was coming on to his ex-wife, Maude. So he sends the sailor a telegram from a US Marshal, right? Acting like it's a US Marshal to try to lure the guy to a dock in SF. Was it a sing-in telegram you think? Probably. Hey.

Is that it? You gotta go to San Francisco. That's where you're gonna have some fun. This song's almost fully done. Well, the rhyme scheme fell off a little bit here early. This guy here, he loves to get married. His name is maybe Harry. We're not sure it might be invented. We had a cyst. Now his head is dented. So his plan is to, he's trying to lure this guy to the dock because he's gonna kill him. Oh, Jesus Christ. And then commit suicide. That's apparently what the plan is. Holy shit. Okay. This is getting pretty dark. But it didn't happen because when he got there, he got beaten up by four sailors. Okay. So, all right. His nose is broken. He's all bruised and

cut up. He comes back to LA. And his plan is now to restart his counterfeiting operation. Smart. Definitely time to get into some crime, for sure. It feels like it makes sense. So the cops, they figured it out. They figured out he was up to something and they go to the press and all of his aliases are listed along with his picture in the paper. And then a bunch of people come forward and are like, this guy's forced check, right? So all the people, all his victims are coming forward. And he forced one check to get a, this is, I could not, my brain tried to wrap itself around this. He forged one check to get a custom made bird of paradise hat. Both. What? And he told the hat maker, it was for his wife. But then he ended up giving it to

another woman. I mean, this, it is as unrelatable as a moment gets. He's committing bird hat larceny. Yeah. He's forging bird hat checks for other women. Yeah. Yeah. The press then, and I don't know how this, this nickname doesn't make sense to me, but the press then nicknamed him Don Juan of shaving head. Don Juan of shaving head. I don't get the shaving head part, but whatever. Did he shave his head? No, I, no, I don't understand that part. Don Juan, okay. So, I mean. They should call him bird brain. The story, the LA Times story on him, I just took one quote, but it's fucking incredible.

LA Times quote, according to yesterday's disclosures, he is one of the most remarkable love makers on record. Wow. So that's kind of shit the papers are doing. Oh, I mean, we're talking more pumps than an oil drill. This guy really gets it. He really moves. Holy God can Harry do it. Johnny, we got a, we got breaking news. It's just coming in that this guy really fucks. He's really fucking watching it right now. And you can see right now, he's really thrusting in, but also he's taking it slow now, meaning he's close to climax, but he's timing it out properly. Look at this guy. He really knows what he's doing. I mean, I swear to God, I feel like if I ripped his back open, I'd see a bunch of wires and

microchips, whatever the hell those are. This guy is a pure fuck machine. What's going on? Hold on now. I think he's going to come. I think he is coming. Oh no, he backs it off. He backs it off. He was, she is now having an orgasm. What a turn of events. Unbelievable. And Harry has somehow cinched it again. He's not finished. He had to dip out for a second, but now he's back in going at it. Boy, I swear to look at his balls. Would you know? Look at his balls right now. When you see the best working, it's just like, why do I do this? Why do I? I mean, this guy is a hundred percent natural. There's nothing but God given rhythm to this man. Unbelievable. It's like listening to a drum solo. He is really, really banging her.

Wow. And he's coming. Harry, that was unbelievable. Fucking back there. We were watching from across the way. Anything I'd like to say? You guys were watching me. That's right. We were. We'll be right back. That was unbelievable. I'm a huge fan of yours. I love your dick. So a landlord came forward and told them that the cops, Harry, was a tenant, and then the investigators went and searched his, his apartment and they found counterfeiting equipment. Hmm. That's strange. I wonder who left it there. So pretty damn, pretty damning evidence. And then he also can, he also confessed. So those are two things that are not great.

But, but during all that, he strongly denied he had been a street revivalist in Los Angeles, which some people are reporting. You can call me a murderer, a forger, a counterfeiter, but I never did performance. Despite all of this, the mother-in-law, ex-mother-in-law, whatever she is, Jane Lawton is still defending quote. Wow. It is true that he dissipated my daughter's money and he also made away with some of my money, but I have made up my mind to pocket the loss and let it go at that. His actions since we have known him convinced both my daughter and myself that at times he is mentally unbalanced, which is, I mean, look, there is something very sweet about being like, yeah, this guy has a mental, but if it is, I mean,

