Yankee In Exile

Tales From Spring Training, Vol. 1 

Ping Bodie

That was the nickname of the San Francisco-born Francesco Stephano Pezzolo, an MLB outfielder of the 1910s and early 1920s. He was one of the first Italian-American players that professional baseball had ever seen. He spent time with the White Sox, A’s, and Yankees organizations as well as a very brief stint with the Red Sox. He figured that his birth name would be too difficult to understand or pronounce to the typical American fan or teammate, so he quickly came up with a creative new name. His forename, he would take from the sound it made when a baseball hit off his massive bat. His surname, he took from the town of Bodie, California, a one time popular Gold Rush town not far from Yosemite National Park. 

By all accounts, Bodie was an extremely average Deadball Era player. He had some power, a measure of speed, a fair amount of defensive prowess, and overall just enough skill to keep him in the big leagues for nine full seasons. Simply put, Ping Bodie was a baseball player that naturally should have been lost to time and history. In many cases, he has been, as the normal fan in the 2020s has probably never heard his name. However, Bodie was significant in many ways, some more groundbreaking and some more outrageous. 

Ping Bodie: The Personality 

As was previously discussed, Bodie was an Italian-American baseball player at a time when most first generation immigrants from that country were not. Many, especially on the west coast, worked selling produce, in restaurants, or as fishermen, trying to help their family make ends meet instead of thinking about baseball stardom. Bodie, however, blazed a trail that eventually paved the way for other Italian-Americans to star in the big leagues, such as the DiMaggios (Vince, Dom, and, of course, Joe), Tony Lazzeri, Ernie Lombardi, and Frank Crosetti. Ping’s personality earned the respect of his teammates and he was a fan favorite on each club he played for. 

He even has the distinction of being Babe Ruth’s first Yankee roommate when “The Bambino” was sold from the Red Sox in 1920. He was known for his pranks, most notably placing live ducks in a teammate’s hotel room when the Yankees were training down in Macon, Georgia (a shenanigan which probably deserves its own blog post). Bodie was also notorious for his prodigious eating feats and the food bills he raked up at various hotels were gargantuan in nature. Of all the food Ping Bodie loved, his favorite was, naturally, his beloved Italian cuisine. More on that very soon……..

The Publicity Stunt 

The event in question happened as Bodie was beginning his second season with the Yankees during spring training of 1919. At that time, the Yankees were practicing in Jacksonville, Florida and their field was within walking distance of the famous Jacksonville Zoo. Rather surprisingly, the zoo was very popular with the Yankees players, as many of them would walk over to see the animals at the conclusion of their practices. Of all the creatures in Jacksonville, one, in particular, stood out. This was Percy the Ostrich, and the zoo billed him as “The World’s Greatest Eater.” Wait, but I thought Ping Bodie was the most prolific eater around??!? Yankees owner Colonel T.L. Huston and writer W.O. McGeehan saw the opportunity to make some money. They came up with the outlandish idea of Bodie challenging the great Percy to an eating contest. The spectacle would “go down” at the zoo and admission would be charged for entrance. This served to financially help the zoo (who were reported to have been struggling) and the Yankees themselves (who were in the pre-Babe Ruth era and hadn’t even won their first pennant). Bodie was in, the zoo was in, the Yankees were in, and, perhaps most consequently, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce were in…….

The Showdown 

And so it happened on April 3, 1919. Despite wanting to make a profit, event promoters were very careful with how and who they advertised the competition to, for fear that animal activists would try to shut it down. That didn’t come to fruition, and Percy and Bodie prepared to square off in one of the oddest eating contests in world history. However, the question remained: What food would be consumed in such gigantic proportions? Ping drew on his Italian roots and selected spaghetti, his favorite delicacy, for himself and the upstart bird to devour. The contest was set up like a boxing match, with different rounds taking place until one of the competitors could no longer forge on. Also similar to many boxing matches, there was plenty of gambling involved and scores of bets were placed on the attraction. 

By all accounts, both Percy and Ping easily completed their first few dishes of spaghetti, with the ostrich even eating his handler’s watch and chain for good measure. However, as the “fight” went on, it became obvious that Percy couldn’t hang. The later rounds saw the famous bird sweating, having bloodshot eyes, and sides that were beginning to swell. Those in the audience urged Percy’s handlers to throw in the towel, but the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce refused to let them. The reason? Members of the chamber had, allegedly, all placed their bets on the zoo animal and hated the thought that they were going to lose money. In fact, Percy’s health was declining so much that many spectators got up and left the room, utterly disgusted by what they saw. Through all of this, the ostrich matched Bodie for 10 rounds, managing to scarf down as many full plates of spaghetti in the process. Finally, before the 11th round was set to begin, the large, flightless bird collapsed and passed out. Some accounts have him dying right there on the spot, others have him making a modest recovery. Whatever the case, Bodie was declared the winner of one of the most bizarre competitions that anyone had ever seen. 

The Aftermath 

Inspired by this dubious victory, Ping Bodie went on to have his best season in 1919, when he batted .278 and knocked in 59 runs for a third place Yankee team. The last big league action he saw was two years later for the Red Sox and he played the final seven seasons of his career in the minor leagues. Bodie didn’t let retirement keep him from the spotlight, however. Once his playing days were over, the San Francisco native worked for 32 years as an electrician on Hollywood’s backlots. Through this job, he was able to land many gigs as an extra and a bit part actor for Universal Studios. This was a fitting role for a man who was an expert at self promotion. As for the spaghetti eating competition, it really goes to show us the lengths that human beings will go to for money. Obviously, poor Percy’s needs came second to the prospects of profit, gambling, and advertisement. We, as a country, have made strides against animal cruelty since 1919, however writing about this spectacle has caused me to ask: What and who in 2026 do we neglect in favor of money? Whose well being is currently being put on the back-burner for the sake of profit in today’s sports world? Something to think about this week.