Charlie Lindstrom

More than 9,000 men played in the major leagues before Chuck Lindstrom, but he was the first to achieve an incredibly rare distinction. In fact, 15 more years passed before another player matched him. He is also among the few twentieth-century major leaguers whose fathers were Hall of Fame players, and though none of these sons were superstars, Lindstrom will long be known as the only player in major-league baseball’s first century to retire with a slugging percentage of 3.000.1

Charles William Lindstrom was born in the Chicago suburb of Evergreen Park on September 7, 1936, the third son of Freddie Lindstrom and the former Irene Kiedaisch.2 In the 1920 census she was living with her German-immigrant parents on Chicago’s South Side, and her father was a baker. Chuck’s father had recently played his final major-league game and voluntarily retired young, at the age of 30. By mid-1939 he was a radio broadcaster for WLS-AM,3 and that was his occupation in the 1940 census, which showed the Lindstroms residing at 7808 S. Michigan Avenue. Later in 1940, however, he returned to pro baseball as manager of the Knoxville Smokies in the Southern Association. He continued there in 1941, then switched to managing the Fort Smith Giants of the Western Association in 1942. In early 1943 the elder Lindstrom became postmaster in north suburban Evanston, home of Northwestern University,4 and that set the stage for a decision that would affect the course of Chuck’s life: In 1947 Freddie Lindstrom became Northwestern’s baseball coach, a position he held for 14 years.5

Meanwhile, the older of Chuck’s two brothers, Fred Jr., started attending their father’s high school, Loyola Academy, and by the autumn of 1945 was making a name for himself on its football team.6 In the early 1950s Fred gave his brothers and parents a much more important reason to be proud of him, when he served as a lieutenant in the US Air Force during the Korean War.7

It should come as no surprise that the Lindstrom boys would excel at several sports. Andy, three years older than Chuck, was a starting guard on Loyola Academy’s basketball team during the winter of 1950-1951.8 Chuck also played basketball during high school, except at New Trier in suburban Winnetka.9 Naturally, baseball was in the mix. “When I played ball, my father never stuck his nose in,” Chuck recalled. “He never told a coach he was wrong, was never in conflict with anyone about my playing.”10 Chuck received some attention in mid-1952 when Winnetka’s junior American Legion team played in a regional title game. It was noted that the team included sons of three celebrities. The other two famous fathers were former NFL Commissioner Elmer Layden (also one of Notre Dame’s legendary Four Horsemen) and national radio personality Don McNeill (Senior).11

In mid-1953 Andy was signed by the Phillies and sent to their farm team at Mattoon, Illinois, in the Class D Mississippi-Ohio Valley League.12 He made his professional debut on July 11 and in 5⅓ innings he gave up seven hits but just one run.13 Andy pitched in four more games over the following month.14 There is no record of his having appeared in a pro game after that season.

Chuck Lindstrom had vastly more success in baseball that summer than his brother. For starters, in the opening game of a regional American Legion tournament in Columbus, Ohio, on August 19, he hurled a 5-0 one-hitter.15 And when the double-elimination finals opened in Miami, Florida, on September 1, his three-hitter helped Winnetka’s team win, 2-1.16 Three days later, he went up to bat in the sixth inning against the favored team, from Yakima, Washington. His single with runners on base was the crucial hit in that frame, which decided a close game. His girlfriend heard the action live, during a special FM radio broadcast while she hosted a slumber party at her Winnetka home. “The room shook with screams of joy,” reported one Chicago newspaper. “Popcorn flew.”17 Lindstrom started the final game against Yakima, and his father provided play-by-play for an Evanston radio station. A reporter for The Sporting News said Freddie was reasonably impartial until a Yakima baserunner on first, who thought Chuck was ignoring him, broke for second. During that quiet moment Freddie couldn’t help but scream, “God almighty, he’s going down, Chuckie!” Whether or not he needed his dad’s help, Chuck pivoted in time and threw out the would-be thief.18 Though Yakima ultimately won the game and thus the championship, Lindstrom was chosen the American Legion Junior Baseball Player of the Year, and one result was that his photograph was added to a plaque in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.19

