When The Washington Senators of my youth played at first called DC, then renamed RFK Stadium in the late 1960's and early 1970's, they had one of the slickest fielding, non hitting, shortstops in the game. Eddie Brinkman was his name and he was Frank Howard's Best Friend. They were, very, very close.
Known as "Wimpy" to Big Frank's "Hondo", Eddie Brinkman passed away today in his home town of Cincinnati, Ohio.
He was 66 Years Old.
Our Heart and Sympathy goes out tonight to Mr. Brinkman, his Family and "My Favorite Player Of All Time!!" Frank Howard.
Some of you may recall Frank Howard talking about his Best Friend during My Interview With "Hondo" in September, 2007.
May Eddie Brinkman Rest In Peace.
My dad had one big memory of Brinkman-after the MLK assassination, Brinkman (a member of the National Guard) was on duty and in (military) uniform for Opening day at DC Stadium. You don't really see that anymore, but that's a really interesting tidbit.
ReplyDeleteNumber 11 was a stick of a guy out there (I know - that was his counterpart in Baltimore's nickname.) who played two positions: short and short and middle left field for Hondo's benefit. A heavy smoker, he often caught a butt in between innings just inside the tunnel in Senators dug-out along first base line at D.C. Stadium. He could not hit a lick for Nats, but boy could he field. When he got to the Tigers, he actually had two decent hitting years and made the AL All-Star Team. I think of him as so much older than me, but he is only 9 years my successor. Shows how 13 year old boys look at 22 year old players as men, when they themselves are boys...
ReplyDeleteTrust in Fast Eddie. All Number 11's real Washington players. RIP.
What sad news. Ed Brinkman was a remarkable man, funny, and generous with his time.
ReplyDeleteI spoke to him at the 1998 reunion for the 1969 Senators and then interviewed him a few months later.
He was gracious and kind and told all kinds of funny stories about himself and his buddy Hondo.
What a huge loss for Washington, Detroit, Chicago and Cincinnati and every other town Brinkman graced with his presence.
He played hard and lived hard and holds a dear, dear place in my childhood memories of my beloved Washington Senators.
I feel like I've lost a good friend.
First, please accept my condolances on behalf of Eddie Brinkman and his family. I'm sorry I did not get the chance to see him play.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I need to post something slightly off-topic. Remember that Washington City Paper reporter who came to this blog asking to talk to Nats' fans? I warned SBF and everybody else not to help him out because I was sure that the CP was preparing a hatchet job.
I was right---the hatchet job hit the streets today. 'Nuff said...
Oh my gosh. Eddie Brinkman was my favorite Nat other than the obligatory Hondo. When we played ball in the neighborhood, and the wiser older kids called out who they were; 'Hondo', 'Cullen', 'Epstein','Cassanova', etc. I would alway choose Brinkman. We heard that his nickname on the team was Casper. Funny, since I was only 11 when the Senators left us, I didn't know until later in life that my hero couldn't hit. I remember emulating his gate, stance, and throw when I played the field for my CYO team. Poor Eddie. 66 is too young to go. I was hoping he, and other of my childhood Nats favorites would play a bigger role in the public relations of our Nats ver. 3.0.
ReplyDeleteIn my youth, I was very fortunate to see a lot of Ed Brinkman. There was no one who could range so far into the hole and "pick it" like Brinkman, and with that cannon of an arm, he seemed to make the impossible plays look so easy. After offensive struggles during his first eight years, Brinkman amazed all fans, and probably a lot of opponents, when he actually became a threat under the guidance of Ted Williams and Nellie Fox. Ed Brinkman was not only a classy player, but as a person, he personified the word class. Number 11 will always be Ed Brinkman. He will definitely be missed.
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