Bloomington, Illinois: Tree Carved Grave of Old Hoss Radbourne (Gone)

Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourne, a Hall of Fame baseball pitcher who died in 1897, had his likeness carved out of a dead tree next to his grave. The tree had reportedly been toppled by termites in 2023.

Evergreen Memorial Cemetery

Directions:: Evergreen Memorial Cemetery. Enter through the main gate off of S. Wright St. Bear right, but not a sharp right. This road ends at a large cemetery traffic circle. Turn right, then take the third right off of the circle, then take the first left. You'll see the grave on the left.
Hours:: 2023: eaten by termites.
Status:: Gone

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Tree Carved Grave of Old Hoss Radbourne

Tree carving no longer exists due to termite damage.

[Susan Martina, 10/09/2023]

Tree Carved Grave of Old Hoss Radbourne.

Tree Carved Grave of Old Hoss Radbourne

Old Hoss Radbourne appears to have had a little cosmetic touch up here and there.

[Katz Paganstar, 11/20/2019]

Old Hoss.

Old Hoss Radbourne's Carved Tree

Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourne, a Hall of Fame baseball pitcher, is buried in Evergreen Cemetery. A dead tree near his grave was carved into his likeness. While carving the tree, artist Bill Baker came across a flaw in the wood on Radbourne's left eye. It turns out that Old Hoss was wounded in the same eye by a shotgun blast in a hunting accident.

Radbourne's headstone has a replica of his Hall of Fame plaque on the back. Old Hoss (1854-1897) pitched professionally for 11 years in the National League. He won 310 games and lost 191 for a winning percentage of .609. In 1884 he won 62 games. In 1884 he struck out 411 batters. His best three years -- 1882, 1883, and 1884 -- he has a record of 147-56. No other pitcher has attained this record in their best three years.

[Doug Dirr, 06/26/2019]

The grave and tree carving is in the same cemetery with the grave of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. A dead tree has been carved into her likeness as well.