As Chuck Lindstrom neared his graduation from New Trier in June of 1954, the Chicago White Sox reportedly offered him $50,000 to sign with them. By late June, however, he decided to enroll at Northwestern.20 He kept busy around then by playing in the annual game between Chicago high-school all-stars and their suburban counterparts. It took place on June 26 before 5,000 fans in Comiskey Park. He caught the entire game and scored the winning run in the ninth inning on a wild pitch.21 Two days later he began a two-week stint in the semipro Iowa State League with his brother Andy’s team, the Estherville Red Sox. Andy had pitched in the season opener, before his younger brother joined, but an arm injury kept him from playing with Chuck.22 Chuck left the team after July 9 because he had been invited to accompany the White Sox on their road trip to Washington, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston from the 15th through the 25th.23

August 9, 1954 was a big day in Lindstrom’s life up to that point, because he was honored in Cooperstown for his American Legion achievement the prior summer. At home plate prior to an exhibition game between the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Redlegs, he was handed an “official designation scroll” by Lou Brissie, the new commissioner of the Legion’s junior baseball program. Lindstrom didn’t linger in Cooperstown, because two days later he joined the Kenosha Chiefs of the Illinois-Wisconsin League briefly, before starting classes at Northwestern.24

Not surprisingly, Lindstrom starred for the freshman baseball team during the spring of 1955.25 As a sophomore he made the All-Big Ten Conference first team as its catcher, and was on the second team a year later.26 After both of those collegiate seasons he played with the Watertown Lake Sox in South Dakota’s Basin League.27

As Lindstrom finished his junior year in June of 1957, he was already facing life-altering events. He was preparing for tryouts with the Detroit Tigers and the Yankees, and he’d already worked out for the White Sox. And he was engaged to be married in December to Elsie McCloud Fellows, a native of Columbia, Missouri, who was a vocal music major at Northwestern.28 The White Sox signed him in mid-month, with a $4,000 bonus, and sent him to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox of the Class-A Western League, a team short on catchers.29

Lindstrom made his professional debut on June 18 in a loss at home to Topeka. He singled as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning and eventually scored. He made his first start behind the plate the next day, in a 6-5 win that kept Topeka from winning an 11th consecutive game.30 One high point came in late July when he helped sweep a doubleheader against first-place Topeka with a grand slam in the nightcap.31 He played in 66 games that summer and batted .222. The Sporting News reported that on September 6 Lindstrom “called it a season” due to a sprained wrist and returned to Chicagoland. However, he’d just been recalled by the White Sox and was put on a short list of prospects to receive trials at their 1958 spring-training camp in Tampa, Florida.32

In late February of 1958, a Chicago paper confirmed that Lindstrom was among “about 45 guys around camp” who also included Hal Trosky Jr., whose major-league career would consist of two relief appearances for the White Sox that year. Lindstrom was mentioned in the context of a six-inning split-squad game in early March, but on the 24th the White Sox optioned him to their Davenport team of the Class-B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (Three-I) League.33 On March 29 Lindstrom left the minor-league camp in Hollywood, near Miami, reportedly saying that he was quitting baseball, but about a week later he was back. “Chuck was a little discouraged with his hitting but he realized he didn’t give himself enough of a chance,” said his father. “He just came home to have a talk with me before he reported.”34

Things worked out very nicely for Chuck Lindstrom in 1958. In 127 games for Davenport, he batted .276 with 14 homers and 71 runs batted in. He helped lead his team to the Three-I League’s first-half championship and in late August he was named the first-team catcher among the circuit’s honorary all-stars.35 He was recalled by Chicago on September 4 but remained with Davenport until it concluded a championship series against Cedar Rapids with a loss on September 13.36

Lindstrom warmed the bench for the White Sox without seeing any action until the last game of the season, at Comiskey Park vs. the Kansas City Athletics on September 28, and he also didn’t find himself in the starting lineup for that daytime contest. The White Sox led 3-1 after four innings, and suddenly the home team had a brand-new battery, consisting of Trosky and Lindstrom. It was reportedly the first time in major-league history that a battery featured the sons of major leaguers.37 Lindstrom had turned 22 three weeks earlier.

The first batter the new duo faced was Joe DeMaestri, who was well into an 11-year major-league career. DeMaestri grounded out. After a walk and a fielder’s choice, up stepped slugger Roger Maris. Lindstrom committed a passed ball but then Maris grounded out to end the inning. By the bottom of the sixth inning the White Sox led 6-4, and Lindstrom led off that frame against pitcher Bob Davis, who was eight games into a two-year major-league career. Lindstrom drew a walk and eventually scored.

