Strange But True: The Interior Decorators

It was lunchtime at Philadelphia’s Bellevue Stratford Hotel. The dining room was crowded. Suddenly three men entered the dining room. They wore caps and overalls and carried ladders, buckets of paint, and brushes.

“Why isn’t this place empty?” demanded one of the painters. “There’s going to be a banquet tonight and we have to get this room painted by then.”

“I’ll get everybody out,” said another painter.

In a loud voice the second painter called out, “Ladies and gentlemen, there has been a mistake. We must begin painting right away. Please leave the dining room. You don’t have to pay your checks. The management apologizes for this inconvenience and hopes you will come back again soon.”

The customers left. The painters pushed the tables aside, spread tarpaulins, and set up ladders. Then they walked out too.

The “painters” never did return. The hotel manager was mystified at first, but he was determined to track down the culprits. Eventually he succeeded.

The painters turned out to be three of baseball’s greatest practical jokers: pitcher Jerome “Dizzy” Dean; his brother, also a pitcher, Paul “Daffy” Dean; and third baseman John “Pepper” Martin. They all played for the St. Louis Cardinals.

It cost the Cardinals several thousand dollars to clear up the mess. And the St. Louis team was told they were no longer welcome at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel.

From The Giant Book of More Strange But True Sports Stories by Howard Liss. Illustrations by Joe Mathieu.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizzy_Dean

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Dean_(baseball)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_Martin