MAY 23, 1954

“Red Sox star triumphs over mental breakdown”

Jim Piersall combined amazing defensive skills in the field with an unpredictable streak all over the ballpark, getting into skirmishes with other players, squirting home plate with a water pistol, yelling “I’m going to bunt!” at future Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige—and pulling it off. When he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder (known as “manic depression” in the 1950s), Boston transferred him from the dugout to therapy. It worked. Piersall returned to the field as one of the surest glovemen of his era, though he was still known for the occasional antic, like the time in 1964 when he went to bat wearing a Beatles wig.