Lindstrom then caught three scoreless innings for Bob Shaw, who would lead the American League with a .750 winning percentage (18 wins, 6 losses) a year later for the pennant-winning White Sox. In the meantime, he had a second plate appearance in the bottom of the seventh inning, again against Davis. Johnny Callison led off with a walk but after two flies to left field he remained at first base. Up stepped Lindstrom. Many years later he recalled working the count to three balls and one strike. Kansas City’s veteran catcher Frank House decided to help his young counterpart and said, “I would be looking for a fastball if I were you.” Lindstrom replied, “I appreciate that but I’m already looking for one!” That was indeed Davis’s next pitch, and Lindstrom recalled pounding it into the power alley between right and center fields, where it struck the top of the wall. It traveled about 375 feet. Callison scored as Lindstrom pulled into third with a triple. Shaw batted next and ended the inning with a grounder to Davis.

The White Sox added more runs in their half of the eighth but that inning ended with Lindstrom on deck. The game ended four batters later with the White Sox winning, 11-4. Lindstrom was told that he’d get to play that day, so his parents were in the stands. “My mom had seen many a major-league baseball game, but this was probably as excited as I had ever seen her,” he recalled many years later. “Her knuckles were standing out as white as could be from squeezing her hands so tight. She was just thrilled to death, much more thrilled than I was, because I honestly thought there would be many other times.”38

Shortly before Thanksgiving the White Sox announced a 38-man winter roster, and Lindstrom was on it. In early 1959 the White Sox announced that only two players were under contract, and Lindstrom was one of them.39 By the end of February, he was among the catchers in the major-league spring-training camp, but in late March he was among six players sent to the minor-league camp in Hollywood.40

Lindstrom ended up spending the 1959 season with Charleston of the Class-A South Atlantic League. Though he played in as many games as in his successful campaign with Davenport the year before, his batting average dropped to .219, and he didn’t generate much power. One factor may have been that he started wearing glasses at bat. Previously he’d only worn a pair at Northwestern to see distant blackboards during class.41 However, his father provided a different explanation: “They tried to make a pull hitter out of him,” Freddie Lindstrom said. “Chuck compiled his big average[s] at Northwestern hitting straight away. But the majors want the home run.”42 In any case, helping to offset any disappointment he felt was the fact that by that point he and Elsie had welcomed their first child, Kathy.43

Over the final month of the season, Lindstrom pitched in three regular-season games for Charleston, and made one more appearance on the mound during the playoffs in early September.44 That may have set the stage for additional disappointment on his part, because he was assigned to Chicago’s San Diego farm team in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in October, only to learn by early March of 1960 that his new club planned to convert him to a pitcher.45 A week after he reported to San Diego that month, his second child, Laura Ann, was born.46 By mid-April he was facing demotion, so he decided to quit baseball instead. By then he had completed his Northwestern degree, so he decided that he’d go into business in Elsie’s hometown of Columbia, Missouri.47

Lindstrom didn’t stick to that decision for long. Toward the end of June he was again playing for Chicago’s affiliate in the Three-I League, now the Lincoln (Nebraska) Chiefs.48 His batting average of .218 nearly matched his low mark of the previous year, but with Lincoln he played in only 59 games, not quite half of his 1958 and 1959 totals.

In early 1961 Lindstrom was pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Missouri, in Elsie’s hometown, but he was reportedly pursuing high-school coaching jobs not far from Winnetka and Evanston.49 He began the 1961 baseball season by returning to Charleston, his team in 1959, but he played in only three games before being shipped back to Lincoln by mid-May.50 He had even fewer appearances than in the previous season, just 54 games, but two things contributed to that. In June he went on the disabled list for 10 days with torn chest muscles.51 More significantly, on July 13 it was announced that he had accepted a coaching position at Lincoln College in Lincoln, Illinois for the 1961-1962 school year. Because he had completed his Missouri master’s, he was also expected to teach physical education and social science courses.52

As a result of his new job looming, Chuck Lindstrom finished the 1961 season early. Though he departed with a batting average of .194, his last time at bat was the most one could ask for. On August 20 it was known that he’d leave the team the next day for Lincoln in central Illinois. The Chiefs played a tripleheader of sorts at home, because the two teams began the day by resuming a suspended game. Lindstrom caught the entire day because Lincoln’s regular receiver was injured. In the nightcap, Lindstrom helped pitcher Bob Locker scatter four hits and retire 15 batters in a row in one stretch, on the way to a 5-0 outcome. Late in the game was Lindstrom’s “swan song,” as a Lincoln Evening Journal sportswriter noted. “Loudest applause of the evening may have gone to Chuck Lindstrom,” he wrote. “Chuck blasted a home run over the scoreboard in the 8th inning.”53 That proved to be his final plate appearance as a professional ballplayer, a few weeks before his 25th birthday. A month later he said he was done with professional baseball, and that time he meant it. “I don’t know, it may be my temperament or my personality, but I’m very glad to get out of it,” he told a sportswriter. “I can’t enjoy baseball when it becomes a real business.”54

