Fathers and sons part of the fabric of the national game
The black-and-white newsreel clip shows a young pitcher wearing a White Sox uniform with the O and the X nestled within the S. It's the same style of uniform Shoeless Joe Jackson wore.
The scene is Sox spring training in San Antonio, Texas. The year is 1930.
As the young hurler goes into his windup and fires the ball toward his catcher, Moe Berg, the same man who was later a spy for the OSS in World War II, you can hear Berg shouting encouragement.
"Ed, you look like a chip off the old block. Let's see you go. This ought to be your year, Ed. What do you think?"
Berg's line of chatter induces a smile from his pitcher.
But it wouldn't be much of a year for Ed Walsh Jr., who never came close to the success of his father, Hall of Fame pitcher Ed Walsh, who led the Sox to a 1906 World Series championship.
Young Walsh went 1-4 in 1930 with a 5.38 ERA.
In four years with the White Sox, he compiled an undistinguished 11-24 mark, far short of his dad's 195-126 total, with a 5.57 ERA, far above the senior Walsh's 1.82.
In 1937, Ed Walsh Jr. died at 32 of a heart ailment.
"Fathers playing catch with sons," to quote the title of the collection of essays by Donald Hall, is part of the very fabric of major league baseball, in which sons frequently follow their fathers' trade with varying degrees of success.
Often, unlike the case of the Walshes, the son supplants the father, two examples being Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds.
When Griffey Sr. and Jr. became the first father-son combo to play in the same lineup and also became the first father-and-son pair to hit back-to-back home runs, it struck a sentimental chord in the hearts of baseball fans.
On today's rosters, you can find second-generation players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.
But the phenomenon is nearly as old as the game itself.
In 1910, 1911 and 1914, Earle Mack played in a few games for dad Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics. He later came back to manage the A's during parts of the 1937 and 1939 seasons.
Billy Sullivan Jr., son of Ed Walsh Sr.'s battery mate on the 1906 White Sox, played for the Sox in the early 1930s. He even caught Ed Walsh Jr. during the 1932 season.
In fact, Chicago baseball has seen quite a few father-son combinations.
Roy Smalley played for the Chicago Cubs in the 1940s, and son Roy Jr. later played for the White Sox.
One generation of Cubs fans enjoyed watching Randy Hundley, while another generation gained perhaps less enjoyment from watching son Todd.
Chuck Tanner played for the Cubs and managed the White Sox, and son Bruce pitched for the Sox in the 1980s.
Three generations of Hairstons played in Chicago. Sam Hairston had a brief playing career and a long coaching stint with the White Sox. His sons John and Jerry played for the Cubs and White Sox, respectively. And Jerry's son Jerry Jr. spent some time with the Cubs.
In the twilight of his career, Bobby Bonds played for both the Cubs and the Sox. Son Barry was available to the White Sox in the draft, but the Sox decided to select catcher Kurt Brown who never made it to the bigs.
Although Larry Sheets, father of Gavin Sheets, never played for a Chicago team, in 1987, he became the last non-White Sox player to hit a ball on the roof of old Comiskey Park.
When I covered University of Illinois baseball for the Daily Illini, I had the pleasure of meeting Ed Spiezio, whose son Scott was busy setting a home run record for the Illini.
Ed spoke of the time he hit the game-winning home run against Oakland that put the 1972 White Sox in first place on Aug. 12.
Scott would later star for the Angels, helping them win the World Series in 2002.
In many cases, destiny seems to dictate that sons of baseball players will enter their father's profession.
An Associated Press photo from 2001 shows Roger Clemens' 5-year-old son Kody receiving pointers from Roger's AL teammate Andy Pettitte during batting practice for the All-Star Game.
Kody was one of four Clemens sons whose names began with the scorekeeping symbol for strikeout, K.
Recently, Kody notched his first major league hit for the Detroit Tigers. Kody, who has played both infield and outfield positions, was even pressed into emergency service as a pitcher, although he will never be a Roger Clemens - or even an Ed Walsh, Jr., for that matter.
Many of you will be enjoying Father's Day weekend by watching baseball or playing catch with your children. I leave you with the immortal line of the late baseball broadcaster Ralph Kiner: "On Father's Day, we again wish you all happy birthday."