Gabby Hartnett

Baseball Player

• Born: December 20, 1900
• Birthplace: Woonsocket, Rhode Island
• Died: December 20, 1972
• Place of death: Park Ridge, Illinois

Sport: Baseball

Early Life

Charles Leo “Gabby” Hartnett was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, on December 20, 1900, but grew up in Millville, Massachusetts. He was the oldest of fourteen children. His father was a bus driver and part-time street car conductor. Charles grew up playing baseball in his hometown for a semiprofessional team and for Dean Academy, a school he attended for two years. He also worked in a local factory. At the age of twenty, Charles joined Worcester of the old Eastern League and soon became the club’s starting catcher. His play caught the eye of a scout for the Chicago Cubs, and Gabby signed with that organization in 1922. He spent virtually his entire baseball career with that organization, as a player and then as a manager.

The Road to Excellence

In 1922, during spring training of Charles’s rookie season, he acquired the ironic nickname “Gabby” from newspaper reporters who had taken note of his shy, quiet personality. His on-the-field abilities, however, told a different story. Gabby soon showed the Cubs organization both a good eye and power at the plate. From 1924 to 1928, he hit .275 or above each season and hit a total of 72 home runs. He also demonstrated great physical durability, catching more than one hundred games a year during the same period. He constantly worked hard to perfect his abilities, and this gained him increasing respect among his Cubs teammates. At the same time, he was became a fan favorite.

In 1925, he belted 24 home runs and batted a respectable .289, while leading all National League (NL) catchers in almost every fielding category. By now, he was hailed by the media and the fans as one of Major League Baseball’s best, both behind and at the plate. Gabby enjoyed superb seasons in 1927 and 1928, batting .294 and .302, respectively. The 1930 season was the first of eight consecutive in which Gabby caught at least one hundred games per year.

The Emerging Champion

In the 1930’s, Gabby came into his own. Over the course of the decade, he hit close to .300 and added 149 home runs to his growing total. Gabby set a personal high during the 1930 season, slugging 37 home runs while batting .339 and driving in 122 runs. He hit .344 in 1935, .307 in 1936, and .354 in 1937. He continued to demonstrate great physical strength and durability by playing in virtually every game, including doubleheaders. Gabby had a strong and accurate throwing arm that kept base runners cautious. He achieved amazing defensive numbers: He led the league’s catchers six times in fielding percentage and assists and four times in putouts. He also appeared in six all-star games.

Behind Gabby’s consistently outstanding play, the Cubs won pennants in 1929, 1932, 1935, and 1938. Overall, he played in more than one hundred games in each of twelve seasons.

Off the field, Gabby married and settled in Chicago. He became a popular after-dinner speaker, not because he ever said much, but because people enjoyed his easygoing nature and booming, joyous laugh.

Continuing the Story

Gabby was an inspirational leader to his Cubs teammates. In 1935, he was selected as the NL most valuable player. His inspired play and leadership abilities contributed to his appointment as Cubs manager in 1938. At that time, Chicago was in disarray, floundering badly in third place. The club, featuring future hall-of-fame pitcher Dizzy Dean and splendid “clutch” hitter Rip Collins, rallied around its thirty-eight-year-old skipper. Under Gabby’s leadership, the Cubs won twenty straight games. By late September, the team had played to within 1 1/2 games of the division-leading Pittsburgh Pirates. In the decisive season-ending three-game series between the two teams, Gabby smashed crucial home runs that propelled Chicago to the front of the pennant race. He later recalled his game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in game two as the greatest thrill of his baseball career. After completing the sweep of the Pirates the following day, Gabby achieved his goal of managing a major-league team to a pennant.

Chicago’s dramatic finish put the team into the World Series against a powerful New York Yankees team. However, Gabby’s astute leadership was not enough to help the Cubs prevail against the strong American League team; the Yankees swept the Cubs. Chicago pitching simply could not cope with the powerful Yankees. Gabby managed the Cubs for two more years before he was released, after having compiled a 203-176 record as manager. He was quickly signed by the New York Giants as a player-coach. The Cubs, incidentally, would not win another pennant until 1945.

Over the course of a twenty-year career, the solid-hitting right-hander posted a .297 batting average, with a remarkable .354 lifetime high in 1937. He compiled season averages of .300 or better on five other occasions, as well. However, although Gabby’s offensive statistics are frequently quoted when discussing his exploits, he contributed to the team in other important ways on a daily basis. He helped mold an impressive Cubs pitching staff that included such standouts as Bill Lee, Lon Warneke, Larry French, and Charlie Root. The pitching success of these players was due in part to Gabby’s guidance behind the plate.

Following his season with the Giants in 1941, Gabby managed several minor-league teams, then left baseball altogether in 1947. He worked in the insurance business and bought a bowling alley. In 1955, Gabby was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1966, he made a brief return to the major leagues as a scout for the Kansas City Athletics. In 1972, he died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of seventy-two.

Summary

Since Gabby Hartnett’s departure, the Cubs have employed many catchers, but none has matched the exploits of Gabby, either offensively or defensively. He was a tough, durable athlete with a superb memory of the habits of opposing batters. Few catchers in baseball history have exceeded his accomplishments. The large, gentle man with the hearty laugh was truly one of baseball’s finest at his position and also one of the most popular players ever to wear a Cubs uniform.

Bibliography

James, Bill. The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. New York: Free Press, 2003.

McNeil, William. Gabby Hartnett: The Life and Times of the Cubs’ Greatest Catcher. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2004.

Ritter, Lawrence S. The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It. New York: Perennial Currents, 2002.

Roberts, Russell. One Hundred Baseball Legends Who Shaped Sports History. San Mateo, Calif.: Bluewood Books, 2003.