During the summer of 1962, he was presumably the Chuck Lindstrom who caught and pitched for a club in Elsie’s hometown, the Columbia Western Auto team. In late July that team was competing in the Missouri State Non-Pro Baseball Tournament, and on August 2 he hurled a complete game in a 3-0 loss in the losers’ bracket. He gave up eight hits and a walk but struck out 15 opponents.55 Otherwise, for the first two decades after his time as a White Sox prospect, his sporting focus was in Lincoln.

In 1963 Lindstrom managed Lincoln’s team in the brand new summertime Central Illinois Collegiate League. The club’s president was Lincoln native Emil Verban, the former Cardinals second baseman. Lincoln had a team in the CICL during its first six seasons (and again from 1988 through 1990). Lindstrom’s first squad included future major leaguers Del Unser and Tom Heintzelman, and his rosters in 1967 and 1968 included two more, Skip Pitlock and Art Howe.56 Lindstrom’s team won the CICL pennant in 1967 despite a .224 team batting average.57

In the spring of 1964 Lindstrom was promoted to Lincoln College’s athletic director.58 At that point and for more than a decade after, his brother Andy was Lincoln’s soccer coach. The brothers also worked together with the CICL team, because Andy became club President Verban’s secretary at some point.59

By 1973 Chuck and Elsie had divorced, though after daughters Kathy and Laurie they also had two sons, Charles and John.60 In 1972 or early 1973 he married the former Elaine McCombs of Humeston, Iowa, a science teacher who had graduated from Illinois State University during the winter of 1971-1972. They had one daughter, Lisa.61

In 1973 Lindstrom returned to the CICL as a manager, except for the team in Macomb, about 80 miles to the west. He coached yet another future major leaguer, pitcher Bob Shirley. It turned out to be the last of Macomb’s five seasons in the league.62 Lindstrom continued to oversee all sports for Lincoln College while still leading its baseball team, the Lynx. “Chuck Lindstrom has built what many observers believe is one of the finest junior college baseball programs in the state, if not the U.S.,” commented a longtime central Illinois sportswriter in the mid-1970s.63 In 1974 the Lynx had the second best season in the state, with a 23-11 record. That came on the heels of Lincoln basketball coach Al Pickering leading that crew to the fourth best mark in the state with a record of 26-11.64 One of Lindstrom’s baseball players who graduated in 1975, Brian Snitker, began a stint as manager of the Atlanta Braves in 2016.65

In 1976 Freddie Lindstrom was named to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by its Veterans Committee. Andy was instrumental in the campaign to add his father. Reportedly more than 60 of Freddie’s relatives traveled to Cooperstown for his induction. Freddie was thus able to bask in that glory for five years, until his death in 1981 at the age of 75. Irene died in 1980.66

In mid-1980 Chuck Lindstrom stepped down as Lincoln College’s athletic director, and was succeeded by Al Pickering. Lindstrom remained baseball coach but left Lincoln College entirely two years later. He left with some bitterness, and alluded to conflict with administrators going back at least four years. He was the baseball coach for 21 seasons and athletic director for 17.67 By the late 1970s he’d begun to pursue sports-related business interests, including a product for drying waterlogged ballfields more rapidly, called Diamond Dry. Upon his departure from Lincoln College he also worked for Musco Sports Lighting, which eventually led to the creation of his own business, Universal Sports Lighting.68

Lindstrom didn’t always pursue such ventures full-time; he also spent 13 years as the City of Lincoln’s parks and recreation director. However, his lighting work received a boost from one of his star players from the 1960s, Art Howe, who coached and managed in the majors for more than a decade starting in the mid-1980s.69

In the 2000s Lindstrom has received several honors at Lincoln College. He was named an honorary athletic letterman in 2003 and received the college’s Honorary Alumni Award in 2009. The Lynx hall of fame recognizes him online with a biography that credits him as a women’s athletics pioneer for “starting Women’s Basketball, Softball and Volleyball” and notes that in 2013 the College baseball coach’s office was dedicated in his name. By the 2007 baseball season there was a Chuck Lindstrom Field in Lincoln.70

In 2016, Lindstrom was interviewed for the American Legion. Asked about his honor by the Legion 63 years earlier, he shifted the conversation to much more recent events, such as his pride in the award bestowed upon one his children, Charles Jr., for being the first allied weatherman during Operation Desert Storm in 1990 to enter Iraq, as a sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division. His most meaningful baseball memory was even more recent: He talked about a gathering about a year earlier when his Lincoln College baseball players came back, more than 30 years later, after the campus’s baseball office had been named for him.71

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author relied on Baseball-Reference.com as the primary source for baseball statistics.

