The Wave

What if you invented something the whole world knows but someone else took the credit? This week on Snap, we uncover the story of Krazy George, a shy wood-shop teacher turned professional cheerleader, who sparked a phenomenon from the stands of the Oakland Coliseum. And -- the story of the infamous Pine Tar Game told by the bat boy. STORIES The Wave What if you invented something the whole world knows but someone else took the credit? This week on Snap, we uncover the story of Krazy George, a shy wood-shop teacher turned professional cheerleader, who sparked a phenomenon from the stands of the Oakland Coliseum. A huge thank you to the man, the myth, the legend… Krazy George Henderson http://www.krazygeorge.comfor sharing your story. At 80 years young, George is still banging his drum for the Spartans at his alma mater, San Jose State. He also just celebrated his 50th season cheering professionally for the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer. To read more about the life and times of George, check out his memoir “Still Krazy After All These Cheers” https://www.amazon.com/Krazy-George-Still-After-Cheers/dp/0692253157 Produced by Bo Walsh. Edited by Anna Sussman. Original score by Dirk Schwarzhoff. Artwork by Teo Ducot. The Bat Boy and the Pine Tar Game Every baseball fan has heard of the superstar hitter George Brett and his infamous Pine Tar Game… but have you heard of the bat boy’s version? For more info, check outDaniel Barbarisi’s story https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324867904578594154270594078 in the Wall Street Journal. Produced by Davey Kim. Sound Design by Renzo Gorrio. Season 16 - Episode 15 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices https://dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:07Glynn Washington?

  Okay, okay, it's almost, almost gift giving time. And because gift giving time is cold outside time, it's want to stay by a fire time. I like giving something cozy. And nobody, but nobody does cozy like Quince. And what's better than one for them and one for me? Or you? Like my Quince organic gauze dream quilt set paired with the brushed cotton sheet set that I got for me, that I got for them, for me? Put it together, you've got cozy squared. Give the gift of quality this holiday season. Download the Quince app for app exclusive offers or go to quince.com.

• 0:50Glynn Washington?

  Get free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK too. And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was Snap Judgment. It's the best way to support the show.

• 1:05Speaker 01

  Support comes from Wise, the smart way to manage the currencies you need around the globe. Fed up with losing out to hidden fees when you send your money abroad with your everyday bank? Choose the smart way. Wise. You can count on the exchange rate you'd usually find on Google. No unwelcome surprises. Plus ditch that where's my money feeling. Most transfers arrive in under 20 seconds. Join millions saving billions on hidden fees. Be smart, get wise. Download the Wise app today. Ts and Cs apply.

• 1:37Glynn Washington?

  Okay, so it's time the world knew the truth. And I know I'm gonna get the angry letters, the furious reprisals. Please send any and all complaints to the Snap Judgment Complaint Department, joerogan at joerogan.com. But I gotta tell my truth because back in the day, I moved from Michigan to the San Francisco Bay. Land in lovely Oakland, California, good people, good times. I instantly feel this sense of kinship, this sense of home, some of the same foods. And someone needs to explore the relationship between Michigan pasties and Bay Area empanadas. Got the same pride of place.

• 2:22Glynn Washington?

  And I even hear similar slang in the Bay. Catch folk walking down the street saying, "That car is hella fast." "That girl dances hella wack." "My mom's is hella crazy." I just smile with pride, catching echoes of my former home and my new home. Imagine then, my surprise, my chagrin to learn that these Bay Area people have the gall and the audacity to say, "They invented the term hella."

• 2:56Glynn Washington?

  The Bay Area hip-hop, the skateboarders, the hyphy movement, all they claim, which is odd because I know who started this worldwide trend. We did. And by "we," I mean the good folk of East Kentwood High School, right outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan. "Hey, it's gonna be hella cold up north, Chad." "Kim, how a good party you missed." In fact, I wanna go out on a limb and say the specific person who started this phenomenon is a guy who sat behind me in Mr. Van Ammelen's geology class. A fellow by the name of Shawn Webb. That's right. No longer can I just sit silent while this giant

• 3:41Glynn Washington?

  of modern American English minacular goes unheralded, "I'm hella mad." And today on Snap, that's not all we're setting the record straight on.

• 3:53Glynn Washington?

  Snap uncovers the real story of a generation's long mystery. Snap Judgment proudly presents The Wave. My name is Tim Washington. It's a hella good show when you're listening to Snap Judgment.

• 4:21Glynn Washington?

  Now, every high school superstar knows that the roar of the crowd has to fade eventually. But Snap producer Bo Walsh brings us a tale about one guy who left behind something that will live on forever. Our story begins right here in Oakland, California.

• 4:41Speaker 02

  In just a few hours, the A's are gonna play their final game at the Oakland Coliseum. Thousands of fans expected to attend, showing their support for the team, a team they've loved for years, in fact, decades for some.

• 4:54Speaker 03

  This past fall, close to 47,000 people sold out the Coliseum to bid farewell to one of baseball's most storied franchises before the A's abandoned the city of Oakland.

• 5:13Speaker 03

  In their 56 seasons, the Oakland A's went from triumph to tragedy. A once-a-dynasty which included four World Series titles, followed by years of fielding baseball's lowest payroll.

• 5:29Speaker 03

  The Oakland A's were more than just a baseball team, though. They were a symbol of Oakland, a source of pride that unified a city. And while the rundown Coliseum may have earned a reputation for its small crowds, sewage overflows, and even possum infestations...

• 5:51Speaker 03

  It was home to a loyal fanbase.

