to Aberdeen Proving Ground, a military installation. Here, using a radar machine, he was clocked at , a fast but not outstanding speed for a professional pitcher. However, several factors worked against Dalkowski: he had pitched a game the day before, he was throwing from a flat surface instead of from a pitcher's mound, and he had to throw pitches for 40 minutes at a small target before the machine could capture an accurate measurement. Further, the device measured speed from a few feet away from the plate, instead of 10 feet from release as in modern times. This cost Dalkowski approximately , not even considering the other factors. According to the Guinness Book of Records, a former record holder for fastest pitch is Nolan Ryan, with a pitch clocked at in 1974, though several pitchers have recorded faster pitches since then. That seems to be because Ryan's speed was recorded from the plate, unlike 10 feet from release as today, costing him up to . Earl Weaver, who had years of exposure to both pitchers, said, "[Dalkowski] threw a lot faster than Ryan." The hardest throwers in baseball currently are recognized as Aroldis Chapman and Jordan Hicks, who have each been clocked with the fastest pitch speed on record at . , Guinness lists Chapman as the current record holder. Scientists contend that the theoretical maximum speed that a pitcher can throw is slightly above . Beyond that the pitcher would cause himself a serious injury. Life after baseball In 1965, Dalkowski married schoolteacher Linda Moore in Bakersfield, but they divorced two years later. Unable to find any gainful employment, he became a migrant worker. Dalkowski experienced problems with alcohol abuse. He drank heavily as a player and his drinking escalated after the end of his career. He received help from the Association of Professional Ball Players of America (APBPA) periodically from 1974 to 1992 and went through rehabilitation. He was able to find a job and stay sober for several months but soon went back to drinking. The APBPA stopped providing financial assistance to him because he was using the funds to purchase alcohol. Poor health in the 1980s prevented Dalkowski from working altogether, and by the end of the decade he was living in a small apartment in California, penniless and suffering from alcohol-induced dementia. At some point during this time, Dalkowski married a motel clerk named