Notes

1 See https://baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Chuck__Lindstrom. His baseball-reference.com statistics page calls him “Charlie.” However, in newspapers throughout his life, “Chuck” has been standard. For an overview of sons of Hall of Famers who played in the majors, see Joe Posnanski, “Fathers, Sons and Hall of Fame,” July 9, 2015, at https://joeposnanski.substack.com/p/fathers-sons-and-hall-of-fame.

2 Birth records for Cook County, Illinois, identify his birthplace as the adjacent Village of Evergreen Park rather than Chicago itself. His mother’s maiden name appeared in a photo caption in the Chicago Daily News, February 17, 1928: Photogravure section, page 5. (The date of this section is February 18 but it apparently came with the prior evening’s paper.)

3 “Radio Programs for Tonight, Tomorrow,” Chicago Daily Times, April 17, 1939: 24. Don Foster, “How TIMES Comic Strips Are Dramatized,” Sunday Times, June 11, 1939: 19-M.

4 “Fred Lindstrom Takes Evanston Postal Job,” Chicago Daily Times, February 10, 1943: 30.

5 Charles F. Faber, “Freddie Lindstrom,” SABR BioProject, sabr.org/bioproj/person/b4f653b8.

6 For example, see Bob Tatar, “St. Philip Shades Loyola 18 to 14,” Chicago Sun, October 29, 1945: 19. See also “All Catholic League All-Star Teams,” Chicago Daily News, November 30, 1945: 33. Though Chuck’s oldest brother was often called Fred Jr., his findagrave.com entry shows his name as Frederick Charles Lindstrom III.

7 See his obituary, at dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/des-plaines-il/frederick-lindstrom-5063016.

8 Bud Nangle, “Loyola Rambles Without Fanfare,” Chicago Daily News, February 1, 1951: 37.

9 “Pontiac Tourney Top Bracket Looks Strong, Well Balanced,” Bloomington (Illinois) Pantagraph, December 27, 1952: 9.

10 George Rose, One Hit Wonders: Baseball Stories (Lincoln, Nebraska: iUniverse, Inc., 2004), 68.

11 Tony Weitzel, “The Town Crier,” Chicago Daily News, July 26, 1952: 21. Lindstrom and Mike Layden, who were sometimes batterymates, received national exposure the following summer when pictured together. See Franklyn J. Adams, “Sons and Brothers of Name Players Dot Legion Rosters,” The Sporting News, August 19, 1953: 4.

12 “Lindstrom’s Son Signed by Phillies,” Chicago Daily News, July 7, 1953: 23.

13 “Weekend Woeful for Phils Twice,” Daily Journal-Gazette and Commercial-Star (Mattoon, Illinois), July 13, 1953: 6.

14 Andy’s entry at that baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=lindst001and simply indicates he pitched in five games for Mattoon, but it has no statistics (nor does it identify him as Freddie’s son). He also appeared in box scores published by the Mattoon Daily Journal-Gazette on July 22, 23, and 27 and August 13. Those box scores excluded earned runs and runs allowed but his five-game totals were 18⅔ innings pitched, 24 hits, 10 walks, and 12 strikeouts.

15 “Lindstrom’s One-Hit Job Beats Edison,” Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, August 19, 1953: 8B. Bud Nangle, “Winnetka Wins in Legion Playoff,” Chicago Daily News, August 19, 1953: 50. The Columbus paper said Lindstrom walked four batters and struck out seven, but Nangle said he walked six and struck out nine.

16 “Winnetka Goes After 2d Straight in Finals,” Chicago Daily News, September 2, 1953: 30.

17 “N. Shore Gripped by ‘Series Fever,’” Chicago Daily News, September 5, 1953: 28. This account said Lindstrom’s RBI single broke a 2-2 tie, but at least one other report said he drove in the tying run, and that what proved to be the winning run scored moments later on a wild pitch. See “Surprise Starter Thompson Keeps Winnetka in Running,” The Sporting News (Junior Baseball Edition), September 16, 1953: 2.