• 6:01Speaker 03

  One of those fans was a man named Krazy George, who saw all of the ups and downs, and would create one of the team's most iconic and lasting legacies. He was asked by the A's to be at their last game, to see them off and share in this final memory.

• 6:19Speaker 04

  This is the best part of the game for me. I just have fun making people smile. Alright, thank you.

• 6:28Speaker 04

  Hey, I was there.

• 6:32Speaker 04

  Well, I can tell you, I was shy. Well, I'm still shy. I really am. If I'm out of my element and people don't know I'm Krazy George, and you see me across the room and nobody knows me, I am shy. I'm the quietest person in the room, and that's the way it's always been. But, once I become Krazy George, I change my persona, and I'm not shy anymore.

• 7:04Speaker 03

  As a young kid, George was not crazy. His voice was not always gravelled by his strange line of work. And his name wasn't even George.

• 7:13Speaker 04

  All through high school, I was called Mike, because my middle name is George Michael. And my dad was named George, so I went by Mike. So all my friends through high school, through junior college, called me Mike. And it's quite a difference between Krazy George and Mike. I mean, there's a world of difference. Mike was quiet. At high school, I don't think I ever talked to a girl. I never went to a dance. I probably didn't know a girl's name in high school. Except if it was one of my best friend's sisters. I mean, I didn't have a date till I was 21 years old. I had like four, three or four intimate friends in high school.

• 7:55Speaker 04

  And I still keep in touch with two of them. And they really are amazed that I transformed myself like this. Almost everybody didn't expect it. And then they go, "Now you're Krazy George."

• 8:12Speaker 04

  George, can I get a photo with you? Why, sure. Oh, friggin' honor, man. You're a legend.

• 8:18Speaker 04

  Thank you so much. All right.

• 8:20Speaker 03

  It was in college, as a student at San Jose State, that one day, something was unlocked. Something deep inside that George never knew he had.

• 8:34Speaker 04

  Don Bogdan, my best friend back then, one day, he said, "Let's go to a football game." And I said, "Sure, I'd love to go." And we went. And he brought a drum and a bugle. "What do I do with a bugle? A bugle takes talent to play." I couldn't play the bugle, so he hands me the drum. Well, anybody can play a drum. And I start hitting it.

• 9:01Speaker 04

  Well, hey Spartans, let's get behind it. This is gonna be a great game. And I was having fun. And I was getting a few people cheering with me. And by the first half, I had like forty people cheering in that section. Is everybody ready? San Jose, is everybody ready? By the third quarter, I had the whole section cheering. And they're all laughing and enjoying it. And we stood out.

• 9:33Speaker 03

  George kept showing up to the Spartan football games. And soon with that drum in his hand, he wasn't so shy anymore.

• 9:41Speaker 04

  When I'd hit the drum, like, three times in a row, I would look up in the stands and five thousand people would be looking at me. That's what the drum did. I got their attention. Get up, everybody! I adopted the idea that I liked being noticed. I've always wanted to be an extrovert, I guess. And that gave me the perfect excuse. So I started using my personality, carrying the drum. I get up close and personal in the stands with the fans, and that's why they cheer for me. Defense! I'm with them. Defense!

• 10:24Speaker 04

  I found out the impact I made on the fans. I can change the face of a game.

• 10:33Speaker 03

  George became a fixture at San Jose State games and a bit of a local celebrity. But cheerleading wasn't gonna pay his bills.

• 10:42Speaker 04

  I needed a job. A job comes along at Booker High School. So now I was a regular, full-blown teacher. And I tell you, that was not my forte, but I was teaching.

• 11:00Speaker 04

  I don't know if they knew I wasn't cut out to be a teacher or not, but I wasn't getting a lot of joy out of it.

• 11:07Speaker 03

  At school, he could never seem to find that same control over the classroom that Krazy George had over the crowd.

• 11:14Speaker 04

  The image of who I am, and then I have to be a strict teacher, and I was a terrible disciplinarian. It was always like right below, out of control. That's, that's the way I felt. It was chaos in the class. The kids just went nuts. And I'd lose control almost. I had nightmares about teaching sometimes. I was just not born for that. And I was born for cheerleading. Oh, there he goes, he's come. Oh, you big turkey! You dally!

• 11:47Speaker 05

  This might be the real George Henderson, alias Krazy George. Cheerleader, have tambourine, will travel from the SEALs to the Earthquakes to the San Jose State Spartans. The fans not only love his act, they obey his crazy demands.

• 12:01Speaker 04

  Down three, one, two.

• 12:03Speaker 03

  George was moonlighting on the weekends as a local cheerleader when he started getting calls from bigger teams.

• 12:10Speaker 04

  And that's when there was an indication I might be able to make some money at cheerleading. And I go, well, I'm gonna have to gamble. I'll try it. I just went in and I said, you know, I'm quitting teaching, I'm gonna resign my post. And I started cheering. And then I became professional. Hello, everybody! I'm Krazy George, and this is what I do!

• 12:37Speaker 03

  Now Krazy George was traveling all over the country banging his drum at games.

• 12:44Speaker 04

  It was a dream. I was having more fun than anybody. They pay me to do what I was doing for seven years for nothing, and having fun with it then. And they start paying me. And they started paying me more and more, way more than I could ever make teaching. And I'm just loving it. So I was happy. But between the uniqueness of my occupation, being so unique that nobody else I think in the world's ever done it, my persona, my personality, fit.

• 13:22Speaker 04

  This is Krazy George, Mr. Insanity. His ability to instigate fans has captured the imagination of spectators and sports teams alike.

• 13:33Speaker 06

  Back up for the Rockies to center ice, a quick pass. He just scored!

