Off Duty

Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe, probably the greatest baseball player you’ve never heard of, has died at the age of 103. With the sketchiness of Negro League records, it’s impossible to know exactly what he accomplished, but even if he achieved only a fraction of the legend, it’s a hell of a career: by some accounts, he amassed 4,000 hits, 400 home runs, 500 wins and 4,000 strikeouts. Damon Runyon bestowed Radcliffe’s nickname in a 1932 Negro League World Series doubleheader, when Radcliffe caught Satchel Paige’s shutout in the first game, then matched him by pitching his own in the nightcap. Radcliffe appeared in 6 Negro League All-Star Games, 3 each as a pitcher and a catcher, and in an exhibition game, threw out Ty Cobb attempting to steal second. On the way back to the dugout, Cobb noticed Radcliffe’s chest protector, with the inscription: “Thou shalt not steal.”