HEARING THE BOOS. Bob Greene had a tribute in the Wall Street Journal (November 18) to Jim Brosnan, who died in June. Brosnan was a pretty good pitcher who broke tradition in 1958 by writing and publishing a book, THE LONG SEASON, about what it was like to be a major league pitcher. The book was controversial because Brosnan was still pitching in the majors. Greene quotes a passage from the book about Brosnan’s feelings after being the losing pitcher in a game: “I can’t stand to be booed. Some people say I’m being childish; most ballplayers say you get used to it….I manage only to turn up the sound, and it rings and reverberates for hours after I’m gone, the crowd’s gone, the game’s gone.”
My father ran for Congress as the nominee of the Democratic party in 1934, when he was 29. It was in Du Page County, the most Republican county in the country, and my father lost.
From when we were young, my father discouraged us from booing. When we were older, he would say: “You can hear the boos the next day.”
I may be mistaken but as far as I know I’m the first Schaefer to be publicly booed since Grandpa. It’s an experience you don’t really forget, although it fades over time.