Heros

Even the most casual observer of human nature can clearly see that most of us have heros. We may be amazed by their strength and courage or even envious of those qualities but heros help us define who we want to be. They cause us to aspire to a better self.

In literature, the critics have identified six major heroes types that influence us. First is the type of the willing hero, the gung-ho warrior who, possessing both moral and physical courage wades into whatever fray is afoot. Naturally the counterpart is the unwilling hero, who reluctantly enters the arena. More interesting is the tragic hero who makes a terrible error in judgement that leads to destruction. Aristotle is the great definer of the tragic hero. In his Poetics he introduces us to the concepts of hamartia and hubris. These heros do not respect the order of things and their fatally incorrect judgements lead to their destruction.

The classic hero is simply a Gallahad whose personal perfection is beyond question. The epic hero is the stuff of legend. Finally we arrive at the anti-hero who is neither pure nor evil but a churn of complex psychology that is always hard to read. As I thought about the idea of the hero, I realized that I had a few. They were ball players, soldiers, clerics, saints…they came from diverse places.

One of my heros is Eddie Rommel (1897-1970). Eddie was pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics. From 1920 to 1932 the the kid from Baltimore pitched 2,545 and one third innings at the highest level of baseball. In 1920 Eddie won 27 games, a great achievement in any season. In 1932 Rommel pitched 17 innings -in relief- against the Cleveland Indians. He is known as, “the father of the knuckleball” as he added guile to his obvious determination and stamina. Eddie won 171 major league games.

His heroism continued after his Major League career. He did not retire, instead he became an umpire in the New York-Penn league. This led him back to the Majors as an umpire where he braved the tough crowds for 3,364 games. Emerson once observed that, ” the hero is commonly the simplest and obscurest of men.” So it was with Eddie and his mix of toughness, loyalty and innovation. He also had the courage to perform in difficult situations.

Many héros are remembered for the one great act, like falling on a live grenade or storming the ramparts and Eddie had his moment too. In the forties Eddie was the first umpire to WEAR EYEGLASSES while calling a game. Now that is guts.

It’s good to remember that there are heros all around us who regularly defy the norms that hold us back. Hemmingway resonates here when he notes that, ” as we get older it’s harder to have heros but its sort of necessary.” Eddie will serve the purpose.

How many times did Eddie square his shoulders and carry on while the cry of “four eyes” came raining down upon him?

Eddie is buried in Baltimore.