• 13:37Speaker 03

  One night shortly after going pro, George got a gig working a hockey game for the Colorado Rockies of the NHL, who desperately needed his help to get the crowd into the game.

• 13:49Speaker 04

  That night, it was a smaller crowd. They hardly ever do more than 7,000 a game. They were just a struggling franchise in the NHL. And, you know, of course, we were probably being beat.

• 14:03Speaker 03

  So he wanted to start a cheer with three sections of fans to try to wake up the sleepy building.

• 14:08Speaker 04

  And so there was three sections that had a lot of people in it, so I took these three sections. And I said, "Okay, I want to start here, and I want you to stand up and sit down as I point to you." And I said, "I want everybody to just yell, 'Go!' This section starts, I just want you to stand, yell, 'Go, go, go.'"

• 14:29Speaker 03

  When George felt it was time to rally the crowd, he pointed to the section he wanted to stand first.

• 14:38Speaker 04

  Physically, I had the whole section stand up. And as they stand up, they yell, "Go." And then the next section stands up and yells, "Go." And I started. And now it go, go, about was on a curve.

• 14:53Speaker 03

  Suddenly, as the fans followed George's lead, it was contagious. Butts started to rise up out of the seats. The sections next to them saw what they did and did the same.

• 15:06Speaker 04

  I didn't have to talk to the next section all at once when I went, "They go, go, go." I stopped. But the next section stood up and yelled, "Go." And they would just throw up their arms. And it kept going. And it got bigger and louder as it went, "It's going now." And I went, "All right, this is good."

• 15:27Speaker 03

  The sections of fans standing up to cheer and sitting down one section at a time in sequence sort of looked like waves in the ocean.

• 15:35Speaker 04

  That cheer, after it died or stopped, the place went nuts. Because they'd never seen anything like it. Neither did I. I was happy too. I knew right then, I knew, "That's a cheer I would keep doing." I knew that, so I had that new cheer in my arsenal.

• 15:55Speaker 03

  Krazy George started what everyone would soon be calling the wave.

• 16:06Glynn Washington?

  When Snap returns, George's new little cheer looks high with a few thousand fans. But how about a sold out stadium?

• 16:17Glynn Washington?

  Stay tuned.

• 16:29Glynn Washington?

  Look, recently, I just had the treatment. I needed a sofa, wanted to finally, finally have something nice. And I picked out a beautiful leather couch, gorgeous, from Article. And it recently arrived, and I cannot stop looking at it. It's stunning, and it's time because the age of throwaway, fast fashion nonsense is over. The time of craft and quality is now. And not only do you get all of this without a huge markup. It's not just a bunch of parts in a box that you can't put together either. Article offers fast, affordable shipping across the US and Canada with options for professional

• 17:13Glynn Washington?

  assembly if you prefer a hands off experience. And Article is offering our listeners $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. To claim, visit article.com/snap and the discount will be automatically applied at checkout. That's article.com/snap for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more.

• 17:38Glynn Washington?

  You know, when you want a snack, something salty and sweet, but you're not supposed to be eating snacks, supposed to be eating celery and carrots and other things that taste like cardboard, well, Cheetos got the nutrition your body craves in one deliciously simple shake. Let me tell you what I love. Cheetos new salted caramel flavor. You've got your sweet, you've got your salty, you've got your nutrition all at the same time. And if you want variety, they've got chocolate, vanilla, chai, matcha, strawberry, coffee, cinnamon french toast. What? Cinnamon french toast? Give in and embrace your salty side.

• 18:21Glynn Washington?

  Go to kachava.com and use code JUDGMENT for 15% off your first order. That's kachava, K-A-C-H-A-V-A dot com, code judgment.

• 18:40Glynn Washington?

  Welcome back to Snap Judgment, the Wave episode. Last we left, professional cheerleader Crazy George started a never before seen cheer at an empty hockey game that sparked a crowd reaction unlike anything he expected. But can George pull it off in primetime? Snap Judgment.

• 19:05Speaker 03

  Crazy George debuted the Wave in Colorado and would break it out at smaller events like high school rallies, but he never showcased it in a big stadium.

• 19:15Speaker 04

  And that's when the time came to go to the Oakland A's game.

• 19:19Speaker 03

  Of course, when it came to cheering, no one could ignore the A's 10th man, Crazy George Henderson. During the 1981 season, the Oakland A's hired George to come cheer for 25 of their biggest home games.

• 19:32Speaker 04

  They've only done one major league baseball team, and that's the Oakland A's.

• 19:38Speaker 03

  The swinging A's dominated baseball in the 70s, winning three straight World Series titles. Oakland has won the 1972 World Series. The Oakland A's have won their second consecutive World Series championship. And the A's have done it. The championship are the Oakland A's. But as the 80s approached, they hit a post dynasty slump, and the once proud A's were now a last place team with rumors spreading that they might leave Oakland. When new owner Walter Haas bought the team in 1981, he knew of Krazy George and his reputation for stirring up Bay Area crowds, and thought he could help revitalize the atmosphere

• 20:23Speaker 03

  at the Oakland Coliseum.

• 20:25Speaker 04

  I showed up, and after I did one game, they just loved it.

• 20:33Speaker 04

  I'd do a cheer, then I'd run up the row. I'd run to the next thing. And ten, twenty seconds, thirty seconds, I'm in the next section, ready to do a cheer. Back and forth cheers, four-corner cheers, clapping, you name it. Krazy George. Krazy George Henderson gets them all going, and it's amazing. Think he's not pumped up? Mm. When I would walk in, I could take the fans and get ten times more reaction than they ever saw before. And the owners and the general manager, everybody, players, loved it. It was game-changing.