you know, if it, if it is, if it's in this level of criminality, I mean, you know, something has to be done, obviously. Yeah. So he goes to trial and so at the trial, and I think this is on, is Jane's doing quote, an effort was made to have the man examined by physicians in order to show that his longing for wives in every town and his careless way of signing other person's names was due to an engorged brain. Okay. So they're basically saying that because he got CTE or something like that, he's become a serial forager and merrier. Basically. I mean, I think this is like an early version of there's, this guy has a CTE situation. Right. But then the judge looks at his criminal history and he's like, yeah, no, I'm not, I'm

not going for that one. And he sentences Harry to three years. Feel his head, your honor. It's really puffy. Look at that. That's not normal. He sends him to three years in San Quentin. Harry got out in October 19, 1915 and vanished. No one knows what happened. The end of Harry. What? That's the end of Harry? That's it. He's gone. We never, we do not know what happened to him after that. He got out. He don't know what happened to him. Vanished. He probably became somebody else and went and lived another life. And we don't know. Yeah, he fine. I mean, honestly, if you spend your whole life trying to be other people, eventually you're probably going to pull it off for sure. Absolutely. He's hair. He became somebody else and he may have

been a criminal in other places and no one just connected it. But you know, I'm pretty sure that was the case. Why? Seems like you're fine, gentlemen. Well, yeah, you're right. Like they say, fool me 304 times, shame on him. The vast majority of this is from the book Catcher How the Man Behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero by Peter Morris and then, you know, different newspapers. Boy, that is crazy. That is really, I mean, that, that, what do you think? Do you think he had a, what do you think? I think you're right in that he was raised in this sort of environment where he could do whatever he wanted. But I think, I think there was something a little off. But then I think he, he took a bunch of shots to the head. I mean, I think, I think the,

the, that beginning, that childhood does probably set like some behavioral pattern. But then, yeah, probably through, you know, I mean, taking, like if you were, I mean, I just can't imagine being a catcher without equipment. It just sounds like a Fox show, like a Fox show. Yeah. And not only like something without equipment, like they're, they're hitting the ball backwards. Like it's, yeah, it's insane. Yeah. So that I can't, what a weird, I can't believe he was never heard from again. So do you, is there a chance Harry's still out there? I mean, I want to believe Dave. I want to believe. That's my guess. Gosh. Wow. Well, that's, I guess that's how to not live a life. That's right. That's, don't do that. That's how you don't do it. That's how you probably don't do it.

Did not learn lessons easily. Yeah, it's, and I'll do it. I'm going to do a catcher episode in the next month or so, because it's the shit that they went through the things that those men put themselves through for a game is, it's just, you can't believe it. Well, and that, and the difference would be, you know, now I think players have to negotiate, you know, the financial stability with injury, but back then there's not even the financial angle. Right. So it's just simply for love of sport. They, they would get like a $2,000 offer and that was about, I looked it up, it's about $70,000. So it's not, it's not, it's not a lot of money. I mean, look, it's not terrible, but it's not like, it's not like, you know, now where a guy gets $10 million. No, but

there is also the, like for lack of a better term, the underclass in sports where people take, yeah, I mean, there's a, you know, I mean, there's a lot of athletes who don't, like I remember when I was a boy, Dave, watching the Milwaukee Wave play, the indoor soccer team in Milwaukee, and I was like, these guys are fucking gods. Like to me, I was like, these are, I mean, they were like movie stars to me. And then I just remember one day my brother being like, they don't make a lot of money. And I was like, they're millionaires. He's like, and then I remember like, like one of them was coaching on one of my teams. I was just like, wait, what? And I was like, oh, they actually are like, you know, I mean, it is, yeah, they didn't make money. And

they're trying to make it, you know, trying to make their way and get a break and stuff like that. So I mean, yeah, it's, I mean, it's like any other business really, it's just your, it's much more of a, there's a much more of a physical, you know, physical, physical liability with it. Yeah. And I mean, you know, thank, you know, it's, it's good to play. The players got a, you know, they started getting a cut of the action. And honestly, the players should own the teams. I still don't, I still don't know why players haven't just broken away and gone, fuck the owners and made the league. Yeah. Well, I mean, I think because the, you know, I mean, there is a hierarchy in, in any of those leagues where you have the top tier players who pretty much can dictate

anything. And if those players are making hundreds of millions of dollars, they're like, fuck it, I'm not going to walk away. You know, yeah, it's like writers in Hollywood. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Right. It's like, I mean, it's like politics. It's like anything else where the upper echelon has to call for change. And why would they do that? That'll compromise their existence. But I don't go to see a lot of baseball games. But the next time I do, there is no question that I will be calling the catcher a muffin maker without a doubt. Signs like the people will be so confused like, yeah, man, muffin maker, what are you going to do? Don't throw blueberries back on accident. Am I right guys? Yeah, showed him muffin maker.