18 Jimmy Burns, “Legion Ball Saving Game, Say Ex-Stars,” The Sporting News (Junior Baseball Edition), September 16, 1953: 4.

19 Jimmy Burns, “Winnetka’s Versatile Lindstrom Chosen as Legion Player of Year,” The Sporting News (Junior Baseball Edition), September 16, 1953: 2.

20 Howard Brantz, “A Sporting Glance,” Carroll (Iowa) Times Herald, May 28, 1954: 2. Fred Young, “Young’s Yarns,” Bloomington Pantagraph, July 1, 1954: 9.

21 “Suburban Wins All-Star Prep Baseball, 4-3,” Chicago Tribune, June 27, 1954: 2, 5.

22 N.E. Demoney, “Red Sox Down Cardinals, 6 to 4,” Estherville (Iowa) Daily News, June 30, 1954: 11. See also Hoyt Luithly, “Red Sox in Weekend Split with Braves,” Estherville Daily News June 28, 1954: 4. Andy’s full stats for his lone appearance happened to be on the latter page, in the table beneath the headline, “1954 Record of the Red Sox.”

23 “Red Sox Drop Third Game in Row,” Estherville Daily News, July 10, 1954: 4. “Will Represent Red Sox in All-Star Game,” Estherville Daily News, July 12, 1954: 4. “Chuck Lindstrom was voted among the top five Red Sox players but he has left the team to return to Chicago where he has been invited to accompany the White Sox on their swing around the eastern half of the American League.” His cumulative stats were printed in a table in that same paper the next day, on page 6.

24 “Great Lakes Plays Chiefs Here Tonight,” Kenosha (Wisconsin) News, August 12, 1954: 19. Apparently this paper had the odd habit of excluding positions from its box scores.

25 Howie Geltzer, “‘Cat Nine Eyes Next Year after Successful Season,” Daily Northwestern (Evanston, Illinois), May 26, 1955: 3.

26 “All-Big Ten Team Named,” Rockford (Illinois) Morning Star, June 2, 1956: 8. “3 Teams Supply 2 Big 10 Stars,” Chicago Daily News, June 10, 1957: 16.

27 “Lake Sox Overcome Yankton 5-0 Lead,” Huronite and Daily Plainsman (Huron, South Dakota), June 23, 1955: 13. “Lake Sox Score 8 in 3rd, Down Mitchell, 16-3,” Huronite and Daily Plainsman, June 26, 1956: 9. A baseball historian named David Trombley compiled biographies of many Basin League players at usfamily.net/web/trombleyd/BasinBios.htm and included details in Lindstrom’s not squeezed into this biography (though Lindstrom was said to have played briefly for Winona in the Minnesota State League in June of 1957 when in actuality he was with that circuit’s team just over the border in Mason City, Iowa).

28 “Sox Delay Lindstrom Decision,” Chicago Daily News, June 6, 1957: 48. Details about Elsie were provided at findagrave.com/memorial/166287440/elsie-madden.

29 Harvey Duck, “Sox Sign Lindstrom,” Chicago Daily News, June 17, 1957: 23. “Only two base runners tried to steal on him this year,” Duck noted. “One was retired, while the other was safe at second when the shortstop failed to cover the base.” See also “Lindstrom Signs Pro Pact with White Sox,” Mason City (Iowa) Globe-Gazette, June 18, 1957: 11. He had played four games with the Mason City Braves in the Southern Minnesota League before the White Sox signed him.

30 “Hawks Bat Skymen,” Amarillo (Texas) Daily News, June 19, 1957: 11. “Hawks Fly Down,” Amarillo Daily News, June 20, 1957: 18. The starting catcher for the Sky Sox during Lindstrom’s debut was presumably Charles Schaffernoth, but his Baseball-Reference stats for 1957 show him only with Des Moines, another Western League club.

31 “Topeka Lead Is Slashed,” Ottawa (Kansas) Herald, July 29, 1957: 6.

32 “Western League,” The Sporting News, September 18, 1957: 47. “Sox Recall 7 for Trials; Add 7 More,” Dixon (Illinois) Evening Telegraph, September 5, 1957: 10.

33 John P. Carmichael, “Sox Renew Drive to Get Sievers,” Chicago Daily News, February 25, 1958: 22; John P. Carmichael, “Sox Best Behind Plate,” Chicago Daily News, March 7, 1858: 33; “Sox Option Lindstrom and Ditusa,” Chicago Daily News, March 25, 1858: 27.

