Jerry Holtzman’s history of baseball writers recounts the Trimble-Young moment. Thirty-one years later, at a NYDN farewell party for Dick (moving to the NY Post), Trimble told the story for the first time. He said there was a vacant typewriter between him and Dick. Dick moved to that typewriter, wrote the lead, and placed it beside Trimble’s machine. Not a word was exchanged, and neither man spoke of it until the night of the party — when Trimble said he was forever grateful and sorry that he had never acknowledged Young’s help.

“It’s tempting, in surveying the history of podiatry, to focus only on the grandeur.”

It reminded me of our old friend Shelby Strother, who was a master of this stuff.

Cheers!

Long time. Here’s my lede story. I hope it’s true, but whatever. Apparently, back in the days when NY had three teams and sometimes two of the them made the World Series, the beat writers on the same paper would alternate writing the game story. So, when the Dodgers played the Yanks in Game 5, 1956, it was Joe Trimble’s turn to write the game story, and Dick Young’s turn to do something else. But the perfect game paralyzed Trimble, and he couldn’t even begin to type. So-and I do hope this is true–Dick Young came up behind him, wrapped his arms around his body to find the keys of the typewriter, and typed, “The imperfect man was perfect today.” That stood as the lede, and Trimble was then able to write the rest.

Best,

Steve Gietschier