Casey Stengel
May 11, 1960 - Corpus Christi Times, TX - Casey Starts 2nd 50 Years in Baseball
April 4, 1967 - Freeport Journal-Standard, IL - However, Stengel's varied lunacies are recounted with gusto. The one that's described best concerns the occasion in 1912 when he was playing the outfield for Montgomery, Ala. Here the description: "He found a drainage hole in the outfield and disappeared from sight. A short time later he arose like Triton from the sea, drainage cover under his arm, just in time to grab a fly ball. His manager, Kid Elberfeld, was not amused.
June 22, 1944 - The Odessa American, TX - Casey Stengel testifies that when he was a young fellow, Kid Elberfeld gave him complete advice on how to crash and remain in the big show. "It would have worked, no doubt," recalls Ol' Case, "but I would have been in a dozen jails, penitentiaries and hospitals."
No Laughing Matter: The Value of Humor in Educational Leadership - Robert Palestini - Stengel was schooled in his use of structural frame behavior by a number of mentors, including Norman Elberfeld, his manager in the minor leagues, who taught him the intricacies of the hit and run, hitting behind the runner, and hitting to vacated areas. He also showed him how to stand close to the plate to get hit by a pitched ball and how to move up in the batter's box to be better able to hit a curveball. As a result, Stengel was always sharing his knowledge, always teaching—sometimes out of self-defense. "What else are you gonna do when you get a second-division ball club," he said. "You only have a couple of youngsters to work with. You keep on them. You ask them why they didn't make that throw? You ask them why they played that man there?"
Kid Nichols A Biography of the Hall of Fame Pitcher --Two years later, after Stengel was inducted in the Hall of Fame, he made a point to single two influences who happened to share the nickname "Kid." Nichols and Elberfeld. Norman "Kid" Elberfeld was an infielder who joined Brooklyn for a final year, in 1914, when Stengel was only in his second full season with that team. "They gave me some sound advice and helped me get started in professional baseball," Stengel said.
