Steve Dalkowski

Steve Dalkowski
Pitcher
Born: June 3, 1939
New Britain, Connecticut
Died: April 19, 2020(2020-04-19) (aged 80)
New Britain, Connecticut
Batted: Left
Threw: Left

Stephen Louis Dalkowski Jr. (June 3, 1939[1] – April 19, 2020), nicknamed Dalko,[2] was an American left-handed pitcher. He was sometimes called the fastest pitcher in baseball history and had a fastball that probably exceeded 100 mph (160 km/h). Some experts believed it went as fast as 110 mph (180 km/h), others that his pitches traveled at less than that speed.[3] As no radar gun or other device was available at games 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".[4] Such was his reputation that despite his never reaching the major leagues, and finishing his minor league years in class-B ball, the 1966 Sporting News item about the end of his career was headlined "Living Legend Released."[5]

Dalkowski was also famous for his unpredictable performance and inability to control his pitches. His alcoholism and violent behavior off the field caused him problems during his career and after his retirement. After he retired from baseball, he spent many years as an alcoholic, making a meager living as a manual laborer. He recovered in the 1990s, but his alcoholism left him with dementia[citation needed] and he had difficulty remembering his life after the mid-1960s.

Screenwriter and film director Ron Shelton played in the Baltimore Orioles minor league organization soon after Dalkowski. His 1988 film Bull Durham features a character named Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh (played by Tim Robbins) who is based loosely on the tales Shelton was told about Dalkowski.[2][6] Brendan Fraser's character in the film The Scout is loosely based on him.[7][unreliable source?] In 1970, Sports Illustrated's Pat Jordan wrote, "Inevitably, the stories outgrew the man, until it was no longer possible to distinguish fact from fiction. But, no matter how embellished, one fact always remained: Dalkowski struck out more batters and walked more batters per nine-inning game than any professional pitcher in baseball history."[5]

A full biography of Dalkowski was published in 2020, Dalko: The Untold Story of Baseball's Fastest Pitcher.[8] In "Sudden" Sam McDowell's foreword to the book, he writes: "I will tell you this about Steve Dalkowski with absolute certainty, after seeing and listening to his fastball, and witnessing some very wild pitches: I truly believe he threw a lot harder than I did! It's likely he delivered the fastest pitch I ever saw!" McDowell was regarded as one of the fastest MLB pitchers during the 1960s.

  1. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, ed. (1994). The Minor League Register. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. p. 363. ISBN 0-9637189-3-2.
  2. ^ a b Shelton, Ron (July 19, 2009). "Steve Dalkowski had the stuff of legends". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
  3. ^ Jerrod, Hoffman (August 24, 1999). "Minor League Legends: Steve Dalkowski". Sporting News. Archived from the original on August 25, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
  4. ^ Hause, Jeff. "Steve 'White Lightning' Dalkowski". Sports Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 12, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference SI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ McEntegart, Pete (June 30, 2003). "Where Are They Now? Steve Dalkowski". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2007.
  7. ^ ""The Scout" trivia". IMDb.
  8. ^ Dembski, Bill; Thomas, Alex; Vikander, Brian (2020). Dalko: The Untold Story of Baseball's Fastest Pitcher. Nashville,Tennessee: Influence Publishers. ISBN 9781645427100. Retrieved May 15, 2023.