One of the most famous of all poems is “Casey at the Bat,” which was written by Ernest Thayer. It has been read by millions, and recited by dozens of actors. In the poem, Casey, a great slugger, comes to bat with his team behind in the ninth inning. There are two out and runners on base. Casey can win the game with a home run. But he strikes out.
A great deal is known about Casey’s team from Mudville. The poem names and describes the four batters ahead of Casey–Cooney, Barrows, Flynn and Jimmy Blake.
The poet didn’t pay much attention to the other team, however. The pitcher who faced down “the Mighty Casey” and struck him out is never even given a name.
From The Giant Book of Strange But True Sports Stories by Howard Liss. Illustrations by Joe Mathieu.
For those of you paying attention, you may recall an earlier story about King Kelly, the baseball player who was considered by a number of people to be the inspiration for Casey.