• 21:10Speaker 03

  The A's win the win. George controlled the crowds in Oakland as if he'd been there for years. And during that 1981 season, the A's returned to their winning ways, finishing with the best record in the American League. So on October 15th, in a sold-out, nationally televised playoff game against the rival New York Yankees, with 47,000 fans in attendance, Krazy George felt it might be time to introduce the Wave to the world.

• 21:45Speaker 04

  I knew, at the start, I knew I wanted maybe to try the Wave. But I just didn't know if I could do it. But when I walked into that stadium, we're playing the Yankees, such rivalry, and it's just, we wanted to beat them so bad, and we'd already lost two games away. So we had to win, or we're out of the playoffs. So I thought that Wave, it was needed, and I knew what it could do, the energy it could add to a stadium. But I'd only been doing it for like, six months or a year before that, in little venues.

• 22:28Speaker 04

  But I said, if I pull it off here, this could be big. It is 72 degrees here in Oakland, a good crowd on hand. And in the background, I hear, I'm sure you hear, the Oakland... And fans reacting to their Oakland A's, they love them here. The Yankees want to nail it down tonight and go on to World Series, but the Oakland A's say not just yet. That was an important game, big important game. And it was a nationally televised game. I wanted to win that game. The Coliseum in Oakland, the game is scoreless. Numerous threats by each team. Nobody's been able to push one across the plate. So the game starts and we just are not scoring. It's a low scoring game. It's depressing.

• 23:13Speaker 04

  And I go, well, I've got to pull this off because I have a feeling it really could do something. So I'm going, I'm going to try it. Now remember, nobody had ever seen it before. And so I went into this one section and I saw this is the time. It's about the third inning. I could feel that atmosphere going down that inevitable, we're going to get eliminated in the Yankees. So I get the three sections. I wanted three sections to talk to. And I talked to the three sections and I told them what I wanted. And I said, first you guys stand up, you sit out, then you're going to stand up and you say, no, I was screaming, I was mean.

• 23:58Speaker 04

  These fans are really enthusiastic. And I'll tell you the way it's been going, it's like it's been boiling and bubbling, a Mousen Helen feeling here where something's going to erupt. And then I knew that when we start this, the fourth and fifth section down, they probably could hear me easily yelling at them. And I started with these three sections. And the energy that's just then was great and they were having so much fun doing it. And then it went about seven sections. The three were great, the next one was pretty great, and then it do, do, do, da, and it just died. Because everybody's watching the game.

• 24:40Speaker 04

  And boy, on cue, when that died, everybody booed. And everybody's looking over what's going on. His crowd really reacting. Just saw one of the most amazing sights, y'all, as we look at the mezzanine each section.

• 24:54Speaker 06

  As they said, goal got up all the way from behind home plate, completely around the stadium to the bleachers. Looked like it was orchestrated.

• 25:03Speaker 04

  I do it a second time. And it starts off, and now it's like eight, nine sections really strong, this behind home plate.

• 25:12Speaker 06

  Oh, here we go again, around Yoplin, Ellen, mezzanine section.

• 25:19Speaker 06

  Okay, now drive a cow and then wild.

• 25:21Speaker 04

  And it starts to die, and it died. And I'm screaming, I'm yelling, "This team is going!" They said, "Okay, George, we got it."

• 25:30Speaker 06

  Man, you just saw in the picture, the man who orchestrates that.

• 25:34Speaker 06

  Well, you gotta believe it, that's George, that's all I know, and by George and Krazy George.

• 25:40Speaker 04

  Now, one-third of the stadium has done it. At that point, I think everybody knew what I wanted. Under the direction of Krazy George out here, having some sounds, a good, good evening and enjoying baseball, enjoying the Coliseum and not hurting anybody.

• 25:58Speaker 06

  And this guy really works it, I mean, such power he has, he just directs section by section, and you see it, it's a marvelous thing.

• 26:06Speaker 04

  The third time, this was it. I started it.

• 26:11Speaker 06

  Down below, they're all going boppers, he really loves it, look at him, he's got them all going.

• 26:16Speaker 04

  I turned around, and I'm watching it, and all three decks are doing it. In unison, all three sweeps all the way around, comes back through the outfield, and comes to where we are. And the play is written us.

• 26:35Speaker 06

  The chenno rising here.

• 26:37Speaker 04

  Now, every deck is doing it, and they're screaming as it's coming by, and it's like the most intense thing you ever saw. Sounded like a locomotive, it really did, and I mean, they're coming towards you, massive locomotive, the noise level. And it just picks up, and so you can visually shut your eyes and listen and know where the wave was in the stadium. Just hear it, and you can hear it on the outfield, you're coming around, and it just rips by it, and it kept going, and they loved it.

• 27:14Speaker 06

  Well, they've got a new gimmick here. They start in section. They raise up, throw their arms in the air, and y'all go. And just as they start to sit down, the next section gets up, and they go all the way around the ballpark going, and it's quite a sight.

• 27:33Speaker 04

  It impressed me even. I was unbelievably happy watching it go because I had no idea if I could get 47,000 fans to do it. It was the biggest crowd I'd ever worked with. Once it got going, oh, boy, I just felt it. You know, I'd just sit there watching it, and I'm just taking it in. It was really a nice feeling. In the back of my mind, I was hoping they would have it filmed. It's never been on video.

• 28:10Speaker 04

  The game was excruciating towards the end. I mean, the fans were just so loyal, and they were cheering and yelling and supporting the A's. At the end of the game, it would sound like we were winning the game and we were behind. And it was tough, a tough loss. But the joy after the game, the fans' reaction to me, they were coming up to me and going, "What was that? We loved it." People had never seen it before, and I didn't know it at that time I debuted it to the world because I didn't know it was going to go around the world.

