Grandson of pitching machine inventor tosses ceremonial first pitch at Busch Stadium

In a moment that his late grandfather would have appreciated, prominent St. Louis businessman Joe Edwards threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Tuesday's Cardinals-Mets game at Busch Stadium.

Byron Moser Sr. was the inventor of the first mechanical pitching machine used by Major League Baseball teams. Inspired by watching erratic batting practice hurlers in the late 1930s, Moser and a friend created a sling-shot machine with a powerful rubber band. It was named "Old Pete" in honor of Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander.

"My grandpa took the machine to Sportman's Park to show its power and accuracy," said Edwards, owner of nationally renowned Blueberry Hill, where 85-year-old rock icon Chuck Berry performs regularly. "He set the machine at home plate and directed it toward center field. It shot ball after ball over the center-field wall and out of the ballpark. That opened everyone's eyes."

In the early '40's, the Cardinals became the first of six teams to purchase the device, which threw perfect strikes with big league velocity and movement. "The Browns had one of them and they won their lone pennant in 1944. I like to think that machine helped them," Edwards joked.

The equipment met its demise during World War II as rubber and other goods were rationed, making it difficult for Moser to secure his vital part. "By the time the war ended, a different type of pitching machine without the rubber band emerged," Edwards said.

Still, the innovative machinery's contributions to the game are preserved. One of the originals resides in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

-- Gabriel Kiley / MLB.com Real-Time Correspondent

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