Yeah. Well, what a, what a weird, what a weird little life this man had. Yeah. God damn. Sweet Harry. It's amazing the shit that people go through. And if he just kept the patent. Yep. If he just kept the patent, like, I mean, think of beyond rich. Those are, those are these, these, these pivot moments that I mean, we wouldn't, we would not be talking about this person in any way. Every team from kids up to the pros needs one catcher's minute, the very least, usually two or three, like, he would have been loaded. He could have had 30 wives. Yes. Not legally. Not legally, but financially. That's right. He could have had a harem. And he just didn't care at the same time. So that definitely shows forging checks to get money.

It's just none of it makes sense. That that definitely shows there's something off. I mean, that's just so and something that's off that wasn't off, right? He had a daughter wife and he totally settled down and was fine. Right. Right. And then he took, and then he says I took one fucking hit to the head. And I'm sure he'd taken a bunch, but he took a solid one that no, but it can be that one. I mean, when you watch, like, when you watch the, um, yeah, I mean, and, and to, to what you're saying, there is a cumulative effect. Like, I mean, when you watch that, the Muhammad Ali document, the HBO Muhammad Ali documentary, which is unbelievably good. Um, it gets so brutal to watch. I mean, when you're watching Muhammad Ali and his last come

back, it is like, who allowed this to happen? Like, how did, I mean, who, you know, come on. It was, it was crazy. Yeah. It was just, it was, it was gross. Have you ever, have you ever known anyone that got concussed and then completely changed as a person? Um, I don't think I don't, I, not, not that comes to mind. No. Yeah. We had a buddy in college and we'd known him for a couple years and then we played a, you know, pickup football game and he got hit and, and just fell, just collapsed, bit his tongue halfway through, like, like was out. And then he was never the same person again. Yeah. It was like a, a switch was flipped. It was never. Yeah. Well, I mean, it's your brain. I mean, that is why the, I mean, that's why, like, I mean, honestly, that's why,

like it is having like, I think about the junior say, I mean, I, I wasn't even trying to make, like, light of it, but, you know, the way that juniors say, oh, killed himself, it's just, it's so disturbing because to have, to have the, to be able to, to kill yourself is obviously, I mean, look, you have to be in a tremendously dark, helpless spot, but to have the wherewithal, to think, I want to change the future by having my brain studied. So I'm going to shoot myself in the, I mean, it's just to shoot yourself in the chest. It is just such a, I don't know, there's just like a split in that that is so hard to fathom. Yeah. And, and then, you know, terribly sad, you know, yeah. There's a lot of people like, you know, Michael Hutchinson, the singer of

in excess, he was in like, Amsterdam, I think, and he got into a cab driver, fell, hit the back of his head, never the same and died soon after that, but never the same. Yeah. Well, we certainly have not respected that death properly then. That was real father. Holy shit. I mean, that was like, yeah. Okay. Well, nice little sad ending. So cool. Really, really did tear. It's something we have to look at in sports. We just have to look at it, particularly NFL. Yeah, I've been boycotting NFL for 10 years because I just, no, it is fucked up. I mean, you what, there are certain plays if you watch, you know, 15 years ago that I mean, people complain that the NFL soft now, but it's like, I mean, come on, they're human beings, you know, I mean, look, I grew up watching Ronnie

Lott and that was like, oh yeah, like that guy was, oh no, there is, there is, there is something so strange about watching a player play. Like a friend of mine got me like a Brett Favre cameo. This is before this is, I mean, he's had some terrible statements as a play and believe me, my my childhood is being shit on because of him lately. But I mean, I was like watching him and I was like, I mean, this is like either he's had a couple or this is, this is, you know, there is, there was a, there was a boxer from where I was from. And everyone thought like, oh, this guy's actually going to challenge for, you know, some belts. And then, and then I remember I was watching an interview with him and he, he said something and then immediately said the same thing again.

And I was like, oh, that really is the like, honestly, with the like the Muhammad Ali stuff. I mean, you know, you're just, if there's something really, really brutal about watching him take shots that ahead because yeah, because I think the way his mind work was incredible. Oh, and that's the other thing. I mean, of all of all the people to lose, I mean, he still was super effective as, but I mean, yeah, to take away that guy's ability to communicate and with words is fucking, I mean, that's like, yeah, it's like a fable. I mean, it's just tragic. Yeah. All right. Well, that was fun. Yeah, fun. That was a fun talk at the end. I hope everyone enjoyed the same. Yeah. I mean, you got to discuss it because it's the reality of the situation.

I refuse to cut this out. Thank you. Talk to you later. Bye. Panda.