• 28:47Speaker 03

  Okay, okay, stand up! Woo! You got it, keep it going, keep it going! That's a A, that's a beautiful A! It's going on the other side! After showcasing the wave to a national audience, Krazy George started using it regularly at games as his signature cheer.

• 29:03Speaker 06

  I like when he has the A's wave going around.

• 29:07Speaker 04

  Yeah, that's the best. That cheer was the staple of me hitting the pinnacle of power. That is when I know I've got the stadium in the palm of my hand.

• 29:20Speaker 03

  The big debut of the wave instantly led to more jobs and bigger contracts for Krazy George. And his celebrity status grew. At first, it seemed like his golden ticket.

• 29:31Speaker 05

  His name is George Henderson, although to most sports fans around North America, he is best known as Krazy George.

• 29:38Speaker 06

  Yes, he has fun, but when you take a look at his annual income, you realize that this man is not crazy at all.

• 29:46Speaker 03

  But not long after George unveiled it at the A's game, the unthinkable happened. George was questioned by a reporter in Canada about whether or not he was actually the original creator of the cheer.

• 29:59Speaker 04

  I never heard of it, never thought of it. When I heard a team was trying to challenge me inventing the wave.

• 30:07Speaker 03

  The reporter told George that the University of Washington was claiming that they were in fact the founders of the wave. After fans did it at a football game right around the same time George pulled it off in Oakland.

• 30:19Speaker 04

  And so he told me that they were taking credit for it. And they were claiming they did it on the 31st, two weeks after I did it. And after it was nationally televised during the game. I did October 15th, they did it on October 31st. So two weeks later, they did it. But I didn't hear they were claiming it. That's when I called up the University of Washington to find out. It was really, I got mad and I wanted to correct it. And I figured it'd be really easy. I'd call them up and I called the University of Washington, their athletic department. And I talked into the guy.

• 31:05Speaker 04

  And I said, whoa, when did you start this? And they gave me the date and all that. And I'm going, no, I invented it. I say, I know I invented it. And it took a long process. And I invented it on October 15th. I have a video. He says, no.

• 31:23Speaker 04

  I said, "Well, I did it two weeks before you," and we get this argument.

• 31:27Speaker 03

  George reached out to newspapers, radio shows, anybody that would listen, but the claims kept coming in.

• 31:35Speaker 04

  Sports Illustrated, you know, they're supposed to be like the premier great experts on sports. So somebody in Sports Illustrated did some little article on it and gave Washington credit. And then I heard somebody on Monday Night Football say that Seattle created the wave. I couldn't believe it.

• 31:59Speaker 03

  The story of the birth of the wave was getting retold across the country and now had a life of its own. Now is the originator of the wave. So he claims, so he claims, right? That is greatly debated.

• 32:16Speaker 04

  We're doing the wave. We're doing the wave. Are you ready?

• 32:21Speaker 03

  Even though his claim to fame as the inventor was being questioned, crazy George kept leading the wave and it kept spreading.

• 32:30Speaker 04

  I did it at the Olympics here in eighty-four. And then Mexico saw it, took it down there, started doing all their venues. Then the World Cup comes along. And in every game in the World Cup, all the Mexicans did the wave. And the Estrecha Stadium is a mess of flags and jubilant faces. Now it's televised around the world. So now the whole world sees the wave for the first time. And everybody calls it the Mexican wave. Well, I could fight the University of Washington. But I can't fight Mexico. I'm undergunned, so I said, "I just like to laugh about it."

• 33:14Speaker 04

  But everybody calls it outside of this country. It's the Mexican wave. They invented it.

• 33:23Speaker 04

  When it finally became like a standard of the world. I mean, I think every sport, every team that's professional, no matter what it is, probably did a wave at their stadium. And this has started around the world. This is a legend. He invented the wave. I invented it. He invented it. How old were you in 1981? That's what I thought. The guy that invented the paperclip, he invented that. It's a little thing. But he's walking around, he's going by some office, and somebody is slipping that

• 34:04Speaker 04

  paperclip onto five pages of something. He gets something out of that. He gets an enjoyment that he invented that. And they're using it. And they're happier for it. It's better than having five sheets of paper flying all over the room and you can't figure out what order they're in. And that's what I get when I see that wave going anywhere. I just, I feel great about it. It is really my claim to fame. Let me see it again. That's the highlight film.

• 34:45Speaker 03

  Throughout the 43-year debate over who invented the wave, the Oakland A's always stood by George.

• 35:02Speaker 04

  The A's were great. And when they heard about the controversy, kept backing me. I'm part of the Oakland A's. I'm supporting you guys. I'm part of you. And I'm showing you how much we love you by interconnecting with all the other fans to show the support.

• 35:23Speaker 03

  So last September, for the A's' final game in Oakland, the last in the Coliseum, the send-off for the whole city saying goodbye to its baseball team, former President Andy Dolich reached out to George personally and asked him to be a guest of the A's. Perhaps the most popular A's fan of them all. The Coliseum is where crazy George invented the wave.

• 35:48Speaker 04

  During the 1981 playoffs, so he had to be here today. It's a happy sad day. Oh my gosh, I cannot believe it. The last A's game, I said, well, I'll bring my drum. But I don't know what I'll do.

