I'm sure most of you remember Mel Famy, the great left-handed pitcher for Milwaukee and how he choked and blew the deciding game of the pennant in '63.
Few people know that it was actually the stress of the game that led to his downfall.
You see, Mel Famy, to deal with the pressure, would sneak into the locker room between innings and tilt a few cans of his team's eponymous liquid.
Yes, Mel Famy would knock back a can or two of beer before reappearing in the bullpen.
Suffice it to say, his performance suffered for it, although he was able to keep the secret for a long time. It wasn't until that pennant game that it all came to a head, so to speak.
As the game progressed his pitching grew more and more erratic and batter after batter took the stroll to first without so much as fanning the air over the plate.
The Brewers, as we all remember, lost the game. In the post-game interviews the opposing players were asked if the pitcher's drinking was responsible for the debacle.
They were unanimous in their assessment: ?IT'S THE BEER THAT MADE MEL FAMY WALK US!!? they said.
