Note from Sperry: The story was that my grandfather, Dr. Howard, mangled his finger badly as a boy in Palestine, TX. His mother wanted him to be a doctor, so she sewed the finger up herself. Here’s my cousin Mary Mize’s quote:
I heard something about his finger had allowed him to have a great pitch, and to play in the minor leagues in Philadelphia paid his way to med school. Thanks for helping explain the finger issue.
[That’s Mary Mize, front-and-center in the white dress next to Biba and little Sperry.]