• 36:04Speaker 04

  And you know, and then I pull into the parking lot. My drum's there. I get my drum out of the back. And we're sitting in the middle of the parking lot and within like 10 seconds, there's 15 people around me. And I'm looking around and they're just going crazy, crazy George. And it's so sad and they're so unhappy, but they're all want to support the A's, the team itself. The A's are the greatest baseball team in the world. The Y's, I hope you're back. Go A's. You invented the wave. I tried that. I started doing little cheers.

• 36:53Speaker 04

  I pounded my drum and the place just all looked up and I'm screaming, yelling, they're screaming, yelling back. And it's getting more and more fun.

• 37:05Speaker 03

  And then for one last time, Krazy George led the wave in the place he introduced it to the world.

• 37:14Speaker 04

  When I'm gone, they will be talking about the wave. And so it means a lot to me.

• 37:43Glynn Washington?

  A huge Snap Judgment thank you to the man, the myth, the legend, Krazy George Henderson, for sharing your story with the Snap. Eighty years young, George is still banging the drum at his alma mater, San Jose State, for the Spartans. And George just celebrated his 50th season cheering professionally for the San Jose earthquakes of Major League Soccer. To read more about the life and times of George, check out his memoir, Still Krazy: After All These Cheers. You can find the link to the book, as well as all things social media for Krazy George at snapjudgment.org. This piece was edited by Anna Sussman. The original score is by Dirk Schwartzoff.

• 38:26Glynn Washington?

  It's produced by Beau Walsh.

• 38:41Glynn Washington?

  Oh, don't go anywhere. Because after the break, from behind the dugout, a real-life bat boy. Stay tuned.

• 39:01Speaker 01

  This show is supported by Odoo. When you buy business software from lots of vendors, the costs add up and it gets complicated and confusing. Odoo solves this. It's a single company that sells a suite of enterprise apps that handles everything from accounting to inventory to sales. Odoo is all connected on a single platform in a simple and affordable way. You can save money without missing out on the features you need. Check out Odoo at O D O O dot com. That's O D O O dot com.

• 39:32Glynn Washington?

  Welcome back to Snap Judgment. Today, everyone wants the dream job. But it always goes to someone else. That is the rule. But what happens when that someone else is you? Now, this story does contain explicit language. Sensitive listeners, advised.

• 39:57Glynn Washington?

  This story starts back in the early 70s, New York. When Merritt Riley was the Yankees' biggest 11-year-old fan.

• 40:04Speaker 06

  I was hardcore.

• 40:05Glynn Washington?

  Well, actually.

• 40:06Speaker 06

  My mom and dad were big Yankee fans, so I really didn't have a choice, to tell you the truth.

• 40:12Speaker 06

  It was always extra special to be at a game smelling the grass and smelling the popcorn. You know, always sought to get autographs and meet the players. But at the games, I'd be sitting there watching the bat boy retrieving foul balls. And I always wondered, how in God's name can I become that kid?

• 40:31Speaker 06

  I figured, you know, what the hell, I'll give it a shot. And I wrote a letter to Yankee Stadium. I didn't address it to anybody in particular, just hoping it would get a response.

• 40:40Glynn Washington?

  And he did.

• 40:41Speaker 06

  Pretty quickly.

• 40:42Glynn Washington?

  From a bat boy named Joe.

• 40:44Speaker 06

  Being the kid I was, I got the letter and I was so excited. It was written on Yankee letterhead stationary. And I was like, wow, this is, you know, this is it. I showed my mom and dad.

• 40:53Glynn Washington?

  Bat Boy Joe wrote back and said, in order to join the Bat Boy Club.

• 40:56Speaker 06

  You had to have good grade, athletic ability, be 16 years old.

• 41:00Glynn Washington?

  Merritt only met one of these requirements. He was a smarty pants.

• 41:04Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 41:05Glynn Washington?

  But over the next five years, Merritt set his little mind and body to it. And bada bing bada boom, Joe hooked him up and Merritt became a Yankee Bat Boy. And even before he did any Bat Boy things, it changed his life.

• 41:17Speaker 06

  I'm kind of making fun of myself here. When I was in high school, I was, I was like a little nerdy kid, you know? I wasn't really, you know, one of those popular kids, you know what I mean? All of a sudden, everybody wanted to be my friend. Kids that I thought would never talk to me because they were the cool kids, they were the jocks. You know, it's funny because a lot of those kids are friends still today.

• 41:40Speaker 06

  Best part of the job was being around players that, you know, a year or two before I was watching on TV and only dreaming that it would be like a dream to, you know, to meet these people, you know? And now I'm in the same locker room as them.

• 41:56Glynn Washington?

  Being a Bat Boy is no easy work. Merritt shined all the players' cleats, did the laundry, and during practices, he'd jack fly balls. But his most important job was during the game.

• 42:07Speaker 06

  During the game, you have one responsibility. Once that player that's at home plate hits the ball, whether it's a base hit or an out, your main and only responsibility is to get that bat and get it right back to the dugout.

• 42:21Glynn Washington?

  Once in the dugout, all Merritt had to do was return the bat to the bat.

