Louis became prone to alcohol, but he wasn't about to let his son follow a similar path to the coal mines. The two played catch whenever the weather permitted it, dozens of throws at a time. Their favorite drill was played with a tennis ball, which Louis threw against a brick wall and his son fielded with a glove that he had purchased with money earned from digging an outhouse, as family legend had it. The exercise was designed to sharpen hand-eye coordination and ability to quickly adjust to bad bounces, areas in which young Bill excelled as early as elementary school.