The Girl Who Shot The Natural
From The Stacks, the true story of Ruth Steinhagen, the young woman who shot Philadelphia Phillies player Eddie Waitkus in the stomach in June 1949. The crime later became a plot point in Bernard Malamud’s The Natural:
It was getting late, and Ruth had all but given up hope that she would hear from Eddie, when the telephone rang. The abruptness of it startled her. Even more, she was surprised to hear his voice — friendly yet prodding, in a hurry to get to the bottom of why she had contacted him. Ruth composed herself, reiterated the urgency of the matter, and invited him up. As soon as they hung up, Ruth began preparations for his arrival. From her suitcase in the closet, she removed a package wrapped in old newspapers, which concealed the rifle she had purchased weeks before and had hidden away in her bedroom. She assembled it and placed it behind the closet door. A martini glass and some mixers sat on her dresser. She sat in a chair by the window and reviewed her plan. She would stab Eddie with the paring knife she had in her purse, and use the gun on herself. Suddenly, there was a tap at the door.