• 42:25Speaker 06

  Where the other bats hung out. During the game, the Yankees were very, very strict about not being part of the game. You know, being invisible, really. Now, Merritt was planning the rest of his life and career from his gig as a bat boy. If he did a good job, his plan was to become an umpire. Well, that was the hope, at least until July 24th, 1983, Yankee Stadium. Merritt's beloved Yankees were facing one of their biggest rivals, the Kansas City Royals. It was a Sunday afternoon in July, and back then, the Yanks in Kansas City, they saw each other a lot in the playoffs. It was a packed house, you know, it was hot, it was a loud, you know, boisterous crowd. Now, this game was extra special to Merritt, not because the heated rivalry, but because of one player on the Royals,

• 43:10Speaker 06

  the superstar hitter, George Brett. For whatever reason, George Brett took a liking to me, even though he was a superstar, he was like a regular guy. You know, clown around everybody in the clubhouse. He'd always be breaking my traps about one thing or another. You know, kidding around, not, not, not mean. He had a nickname for me, and he, and it was Spalding from, um, Caddyshack. Spalding Smales. Not the coolest nickname. Spalding from the movie Caddyshack is a spoiled brat infamous for picking his nose and eating it. You know what? It wasn't like I liked the nickname, I just liked that he noticed me enough to have a nickname for me. You know, he made you feel important. That made me like him, you know? He definitely became my favorite. Yankee fan listeners, don't worry about it. His allegiance is still with you.

• 43:54Speaker 06

  Yeah, yeah, I mean, George Brett was one of those guys that I would secretly root for. As long as the Yankees would win the game, I was rooting for George Brett to do well. There weren't other players I could say that about that were not on the Yankees. All right, so back to the game. First inning. Second, third, fourth. The game didn't stand out for any reason. Seventh inning, eighth inning. All right, here we are on the top of the ninth inning. The Yanks are up 4-3. And it's a very close game with the Royals at bat with two outs and a runner on base. You know, you figured the, the Yanks are gonna win this game. You have the Yankee closer, Goose Gosage, who basically was lights out once they brought him in. But a player from Kansas City gets on base, and none of them, my favorite players in baseball, George Brett,

• 44:39Speaker 06

  the crowd's on its feet. George Brett is known as the Yankee Killer, but also well-known as the Hemorrhoid Guy. Back in the 1980 World Series, George had to leave a game early because hemorrhoid pain. Since then, Every time he came up to bat, he was the butt of all jokes and jeers. The crowd is going wild, jeering at George Brett because of hemorrhoidal issue. I got a big conflict going on in my head. You know, rooting for this guy, George Brett, to get the big hit. But at the same time, I want to see my favorite team win the game. So George Brett's at bat and Goose Gossage leans in and delivers a pitch.

• 45:19Speaker 06

  I could tell just from the sound of the ball hitting the bat, this thing was going to leave the ballpark. There was a very quick moment of silence and then all of a sudden the place went crazy. And now the Royals have the one run lead. So right away, I get up to home plate, I grabbed the bat. At the time, I know that I have to get that bat back to the dugout. But I said, you know what? I know I'll probably get in trouble, but I'm going to wait there. I'm going to wait there with the bat and I want to high five him when he comes around because he was such a good person to me. I wanted to show that I'm a Yankee fan, but I'm a George Brett fan. While I'm standing there at home plate, waiting for George Brett to round the bases, the manager of the Yankees, Billy Martin, is on the top step of the dugout.

• 46:00Speaker 06

  The veins of his neck, just like protruding from his neck because he was screaming for his catcher. Dude, check the bat, check the bat. Right after that, the catcher of the Yankees drips it out of my hand and he begins to inspect the bat for cork. When players cork their bats, it makes the ball travel further. It's cheating. The catcher checked it for cork and then saw that there was no cork and he just dropped it on the ground right next to me. Got to be honest, I didn't know what was going on. At this time, George Brett now crosses home plate and just went right to the dugout. I did not get to high five him because now I was so caught up in what was going on. Right after that, the manager ends up at home plate screaming, I want that bat checked. I want it checked for pine tar.

• 46:41Speaker 06

  What we're talking about Frank is that he's got too much pine tar and the umpires are going to get together. George Brett looking around and wanting to know what's going on and the umpires are going to talk about it. Pine tar is a sticky substance that players put on their wooden bats. Basically, it helps them grip the bat, swing the bat and hopefully hit a home run. That pine tar up that far on the bat. First time in a long, long time I've seen the umpires huddle this long and have a meeting over it.

• 47:08Speaker 06

  Some sticky stuff around there. But there is a limit to how much pine tar one can use. Eighteen inches from the tip of the handle, about the width of home plate. The umpires take the bat, they lay it down against home plate to determine if the pine tar was too far up the handle of the bat.

• 47:27Speaker 06

  I've never, I've never seen this.

• 47:29Speaker 03

  I never have either.

• 47:31Speaker 06

  The umpires struggle to make a call, and that's because the pine tar rule, it's one of those obscure rules that's rarely enforced. And here, the crafty Yankee manager was waiting until the perfect moment to bring this tiny rule down on George's head. I'm thinking, if I would have just picked up the bat and gotten it out of there instead of waiting at home plate for the high five, none of this would be happening.

• 47:53Speaker 03

  That's Nick Bremigan with the bat right-

• 47:54Speaker 06

  This is gonna be an interesting call.

• 47:56Speaker 03

  Brett isn't sure whether he has a home run yet or not.

• 48:00Speaker 06

  At that point, I stopped slinking away back towards the dugout, walking backwards. And the players were angry, and at one point, George Brett, who's now pacing up and down the dugout like a raging bull, he says, "All I know is that if they call me out, you're going to see four dead umpires."

• 48:20Speaker 06

  And almost right after that, almost immediately after that, the home plate umpire looks towards where the Kansas City Royals were and makes the outside. They might be gonna call George Brett out. Well, the Yankees, he's out. Brett is out, look at, look at this. Brett is out. He's a demon man. George Brett just charges out of the dugout like a maniac. First couple buds on his shirt were like open, you know, his hair was a disaster. Forcibly restrained from hitting, plate umpire Tim McClellan. Oh, it was crazy, it was crazy. And the Yankees have won the ballgame, four to three. Brett is called out.

