Evy Kavaler’s sculpture of Raleigh Fingers was a girl’s artistic tribute to a colorful and skilled pitcher who captured the hearts of the East Bay in the late 1960s and early 1970s.  Evy grew up in this era, and her artistic heritage was legit – she is the granddaughter of architect Oskar Gerson.

Raleigh Fingers pitched, of course, for the A’s, and his exquisitely groomed handlebar mustache was a trademark that, it was often said, evoked Snidely Whiplash.

Snidely was, you will remember, the arch-nemsis of Dudley Do-Right in Rocky and Bullwinkle.  Which was, you will remember, created by Jay Ward. Who was, you will remember, from Berkeley.

Raleigh Fingers pitched for the A’s from 1968 until 1976.

He then went to the National League and pitched for the Padres until 1980.

He finished his career with the Milwaukee Brewers.

When I took these photos to show my friend, he was opening an envelope from Gabby, who knew that we were working on a Raleigh Fingers page.

First, Gabby wrote in rather caustic terms that the Philadelphia Athletics were the Real Deal, that Kansas City was Not Real, and that Oakland was Also Not Real.  He remembered that the son of Eddie Collins had been my high school history teacher and that he coached my school’s baseball team.  He sent me some Eddie Collins as a Philadelphia Athletic cards:

As for the Brewers – well, don’t get Gabby, a son  of Wisconsin, started.  His disdain for Ed Selig knows no limits.  The only Milwaukee team, as far as he was concerned, was the Braves, who played in Milwaukee from 1953 until 1967, after Boston and before Atlanta.  This was the team of his youth, and lest we forget, he reminded us of the 1957 season:

This is all well and good, but what did my friend think of Raleigh Fingers and his Snidely Whiplash mustache?