34 “Lindstrom Rejoins Sox Farm Camp,” Chicago Daily News, April 7, 1958: 26; “Chuck Lindstrom to Stay in Baseball,” Daily Northwestern, April 9, 1958: 3. For a much longer version of Freddie’s pep talk, see David Condon, “Condonsations,” The Sporting News, April 16, 1958: 16.

35 “Dav-Sox Dominate All-Star Balloting,” Muscatine (Iowa) Journal, August 30, 1958: 4.

36 “Cedar Rapids Is Three-I King, 9-8,” Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette, September 14, 1958: 4, 1.

37 “Sons of Ex-Stars Make Up Battery,” Omaha World-Herald, September 29, 1958: 9.

38 Dave Reidy, “One Hit Wonder,” The Morning News, September 26, 2003, themorningnews.org/article/one-hit-wonder (The Morning News is an independent web magazine.) According to Paul Munsey and Corey Suppes at ballparks.com/baseball/american/comisk.htm, Comiskey Park’s power alleys were 375 feet from home plate from 1956 through 1958, after which they were each 10 feet shorter until 1968.

39 “Chisox List Winter Roster,” Logansport (Indiana) Pharos-Tribune, November 20, 1958: 21. “Ask Sox Players to Take Pay Cut,” Chicago Daily News, January 8, 1959: 45.

40 Lindstrom was one of three White Sox catchers in a photo in the Racine (Wisconsin) Sunday Bulletin, March 1, 1959: 3, 2. See also “Sox Ship Six to Minors,” Chicago Daily News, March 30, 1959: 28.

41 “Chisox Catcher’s Batting Improves With New Glasses,” Charleston (South Carolina) News and Courier, May 13, 1959: 2-B.

42 “Lindstrom Eyes Top,” Daily Northwestern, April 7, 1960: 7.

43 Marvin West, “Fans Measure Young Chuck Lindstrom on Basis of Dad’s Accomplishments,” Knoxville (Tennessee) News-Sentinel, May 28, 1959; 30. Elsie and Kathy weren’t named in the article but were both named in “Lindstrom Eyes Top,” Daily Northwestern, April 7, 1960: 7.

44 Lindstrom’s baseball-reference.com stats lack details for the three regular-season games in which he pitched, but at least one newspaper provided them as follows: “Gastonia Bucs Rout Charleston Sox 8-4,” Charleston News and Courier, August 1, 1959: 10 — ⅔ IP, 2 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K; “Macon Trounces Chasox  13 to 3,” Charleston News and Courier, August 15, 1959: 12 — ⅔ IP, 0 H 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K; “Asheville Wins over Chasox in Opener 13-8,” Charleston News and Courier, August 31, 1959: 2-B — 6⅔ IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 7 K. He also pitched in the first game of the playoffs, according to “Smokies Blast Sox,” Charleston News and Courier, September 3, 1959: 30. His pitching line for that contest was 3⅓ IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 K.

45 “Doby’s Career May Be Over,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, October 20, 1959: 19. “Curve-Tossing Wojey Signs ’60 Padre Contract,” San Diego Union, March 4, 1960: 23.

46 “Lindstrom Eyes Top.” 

47 “Chuck Lindstrom Quits Pro Baseball,” Daily Northwestern, April 15, 1960: 8.

48 After 1956 there were no Illinois or Indiana teams in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League, but it did include Nebraska, Kansas, and Wisconsin teams.

49 Fred Young, “Young’s Yarns,” Bloomington Pantagraph, February 18, 1961: 7. Young said Lindstrom was tempted by the possibility of coaching at a new high school in Skokie, less than four miles inland from Evanston. On the same day, another sportswriter in central Illinois instead wrote that Lindstrom had applied a few miles farther west, in Niles. See Bob “Dry” Drysdale, “The Dope Bucket,” Illinois State Journal (Springfield), February 18, 1961: 8.

50 “Chasox Send Two to Lincoln Team,” Charleston News and Courier, May 10, 1961: 10.

51 Dick Becker, “Chiefs Run Into 4-Hitter,” Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening Journal, June 9, 1961: 15.

52 “Lindstrom Gets Lincoln Post,” Illinois State Journal, July 14, 1961: 26.

53 Dick Becker, “Sunday Rest Idea Shattered,” Lincoln Evening Journal, August 21, 1961: 11. See also “Foxes Win 3 of 5, Play Here Tonight,” Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent, August. 21, 1961: A11, A12.

