With a 5-4 record, 62 strikeouts in 66 innings, and a 2.83 ERA in his brief stay, however, Spahn had showed promise. He recovered by the next season, only to run into more bad luck. In a 1941 appearance at spring training in San Antonio with the Braves, he suffered a broken and permanently disfigured nose courtesy of a teammate’s errant throw. He also got some nicknames he didn’t appreciate: Hooks and The Great Profile. Even his father called him Meatnose.
“When Dad’s nose was broken, John Berardino’s nose was also broken the same day,” Spahn’s son, Greg, recalls. “They sent John to a specialist to have it fixed. They called Dad in and told him, ‘Warren, we will send you to a specialist to have your nose fixed, but most people that have that done end up with sinus problems and you’re not a very good-looking guy.’ The ballclub didn’t want to spend the money on Dad’s nose. John Berardino being an actor, that was a different story.”