Logboat Brewing taps into the legend of MLB's shortest player with commemorative can
Eddie Gaedel, who pinch-hit for the St. Louis Browns in 1951 and drew a walk, is the shortest — and lightest — player ever to compete in Major League Baseball. Three quarters of a century later, Logboat Brewing Co. commemorates the famous publicity stunt on a beer can.
Logboat Brewing Co.’s commemorative Little Legend is a special-edition canning of its light-style lager — Lite Logger — that has been released to honor “Little Legend” Eddie Gaedel, who at 3-foot-7 was the shortest — and lightest (60 pounds) — player to appear in a Major League Baseball game when he drew a walk on four pitches for the St. Louis Browns against Detroit Tigers pitcher Bob Cain in 1951. It was Gaedel’s only MLB plate appearance. Gaedel would have been 101 on June 18, the day the collaboration was announced.
The lager has been popular among Eddie Gaedel Society members as a Father's Day gift, wedding gift, gift basket item and commemorative display item.
The design created by Logboat Brewing Co. to commemorate Eddie Gaedel includes the famous picture of Gaedel in the batter’s box from which he reached base via walk. “In just a matter of weeks, this beer has already been given as a birthday gift, Father’s Day gift, Made in Missouri gift basket and a wedding gift,” Steve Meystrik said.
One member of the Eddie Gaedel Society created a display case complete with a can of the lager, a framed picture of Gaedel and a QR code that leads to the story of Gaedel and his plate appearance.
Mark Alexiou pours a glass of Snapper at Logboat Brewing Co. in Columbia. Logboat plans to open a second taproom in south Columbia in spring 2027 called the Logboat Midtown Taproom.
For Eddie Gaedel Bobblehead Night at Busch Stadium on Sept. 9, 2016, Thomas Keefe, right, gives St. Louis Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr., center, a replica of the jersey he once offered Eddie Gaedel in 1951. Team president Bill DeWitt III, left, holds a T-shirt bearing ⅛, the number Gaedel wore that day at Sportsman’s Park. The Browns drew close to 20,000 fans for Gaedel’s appearance, which was larger than the typical turnout that season in St. Louis.
This is one of three sections of road in Jefferson City the local chapter of the Eddie Gaedel Society cleans. In claiming this portion for maintenance, it is expected to clean the area four times a year. Steve Meystrik says it often cleans more often.
Steve Meystrik speaks to members of the Eddie Gaedel Society on Aug. 19, 2025 in his annual Eddie Gaedel Day address at Striker's Pub in Jefferson City.
While his frame was the smallest ever to cross the white lines, his heart was one of the biggest.
Eddie Gaedel was the perfect example of baseball being a game built for everybody. While he was an unimposing figure at 3-foot-7, he gained widespread fame as the centerpiece of a St. Louis Browns publicity stunt staged by one of baseball’s all-time showmen.
Now, Logboat Brewing Co. has partnered with the Eddie Gaedel Society to introduce a special tribute to commemorate this special player. The Columbia company has introduced a special can design for its light-style lager — Lite Logger — that pays tribute to the “Little Legend” and incorporates a black-and-white image of Gaedel crouching in the batter’s box.
With an old-school baseball cap sitting above his eyes and the saggy uniform that displayed the number ⅛, Gaedel is depicted on the front of the can as a packed crowd watches his four-pitch plate appearance at Sportsman’s Park. Above this image is the caption, “Doing little things to make a big difference.”
The collaboration was announced June 18, the day that would have marked Gaedel’s 101st birthday. Gaedel died in 1961.
A classic short story
Born in Chicago in 1925, Gaedel became the shortest and lightest player ever to compete in a Major League Baseball game when he drew his walk for the bottom-dwelling Browns, who would go on to lose 102 games that season.
The spectacle was orchestrated by Browns owner Bill Veeck, a maverick and flamboyant promotor who hired Gaedel through a booking agency.
“(Veeck) wanted to have a big birthday party to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the American League,” said Thomas Keefe, founder of the Eddie Gaedel Society. “So he was trying to get up a crowd, and one thing they did was they wheeled a giant cake out onto the field.”
Jumping out of the cake was Gaedel. When he later came to bat, it prompted a discussion with the umpire. Veeck presented a contract between Gaedel and the Browns signed days earlier, making him an official member of the team and, therefore, eligible to hit.
He drew a walk from Detroit Tigers pitcher Bob Cain in his first and only plate appearance in MLB. He was subbed out for a pinch-runner.
