Steve Dalkowski

Steven Louis Dalkowski (born June 3, 1939 in New Britain, Connecticut) is a retired left-handed pitcher in minor league baseball. He is sometimes called the fastest pitcher in baseball history and had a fastball that may have exceeded 100 mph (161 km/h). Some experts believe it went as fast as 110 mph (177 km/h), others that his pitches travelled at 105 mph (169 km/h) or less (the Guinness Book of Records records the fastest pitch ever as 100.9 mph (162.4 km/h) by Nolan Ryan). As no radar gun or other device was available to measure the speed of his pitches precisely, the actual top speed of his pitches remains unknown. Regardless of its actual speed, his fastball earned him the nickname "White Lightning".

Life after baseball

In 1965 he married schoolteacher Linda Moore in Bakersfield, but the marriage did not last long and they divorced two years later. Unable to find any gainful employment, he became a migrant worker. Already a heavy drinker during his baseball career, his alcoholism escalated, and he was frequently arrested for drunkenness. He received help from the Association of Professional Ballplayers of America periodically from 1974 to 1992 and went through rehabilitation. He was able to find a job and stay sober for several months but soon went back to drinking, and so the organization dropped its support.

Related Topics:
1965 - Bakersfield - Association of Professional Ballplayers of America - 1974 - 1992 - Rehabilitation

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Little is known about his life after the 1960s due to his failing memory, and because he did not keep in contact with his family. What is known is that poor health in the 1980s finally prevented him from working altogether, and by the end of the decade he was living in a small apartment in California, penniless and suffering from alcohol-induced dementia. At some point during this time he married again to a motel clerk named Virginia, who moved him to Oklahoma City in 1993. After her death from a brain aneurysm in 1994, one of his former catchers, Frank Zupo – a team mate at Stockton in 1960 – and Dalkowski's sister, Pat Cain, brought him back to his home town of New Britain, Connecticut, and placed him in the care of the Walnut Hill Care Center.

Related Topics:
1980s - California - Dementia - Oklahoma City - 1993 - Brain aneurysm - 1994

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After being placed in the Walnut Hill Center's care he was not expected to live very long, but he has endured and is in remarkably good health. In recent times he is managing to stay sober but still suffering from the effects of his years of alcohol abuse. He has difficulty remembering much of his life after 1964; however, he still attends baseball games and spends time with his family. On September 8, 2003 he threw the ceremonial first pitch to relief pitcher Buddy Groom before an Orioles game against the Seattle Mariners.

Related Topics:
1964 - September 8 - 2003 - Buddy Groom - Seattle Mariners

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