Ex-Big Leaguer Werber Has Many Stories to Choose From

C) The time Grove impressed a scout who had visited his home in Lonaconing, Md., by showing off his ability to kill squirrels with rocks?

Or, D) The time Foxx, who never appeared to be very fast on the diamond -- and who, in fact, routinely was held to a single when he hit a ball off the Green Monster at Fenway Park -- outran five other players, including the speedy Werber, to win $100?

No question. It has to be C).

"The scout, Ira Thomas, goes out into the woods to look for him, and eventually, here comes this tall, rawboned guy. And he's got squirrel tails tied around his belt, with the heads hanging down. So the first question Ira Thomas asks him is, 'Are you Lefty Grove?'

"And Lefty says, 'I be.'

"He said, 'Well, where's your gun.'

" 'I don't use no gun.'

"He said, 'Well, how do you kill the squirrels?'

" 'I kill them with rocks.'

"He says, 'I don't believe you.'

"And Lefty says, 'Well, you see that insulator on that crossbar?' And he takes one of the rocks from his pocket, and throws it with his right hand -- and the glass just shatters in all directions.

"And Thomas is amazed, but he says, 'I thought you were a left-hander.'

"He says, 'I am. But when I throw it left-handed, I tear them all up.' "

Story No. 7:

A) The time Werber stole home on the Chicago White Sox when first baseman Zeke Bonura lobbed the ball back to the pitcher after a pickoff attempt one too many times?

B) The time Werber and Ben Chapman of the Yankees, considered the two fastest men in baseball, raced around the bases for $100 -- and wound up tied?

C) The time Werber sued the New York Giants to get his last two weeks' worth of salary after he retired in 1942, and went before legendary commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis for a hearing on the dispute -- and won.

Or, D) The time Werber, playing for the Red Sox, turned a base on balls into a triple?

A triple out of a base on balls? It's gotta be D).

"Schoolboy Rowe was pitching for Detroit, and he was after his 16th consecutive win. I walked. And [Ray] Hayworth is catching, and [Bill] Rogell is playing shortstop and [Charlie] Gehringer is playing second. And I'm going to first base, and I look over and Rogell has his back to the infield, tapping clods of dirt with his spikes. And Gehringer is doing the same thing.

"So when I hit first base, I had a full head of steam, and when I started going for second, you could hear the roar of the crowd all the way at Back Bay Station. Gehringer turns around, startled. Rogell turns around. They see me. So Hayworth throws the ball, and I slide into second base, and the ball goes out to Jo-Jo White in center field. So I slide into third base -- a triple out of a base on balls.' "

And with that, Bill Werber's eyes are shining, and he is laughing out loud, and then he is yawning. And his mouth starts to tell another story -- that would have been number 29, and the start of yet another multiple choice -- but the momentum ebbs, and the thought passes out into the clouds.

"He's got the mind of an 80-year-old," Werber's son, Bill Jr., would say later, which doesn't sound like a compliment, but surely is, as Bill Jr. is 77 years old himself.

Silence fills the apartment, and Bill Werber, a few days shy of 100, simply chuckles a few more times. And you are near-certain there are plenty more stories in there, and if you chose to wait out the afternoon nap, they would spring forth in waves.

But it is already past his naptime, and you are exhausted, too, and so you lift yourself out of Bill Werber's wheelchair. You glance quickly around the apartment, noting the lack of a single piece of baseball memorabilia, but walls and shelves full of family pictures -- including quite a few of Tat, plus their three children, eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, all of whom will be there for the big birthday party on Friday.

It is time to be going, so you shake Bill Werber's hand -- a strong grip he has -- and head for the door. As you close it gently behind you, turning the knob so as not to disturb him with the click, you hear another sturdy laugh -- and then, a little softer, "A triple out of a base on balls!"