54 John Hillyer, “Speaking of Sports,” Illinois State Journal, September 19, 1961: 11.

55 “Iberia Merchants Shut Out Springfield in Tough Game,” Sedalia (Missouri) Democrat, July 29, 1962: 12; Stockton Walnuts Win Over Jefferson City Red Birds,” Sedalia Democrat, August 3, 1962: 6. Lindstrom’s first name was used in both accounts, though the latter misspelled his surname as Lindstrum. See also “Carling’s Dealt 5-4 Loss by Columbia Western Auto,” Sunday News and Tribune (Jefferson City, Missouri), July 1, 1962: 10.

56 “Verban Named President of Lincoln Group,” Illinois State Journal, May 21, 1963: 11.

57 Robert J. Herguth, “People,” Chicago Daily News, August 29, 1967: 15. See alsotciclbaseball.com/index.php?view=about&show=teams for a year-by-year account of CICL teams and champions. For full 1967 CICL statistics, see State Journal-Register, August 20, 1967: 66. Howe played in all 49 of Lincoln’s games and batted .284, while Pitlock went 11-3 with an earned run average of 2.12.

58 “Lindstrom New Director,” Illinois State Journal, April 25, 1964: 9.

59 “Griggas Joins Lincoln College Athletic Staff,” Illinois State Journal, June 26, 1964: 21. “Lincoln’s CIC Entry to Play,” State Journal-Register, February 13, 1966: 56. Andy was also a history professor at Lincoln College, according to “Lindstrom, Hubbard Earn Berths in Hall of Fame,” Bloomington Pantagraph, February 3, 1976: B-2.

60 The names of Elsie’s first four children were confirmed in her second husband’s obituary, which is posted at his findagrave.com entry.

61 Lisa worked at Universal Sports Lighting, her father’s business before he retired, as still indicated at pitchbook.com/profiles/company/62960-14.

62 “Tab Lindstrom for CICL Post,” Illinois State Journal, January 30, 1973: 11; Joe Morrissey, “Pioneers Lose 12-Inning Battle in Opener,” Galesburg (Illinois) Register-Mail, June 13, 1973: 38; “Caps Hammer Macomb 5-3,” State Journal-Register, July 7, 1973: 21. See also the CICL website, ciclbaseball.com/index.php?view=about&show=teams.

63 Fred Young, “Young’s Yarns,” Bloomington Pantagraph, March 19, 1975: D-4.

64 Bob McBride, “Looping the Loop,” Henry (Illinois) News Republican, September 18, 1974: 8.

65 See lincolncollege.edu/lincoln-college-alumnus-brian-snitker-named-atlanta-braves-interim-manager/.

66 Charles F. Faber, “Freddie Lindstrom,” SABR BioProject, sabr.org/bioproj/person/b4f653b8. Also see Irene’s findagrave.com entry.

67 “Pickering Named Lincoln College A.D.,” State Journal-Register, June 13, 1980: 26. Bryan Bloodworth, “Lincoln College’s Lindstrom Resigns as Head Baseball Coach,” Bloomington Pantagraph, April 17, 1982: 10.

68 Chuck Rigsby and Stan Hieronymus, “State Tournaments Will Be at One Site,” Peoria (Illinois) Journal Star, June 8, 1979: C-2. “Legion Field Soon Will Be Well Lit,” Bloomington Pantagraph, May 27, 1982: B7. Paul Swiech, “Firms Team Up to Light Sport Fields, Bloomington Pantagraph, September 13, 1992: E1. John Schmeltzer, “Ex-Sox Player Lighting ’em up,” Chicago Tribune, April 12, 2004: 4, 1. For Musco Lighting, see musco.com/.

69 Jason Blasco, “Former Chicago White Sox Player Uses Lessons Way Beyond Legion Baseball,” Lincoln (Illinois) Courier, June 20, 2013, accessible at lincolncourier.com/article/20130620/NEWS/306209914.

70 “Honorary Athletic Letterman Standing Awarded to Jones and Lindstrom,” The Log (Lincoln College alumni publication), Spring 2003: 5, accessible at alumni.lincolncollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/spring2003.pdf; “Reunion 2009,” Lincoln Log, Spring 2009: 1, accessible at alumni.lincolncollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/Spring09.pdf. See also http://www.lincolnlynxsports.com/halloffame/ID/24; Hal Pilger, “Little Things Lead to Big Losses for Southeast,” State Journal-Register, April 19, 2007: 28.

71 Cameran Richardson, “Legion Baseball Alum Recalls Valuable Lessons Learned,” February 18, 2016, accessible at legion.org/baseball/231261/legion-baseball-alum-recalls-valuable-lessons-learned.