Van Lingle Mungo, Pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers

Image Source: Unknown, but believed to be in the Public Domain

Image Subject: Portrait of Van Lingle Mungo, pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers

Fun Fact:  Van Lingle Mungo is perhaps the only major league player best known as a song title. If you dig a little deeper into his biography, you find he was a fiery right-handed pitcher known for his moodiness both on and off the field. 

Acquired by the Dodgers who saw him as a pitching phenom, Van Lingle was plagued with an inept supporting cast that probably prevented him from attaining his goal of a twenty-game win season. One tale involves Mungo nursing a slim lead into the ninth inning when left fielder Tom Winsett botched a routine fly-ball that cost Mungo the win. Incensed, Mungo trashed the dugout, then the clubhouse, throwing what he could out on to the playing field. He then stormed to the local telegraph office and sent a telegram to his wife saying “Pack up your bags and come to Brooklyn, honey. If Winsett can play in the big leagues, it's a cinch you can, too." 

The Baseball Almanac tells a story of Mungo when the Dodgers were training in Havana:

“Once, when the Dodgers were training in Cuba, his friends really saved him. Seems Van Lingle Mungo became enamored with a nightclub dancer by the name of Gonzalez, and she liked him pretty well, too. Her husband caught them in the clutches, and Mungo punched him in the eye. Señor Gonzalez returned with a butcher knife. That’s when a Dodgers executive by the name of Babe Hamberger hid Mungo in a laundry cart. He got his pitcher out of a major jam and down to the wharf where a seaplane was waiting. Mungo hid while his bags were loaded. Then Hamberger yelled, and Mungo sprinted for the plane, leaping aboard with the police hot on his heels.”

As Dodger manager Casey Stengel tells, "Mungo and I got along just fine, I won't stand for no nonsense, and then I duck." 

Painting Detail: Printed on 8.5” x 11” canvas and painted using Schmincke Mussini and Marshall’s oil paints. Finer details, like pinstripes, were made using Prismacolor pencils.

Acknowledgement:Baseball Almanac article on Van Lingle Mungo in Havana.