Eddie Gaedel Day

Eddie Gaedel Day is a “holiday” as unlikely as the event that inspired it. Baseball nuts know Gaedel as one of legendary team owner Bill Veeck’s more inspired publicity stunts. Veeck signed the 3-foot-7 Gaedel and put him in a jersey with the number 1/8. Gaedel got exactly one major league at-bat — on Aug. 19, 1951 — and now the Spokane-founded Eddie Gaedel Society led by Tom Keefe celebrates the diminutive batsman every year on the anniversary of his lone appearance for the St. Louis Browns. (Gaedel walked in his at-bat, and set the record for shortest player in the history of the majors). This year marks the ninth celebration of Eddie Gaedel Day, an event full of “small talk, short speeches and half-pint beers.”

Mon, Aug. 19 from 5-7 pm • Free • All ages • O’Doherty’s Irish Grille • 525 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. • facebook.com/takeawalkeddie • 747-0322