Small Town Legend - Transcript

[Mick McDowell:] "Every town in Nebraska, I think, begins to look for its roots and heritage and a piece of history that it can relate to. And in 1991, St. Paul looked to Grover Cleveland Alexander as part of its roots. There was a group of people that started the celebration called 'Grover Cleveland Alexander Days.' And as part of that we made our first exhibit on Grover and from there it just continued to grow."

[Elma O'Neill:] " That's Grover there. That's one of his very few business pictues that you see."

Elma O'Neill, a neice of Grover Cleveland Alexander, remembers when he visited St. Paul in the off season.

[Elma O'Neill:] " I remember one time he was out at the fairground during the county fair. And there was a stand there where they had wooden milk bottles piled up high and if you could knock them all down you'd have a Kewpie doll or some prize. Well, They would go and get Grover to come throw the balls, until finally the manager of the stand wouldn't let him play anymore. He found out who he was and that was the end of the playing the game. Of course, I think the biggest thing we remembered was in 1926 when he won the World Series for the Cardinals. "

In the final game of the 1926 World Series, Alexander, 39 years old and nearing the end of his career, was called in to pitch. It was the seventh inning; the bases were loaded.

[Elma O'Neill:] " St. Louis was behind and when they called him up to pitch he had pitched the day before on the sixth game. And then they called him up to the seventh inning and he couldn't believe that they was going to pitch him the next day again. But the manager wanted the bases were loaded, what was he going to do with this batter? And he said, I'll just put him on the bench I guess. That's when he struck him out. "

The strikeout ended the New York Yankee rally and the Cardinals went on to win game seven, three to two.

[Elma O'Neill:] " They had the celebration after he came back from the '26 Series and they had a town game here. He pitched about three innings but he it didn't last very long because they never had a catcher that could catch his ball, you know. He was too fast. "

[Ed Nevrivy:] " In fact the hooks are still there. The hooks of the swing where he sat every day are right up here. I'll let you in… open the door. This is where I met him right here. And we visited a lot about baseball. "

In 1950 Alexander was living here in Ed Nevrivy's mother's boarding house. He suffered from bouts of epilepsy and alcoholism.

[Ed Nevrivy:] " I'd come home for dinner and my mother was out in the kitchen. The kitchen is right down in here. And she was telling me, she said, 'You know, Ed,' she said, 'Alex has not been moving around or nothing.' Usually he was up around ten o'clock. 'I think you should go up and see what's the matter.'

"So I did. I proceeded up there and when I got to his room I knocked and he didn't answer. And then I knocked again, no answer. So I opened the door and there he was. He had rolled off the bed must have had a heart attack.

"I go by here a lot and think of this place. Like to reminisce a little bit about the place."

[Elma O'Neill:] "I just can't believe that its been that long ago. Fifty years since he's been gone. I guess time marches on."