“One feller I want to meet if he’s still alive and can be found is that fellow Henriksen,” remarked 72-year-old Hugh Bedient to Jamestown Post-Journal sportswriter Frank Hyde. It was March of 1962, and in four weeks’ time Hugh was expected in Boston along with the other surviving members of the 1912 World Champions for the much-anticipated 50th-anniversary celebration of Boston’s historic 1912 World Series victory over Christy Mathewson and the New York Giants. For Hugh, the reunion would give him the chance to pay off a debt long overdue. “Olaf is the one I remember best,” he said. “I might have forgotten to thank him for that pinch-hit. So, I’ll thank him when we go to Boston.”
Bedient played in the bigs for three years plus a follow-on year in the Federal League. In MLB, he went 44-35 with a 3.05 ERA, all with the Red Sox. He is most famous for what he didn't do, however, which was bat when his turn came up and the game on the line. Instead it was young Olaf Henriksen that picked out a winner and provided the game-tying, pinch-hit in the eighth and deciding game of the 1912 World Series. That hit delivered the crucial blow off the great Mathewson, who pitched his heart out that day in a memorable performance. It also opened the door for the Boston team to win the game and World Series, Boston’s second Series triumph, in extra innings. - SABR
Redid the facegen. An early member of the Class of '12 for luckymann