“They had close to 20,000 people, which was way ahead of their normal turnout for a St. Louis Browns game, so it was all part of a promotion,” Keefe said.
Gaedel was banned from the league the following day after a new height requirement was imposed.
A long-lasting legacy
“Any young fellow dreams of being a big leaguer, and that’s what I consider myself,” Gaedel told reporters at the time. “I’ve got a Browns uniform with No. ⅛ on the back, a glove and a contract. I’ve spent all my life in Chicago and never played ball, but I’ve always wanted to. I made up for it by becoming a red-hot fan. I’ve followed the game for years.”
Gaedel died of wounds to the face and knees as well as a heart attack that stemmed from him being followed home and beaten. He was 36 years old when his mother discovered him lifeless in his bed.
In 2011, Keefe founded the Eddie Gaedel Society as a way to celebrate and honor the legacy of the little legend.
“There’s a lot of people who don’t really understand that Eddie was a very talented guy in his own way,” Keefe said. “So we just hope they use his one time at the plate as an opportunity to pivot into more of an understanding of people that may not look like the rest of us but do make a contribution and have something to say and something worth listening to. Each one of us leaves our own legacy behind.”
Spreading the message
The Eddie Gaedel Society has expanded to form 12 chapters, including one in Jefferson City that contributed to the passing of Senate Bill 348 on Aug. 19. That day marked the 74th anniversary of Gaedel’s plate appearance.
With the passing of that legislation, Eddie Gaedel Day was officially introduced in Missouri.
“We turned the calendar to this year, which is the 75th anniversary of Eddie Gaedell’s historic at-bat, and it’s the first year that that law will actually be in place,” said Steve Meystrik, president of the society’s chapter in Jefferson City.
Meystrik attended the hearing that day in a St. Louis Browns jersey in the same style as the one Gaedel borrowed in 1951. The jersey belonged to Bill Dewitt Jr., now principal owner of the St. Louis Cardinals. He had been a batboy for the Browns. In fact, his father sold the team to Veeck just months before Gaedel entered the scene.
With No. ⅛ draped on his back, Meystrik made a plea to the legislature, and the holiday was made official.
Eddie Gaedel Day is celebrated annually by members of the society and baseball fans alike. At O’Doherty’s Irish Grille in Spokane, Washington, Keefe and the Spokane chapter chant the phrase “Ball 1! Ball 2! Ball 3! Ball 4! Take a walk, Eddie!” to celebrate the successful base-drawing effort of the 60-pound player.
In addition to celebrating Gaedel’s story, the society is built to encourage the values of perseverance and dedication Gaedel exemplifies. They gather to celebrate and promote community values, doing charity work and often cleaning their local roads.
“We’re trying to find unique and creative ways to make a difference in the community, often through those small things,” Meystrik said, “because the cumulative effect of little smiles and little kind words and little, little words of encouragement can go a long way.”
A group effort
To honor Gaedel’s story and hoping to spread the message the society preaches, Logboat produced 65 cases of these special cans. Meystrik took his family to the company’s headquarters in Columbia to transport 53 of them.
“Within a matter of hours, we had delivered all of those cases throughout Jefferson City and even to a place in Ashland,” Meystrik said.
He laughed before continuing, “I don’t know how many families would be willing to go load up a minivan with 53 cases of beer!”
The society had to commit to purchasing a minimum of 65 cases in order to make the collaboration happen. In addition to the usual constituents who gather to celebrate Gaedel’s legacy, members of a local youth baseball team stepped up to support the cause.
The Jefferson City Renegades have had a longstanding relationship with the society, which sponsors them and holds gatherings at their games to support the youth baseball scene.
Strikers — a Jeff City bowling alley, arcade and bar and grill where the society often gathers — also pitched in to ensure the success of the collaboration.
“In just a matter of weeks, this beer has already been given as a birthday gift, Father’s Day gift, Made in Missouri gift basket and a wedding gift,” Meystrik said last week. “Of course, this being Father’s Day weekend, I will be sharing another can of this beer with my dad, who first told me about Eddie Gaedel.”
Consumers of the beer have used it as a way to build community and make memories with loved ones.
“This stuff all may seem silly to some, but the thought behind what we’re doing is really to bring people together and spread some joy,” Meystik said.
As generations gather to tell the legend of Eddie Gaedel for years to come, the legacy of MLB’s smallest player will grow larger and larger.