I wasn't alive when Studs Terkel published his most famous book, Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression. After reading his works, though, I just adored the man. How can you not love a man in his nineties who still joined lawsuits to fight for what he believed in? He was the epitome of a true Chicagoan: hard working, outspoken, hopeful and a baseball fan.
Terkel's last health scare came in the fall of 2005. He underwent open-heart surgery right before the White Sox won the World Series. "I never dreamed I'd see this," Terkel said at the time. He shared that thought with many fans of the South Siders. Unfortunately, Terkel did not live to see the other Chicago team bring home the World Series rings.
Terkel's most famous brush with baseball was his role in the movie that chronicled the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, Eight Men Out. He played Hugh Fullerton, the newspaper writer who helped uncover the gambling and games thrown during the White Sox World Series loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Terkel was perfect in the role. His own natural curiosity and wisdom about both life and the game came through in the role. I could easily believe that Terkel broke the story on Shoeless Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte and the rest of the men who were banned from baseball.
He also lent his special brand of wit to several people who have chronicled the game. His appearances in Ken Burns' documentary, Baseball, spoke very eloquently to why we all like to sit and watch baseball games on a sunny afternoon. "Sitting there in the sunshine and watching experts, good skilled tradesmen ply their trade," he said about the beauty of going to a game. He also wrote the forewords for Marvin Miller's A Whole Different Ballgame and Derek Gentile's Chicago: Baseball in the City.
Terkel's last health scare came in the fall of 2005. He underwent open-heart surgery right before the White Sox won the World Series. "I never dreamed I'd see this," Terkel said at the time. He shared that thought with many fans of the South Siders. Unfortunately, Terkel did not live to see the other Chicago team bring home the World Series rings.
Terkel's most famous brush with baseball was his role in the movie that chronicled the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, Eight Men Out. He played Hugh Fullerton, the newspaper writer who helped uncover the gambling and games thrown during the White Sox World Series loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Terkel was perfect in the role. His own natural curiosity and wisdom about both life and the game came through in the role. I could easily believe that Terkel broke the story on Shoeless Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte and the rest of the men who were banned from baseball.
He also lent his special brand of wit to several people who have chronicled the game. His appearances in Ken Burns' documentary, Baseball, spoke very eloquently to why we all like to sit and watch baseball games on a sunny afternoon. "Sitting there in the sunshine and watching experts, good skilled tradesmen ply their trade," he said about the beauty of going to a game. He also wrote the forewords for Marvin Miller's A Whole Different Ballgame and Derek Gentile's Chicago: Baseball in the City.
Terkel's death at the age of 96 leaves a hole in Chicago. Who else will speak for the downtrodden of the city, the losers, the ones who just can't win? As a Cubs fan, I wonder who will speak for me.
Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
