Louis Van Zelst (1895–1915) was an American

batboy In baseball, a batboy or batgirl is an individual who carries baseball bats to the players on a baseball team. Duties of a batboy may also include handling and preparing players’ equipment and bringing baseballs to the umpire during the game. ...

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

, and good luck charm for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1910 to 1914. Due to an illness sustained at the age of eight, Van Zelst was a

hunchback Kyphosis is an abnormally excessive convex curvature of the spine as it occurs in the thoracic and sacral regions. Abnormal inward concave ''lordotic'' curving of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine is called lordosis. It can result ...

, and was not in the least self-conscious about it, urging Athletics players to rub his hump for good luck. Van Zelst had originally been a mascot for teams at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, but Athletics players lived in the

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...

neighborhood, and he got to know them.

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

hired him as batboy beginning in 1910, and he attended all home games in that capacity. He made some road trips with the team, and invariably was brought to each

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

game, during a period of success for the Athletics during which they won four pennants and three World Series in five years. Van Zelst had never enjoyed robust health, and he fell ill of

Bright's Disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied ...

in the winter of 1915. He died in March at the age of 20.

Childhood

Van Zelst was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. At the age of eight, he sustained a fall which resulted in a twisted spine. Confined to bed for a period of time, he developed a humped back, which could be extremely painful for him.

Batboy

Van Zelst tended to hang out around the Penn campus, and became popular at Penn athletic contests. Since some of the Athletics players lived in West Philadelphia, some of the Athletics players, including

Rube Oldring Reuben Henry "Rube" Oldring (May 30, 1884 – September 9, 1961) was a professional baseball player who played outfield in the major leagues from 1905 to 1918. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Yankees. Early life Oldring was ...

, got to know him. One day in 1909, Van Zelst went over to

Shibe Park Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened April 12, 1 ...

, approached manager Mack, and asked to serve as batboy that day. Mack agreed, and after Van Zelst had competently handled the chores twice (and the Athletics had won both games), hired Van Zelst for the position at home games the following season, having a uniform made for him. Van Zelst became one of the Athletics family; he was invited to Eddie Collins' wedding and a

Baseball Writers' Association of America The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908, and is known ...

dinner. He became popular with both Athletics and visiting players. He was taken on at least one road trip per year beginning in 1911, and to spring training beginning in 1912. He exhibited a sunny disposition and was an accomplished mimic, bringing laughter to Mack and his players with his imitation of pitcher

Eddie Plank Edward Stewart Plank (August 31, 1875 – February 24, 1926), nicknamed "Gettysburg Eddie", was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, Plank played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 through 1914, t ...

in the batter's box. He would urge players to rub his hump for good luck, which they would do. Mack even sent him out to coach first base in one road game against the Giants; but the umpire required Mack to recall Van Zelst to the dugout. During the five years that Van Zelst served as batboy, the Athletics won four pennants and three World Series.

Death

Van Zelst's constitution was never robust; Athletics players kept an eye on his physical condition during road trips. In the winter of 1915, he was diagnosed with

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied ...

and died in March after a two-day illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Zelst, Louis 1895 births 1915 deaths Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery (Yeadon, Pennsylvania) People from Philadelphia Deaths from nephritis Major League Baseball team mascots

Childhood

Batboy

Death

See also

References