Lew Richie was more than a good, useful pitcher. He was with the Chicago Cubs when the emerging humorist Ring Lardner traveled with them and filed hilarious stories with The Sporting News. Richie was also a gifted pantomimist, readily falling in with Lardner’s pranks to pass the time on long train trips. What immortality clings to Richie results from his being the source of many of Lardner’s comic inspirations.