Sports Illustrated has a piece on Ol' Cholly that tells of his bathroom reading material, his knowledge of professional wrestling, and his Japanese born Italian buddy Luigi Forenza.
But the opening story about Ted Williams and Charlie arguing about the minutiae of hitting after a few cold ones in the middle of a DC hotel is brilliant. The kind of event you'd pay $100 bucks just to have been a fly on the wall to witness.
Fueled by Chivas and water, Teddy Ballgame had taken a place mat off
the table and tossed it onto the floor, where it was serving as home
plate. The two men, both lefthanded, were quarreling over which hand,
the top or bottom, was more important. Williams was a staunch top-hand
guy. Manuel, who'd put away a few VOs, was a top-hand guy too, but only
to a point. He believed the bottom hand played a more significant role
than Williams was allowing. It might not seem like much of a
distinction, but judging by the number of hours (four) and drinks
(substantially more than four) they'd killed, it was a big deal to both
of them.
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You have to read the whole thing to hear Teddy Ballgame's final quip.
It's the kind of story that makes a magazine like SI still worth purchasing. You know, in case you don't have your copy of "The Science of Hitting" around the next time you step into the office.
>>Cholly, they'll never call you a hayseed in this town again* [Sports Illustrated]
*probably not true