As with any establishment which has survived for more than a century, Major League Baseball has harbored some interesting characters. Foremost among the sport’s goofballs is Francesco Stephano Pezzolo, known among baseball historians as “Ping Bodie.”

His alias in itself is a curious story. “Ping” comes from the sound the ball made upon receiving a smack from his 52-ounce bat. “Bodie” was simply a town in California where he’d once resided.

One of the first Italian players to make the majors, Bodie was a jovial, braggadocios man who was very popular with both teammates and fans. His rich sense of humor and ready wit made him a favorite of columnists, as well.

During a stint with the New York Yankees, Bodie was asked what it was like sharing a room with the great Babe Ruth.

“It was like rooming with a suitcase,” he said.

One writer, when describing Bodie’s failed attempt to steal a base, proclaimed that “There was larceny in his heart, but his feet were honest.”

Once, when the Yankees were in Macon, Georgia for spring training, Bodie and several of his teammates decided to pull a practical joke on a team photographer. The prey, a middle-European man named Izzy Kaplan, was escorted to a motion picture by Mr. Bodie.

He could never have suspected what awaited him upon his return to the team hotel.

Unbeknownst to Kaplan, a group of Yankees pitcher has struck it rich at a local fair, where their practiced arms had earned each of them a pair of live ducks in a ball and bottle game. While the unsuspecting photographer was out enjoying the movie, the men sneaked into his room and stowed the birds, complete with a full bathtub for their amusement.

Meanwhile, in the theater, Bodie could not contain himself. During a serious scene, the outfielder burst into a fit of laughter. When Kaplan looked over and asked, “Vot’s da matter,” Bodie replied, “I was thinking of something funny that happened in San Francisco.” Ping began laughing again, prompting the manager to throw both of them out into the street.

Back at the hotel, the photographer returned to his room. After entering the darkened space, he sprinted down into the lobby yelling, “There’re ghosts in my room!”

It would not be Mr. Bodie’s only encounter with the feathered familiars.

On April 3, 191, Ping put his gastric pride on the line, facing the world-renowned Percy the Ostrich in a pasta eating contest. Bodie would emerge as the decisive winner, after the bird passed out over its twelfth plate, eyes bloodshot and sides swollen.

Ping was declared the winner via technical knockout.

After retiring from the game, Bodie went on to work for as an electrical engineer and bit player in Hollywood. A fitting end to the career of one of the game’s best showmen.

- Taylor Maxwell

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Tags | Francesco Stephano Pezzolo, Izzy Kaplan, New York Yankees, Ping Bodie