Cheers to Sudden Sam

Sudden Sam McDowell was an All-Star baseball player who pitched for the Cleveland Indians and other teams from 1961 to 1975.  He was a six-time All-Star and he led the American League in strikeouts five times. 

Sudden Sam was the inspiration for Ted Danson’s character, Sam “Mayday” Malone from the hit television show Cheers. As fun-loving and charming as Sam Malone was, Sudden Sam struggled with internal demons and alcohol, both of which thwarted a hall of fame career. 

Reggie Jackson, the Oakland slugger, said McDowell had “the greatest fastball, curveball, slider and changeup” that he’d ever seen.  He called Sam ‘Instant Heat’, however, there was another nickname that stuck. 

Sam got his moniker after his first game in the big leagues when he was just 18 years old.  He was pitching against the Washington Senators. In the seventh inning when most people were stretching their legs, Sam was throwing lightning bolts, and on one of them, he tried to pitch so hard, he broke two ribs. 

After the game, a reporter, Bob Dolgan, went up to the coach and asked him what he thought of the teenager on the mound. All he said was, “his ball gets up there all of a sudden”.  From that moment on, he was Sudden Sam.  

In his younger years on the mound, Sudden Sam was wild both on and off the field.  He always had a nagging feeling, as he calls it.  Even before he started to drink, he had this feeling of dread.  He went to a therapist, but the focus was on sports psychology and improving his mental stamina to pitch better. He never addressed the core issue that he was an alcoholic.  

One night, the players and he went out to celebrate a win and they ordered some drinks. Now, prior to this, Sudden Sam didn’t touch alcohol. But once he took that first drink, he knew for him it was something special.  In fact, after his buddies went home, Sudden Sam hit the bars on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.  Sudden Sam had found his elixir.

Sam’s drinking escalated from there, as did his success on the mound.  A binge drinker, Sam knew enough to stop drinking two nights before he was to pitch. He describes it as ritualistic drinking in which he would stop 2 days before the game and resume the night of the game, win or lose. 

Sudden Sam’s trouble on the mound was attributed to sports psychology and no one ever thought he was an alcoholic. He didn’t think that way either. In a sense, Sudden Sam was protecting that he was an alcoholic and his troubles on the mound to not having the fire in the belly or lack of focus.  

In the off-season, Sudden Sam could go for weeks without taking a drink.  But then he’d pick it up at a party or a bar and he’d take it to the extreme.  He liked that altered feeling that changed his emotions.  Sam says he has an alcoholic personality.  It was in his family, too. 

From the time he was born and throughout his adult life, Sam had a feeling of dread. He had a real feeling of doom. Here he was, six foot six 250 pound man afraid of his shadow.   He wondered why he was different and felt different.  He wondered why things weren’t funny to him. 

At the major league level, Sam describes needing to understand why he felt the way he did and thought it was just sports psychology issues that were holding him down.  

Sam had no idea that being an alcoholic was impacting his life or his career.  He described a scene in which he was heading to a bar one night and as he approached the establishment, he saw a man lying down drunk in front of the door. Well, Sudden Sam just stepped right over the man, commenting to the police officer that he needed his fill, too.

After Sam was released from his last team, he spent the next 3.5 years on a downward spiral.  He lost his wife, his kids, his home, and his family.  He was stone cold broke and living with his parents. 

The disease had stripped him of everything.  Except for one thing: his determination and resolve to get better. 

He entered a treatment facility in Pittsburgh and began his long road to recovery.  Along the way, Sudden Sam studied psychology and while in treatment learned that he had a disease and that didn’t make him a bad person. It made him an ill person. 

Sudden Sam learned that he had alcoholic traits which included a constant focus on alcohol, blaming others, frequent excuses, uncontrolled drinking, financial struggles, shifting priorities, low self-esteem, and recklessness.

Sam worked with adolescents and adults, counseling them on life and the lessons he’d learned. Sam supports other players and helped develop the Baseball Assistance Team.  He’s consulted with the NFL and NHL, as well. 

Sudden Sam uses his story to help others avoid the mistakes he made.  Once again, Sudden Sam McDowell is an All Star helping others and saving lives. 

Sources

Dolgan, Bob Heroes, Scamps and Good Guys, Cleveland and Gray Cos 2003

Sam of 1000 Ways - https://vault.si.com/vault/1970/08/17/sam-of-1000-ways