• 49:02Speaker 06

  Now, I position myself inside the dugout. At which point, the players from Kansas City are yelling at me. "Why the hell didn't you get the bat?" "I was... You could edit this?" I was [bleep] my pants. Fifty thousand people and all these big baseball players. I was scared. I'm not afraid to say that, I was scared.

• 49:25Speaker 03

  At this point, all hell breaks loose.

• 49:28Speaker 06

  Yankee Stadium security, the guys in suits and ties, are out on the field. And one of them comes up behind the umpire and swipes the bat out of the umpire's hand and makes a beeline for the dugout. At which point, a pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, Gaylord Perry, sneaks up behind the Yankee Stadium security and swipes the bat out of his hand. Well, the Yankee security person and one of the umpires quickly are chasing whoever has the bat. Jose Martinez is holding red. Bobby, I've never seen this in my life. It was somewhat of a movie, it really was. It kept getting worse for me. It was like a bad nightmare, it kept getting worse.

• 50:09Speaker 03

  The game ends. Yankee fans celebrate as they leave the stadium, while the Royal fans are still stunned.

• 50:15Speaker 06

  The players are gone, the umpires are gone, the whole swarm of people is gone. I'm in the dugout by myself. One of the clubhouse managers comes down and says, "You don't want to go up into that locker room right now. The Kansas City Royals don't want to see you, they're pissed off at you."

• 50:29Speaker 03

  So Merritt begins his post-game duties, knocking the mud out of spikes, cleaning up the Yankee locker room.

• 50:35Speaker 06

  At that point, I thought it was the end of the world. This is the biggest thing ever that's happened to me. The manager of the clubhouse, where the Royals were, came down and said, "Look, it's safe to go back down to the locker room. The guys that were angry are gone, so come on down." All I could tell you was, I was real nervous. I entered the locker room very timidly, and I opened the door to the locker room. On the left-hand side is a swarm of reporters.

• 51:04Speaker 03

  And guess who's in the center of this swarm?

• 51:08Speaker 06

  You guessed it, superstar George Brett. The one guy I don't want to see, and he's one of the only ones left. So I try to make my way towards the back of the locker room. I figured he wouldn't see me because there were so many reporters around him. And I go walking through, and you know, you couldn't have planned it any better. The reporters move out of the way, and all of a sudden, he locks eyes with me. And I'm thinking, "Holy [bleep], you gotta be kidding." I thought I was dead. Yeah, yeah, I figured, uh, my heart was broken already. He's... So he's like, "Spalding." And I stopped dead in my tracks. And I didn't expect that at all. That he would be in the mood where he's calling me by my nickname, you know? And I was like, "Yeah."

• 51:53Speaker 06

  And he looks at me, he says, "Why didn't you get the [bleep] bat?" And I'm like, "Holy Christ, what do I say? What do I say?" You know, I'm speaking to a Major League Baseball player. I'm 17, 16, 17 years old. And before I could answer, he just started laughing. He said, "I'm only kidding around with you." He goes, "Don't worry about it." And then he said, "But you do owe me." And I remember saying, as clear as day, "Whatever you want, whatever you need." So he says to me... Do you want me to tell you what he says to me? He says to me, "The next time I'm back here in New York City," he goes, "You're gonna get me laid."

• 52:37Speaker 06

  And I said to him, "You want me to get you laid?" And I started laughing. You know, and he laughed, and that was pretty much it. After the pine tar game, people called George Brett a cheater for using a special bat. But George, he got the last laugh. Eventually, the pine tar ruling was overturned, George got his home run back, and the Royals won the game. Oh, and remember the hemorrhoids nickname? That was now behind him. As a result of the pine tar game, that nickname was forever gone. People don't even know about it, really. I know this whole incident could be blamed on my hero worship of George Brett.

• 53:18Speaker 06

  You know, any other player, I went up and retrieved bats probably thousands of times. The one time I didn't do it, this baseball history was made.

• 53:32Speaker 06

  And Damon Mann. He is out. Bobby, I've never seen this in my life. And still to this day, I still have not gotten that high five I was looking for.

• 53:46Glynn Washington?

  Thank you, Merritt Riley, for sharing that story with the Snap. Merritt still considers himself the Yankees' biggest fan. And a big shout out as well to Daniel Barbarisi from the Wall Street Journal for bringing us that story, or the link to his story on our website, snapjudgment.org. Original sound design by Renzo Gorrio, and that piece was produced by Davey Kim.

• 54:12Glynn Washington?

  Well, Snapers, if you missed even a moment, know that an entire world of Snap storytelling awaits, in fact. They recently dropped a brand-new series diving into the world of incarcerated women firefighters battling the flames in California, hosted by our own Anna Sussman. It's called Fire Escape, on podcast platforms everywhere right now. KQD in San Francisco, the Snap's Orbiting Hall of Justice, Snap has brought to you. The team that always executes perfect timing whenever we celebrate with the wave, except, of course, for the Uber producer, Mr. Mark Ristich.

• 54:53Glynn Washington?

  He always goes up when you're supposed to go down, he goes down when you're supposed to go up.

• 55:00Glynn Washington?

  Now, there's Nancy Lopez, Pat Vasile Miller, Anna Sussman, Renzo Gorrio, John Facio, Shayna Shealy, Taylor Decot, Flo Wiley, Bo Walsh, Marissa Dodge, David Exame, and Regina Barriaco.

• 55:16Glynn Washington?

  And this is not the news, no wasted news. In fact, you get hella mad and hella hot when there's hella traffic on the way to the spot, and you would still not be as far away from the news as this is. But this is P R X.