@Consultant posted:Iowa Mom;
here is a little info on "Rapid Robert"and the town team that his father organized.
Feller was born and raised in Van Meter, Iowa. His father ran the family farm, and his mother was a registered nurse and a teacher. Feller credited his arm strength and ball speed to milking cows, picking corn, and baling hay. He recalled his childhood fondly: "What kid wouldn't enjoy the life I led in Iowa? Baseball and farming, and I had the best of both worlds." The family's farm is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Feller's father built a baseball diamond on the farm that he named "Oak View Park," then recruited his son and others to play for a team he named The Oakviews.
Feller attended Van Meter High School, and was a starting pitcher for their team. His sister Marguerite played for the girls' basketball team, and was the Iowa state ping-pong champion. Professional career
Feller was signed by scout Cy Slapnicka for $1 and an autographed baseball. Upon being made General Manager of the Indians, Slapnicka transferred Feller's contract from Fargo-Moorhead to New Orleans to the majors without the pitcher so much as visiting either farm club, in clear violation of baseball rules. After a three-month investigation, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis made it clear that he did not believe what Slapnicka or Cleveland president Alva Bradley said but awarded Feller to the Indians anyway, partly due to the testimony of Feller and his father, who wanted Bob to play for Cleveland.
Have you visited Van Meter?
Bob
No I did not bat off Bob Feller.
We did — as a matter of fact, I think my son and I may have met him when our nephew (a pitcher at a nearby high school) received an award his museum gave to high school players for many years. The details are very fuzzy by this point.
My husband did shoot a game at the Field of Dreams that Feller pitched three innings, including getting two strikes on Reggie Jackson — including one that Jackson swung all the way around, creating a divot and a cloud of dust — before Jackson hit a home run off him.
I think. now the museum may have merged with the Van Meter city hall, but I'm not sure that ever actually went through.