Art Tatum and baseball

When a discussion of the greatest jazz pianists of all-time arises, Art Tatum's name is generally right at the top. He was amazing. (See link below.) He was totally blind in one eye and partially blind in the other. Oscar Peterson, another candidate for the greatest jazz pianist of all time, recalls that when he was young and his father thought he was getting conceited about his playing, his dad brought home a recording of Tatum playing Tiger Rag. When Peterson learned that it was only one man playing, he got so discouraged and he wouldn't even touch the piano for a couple of weeks.

It is said that Tatum had "an encyclopedic memory for major league baseball statistics." According to the Jazz Profiles blog: "Tatum could quote baseball pitchers records, batting averages for almost all players in both big leagues, names and positions for almost all players, the game records any year, and so forth. Rozelle Gayle, one of Tatum's closest friends, recalls back in Art's Chicago days (the '30s) that all the musicians frequented the drugstore on the corner of 47th Street and South Park. Art became so respected as an authority on any subject (and that included population statistics) that the fellows would have him settle their arguments, instead of telephoning a newspaper."

TIGER RAG LINK