Frankie Hayes
| Frankie Hayes | |||
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| Catcher | |||
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Born: October 13, 1914 Jamesburg, New Jersey |
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Died: June 22, 1955 (aged 40) Point Pleasant, New Jersey |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 21, 1933, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| May 17, 1947, for the Boston Red Sox | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .259 | ||
| Home runs | 119 | ||
| Runs batted in | 628 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
Frank Witman Hayes (October 13, 1914 – June 22, 1955) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1933 to 1947, most notably for Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics. Although Hayes was considered one of the best catchers in the American League in the late 1930s and early 1940s, he played in obscurity for an Athletics team that routinely finished in last place. A six-time All-Star, he holds the major league record of most consecutive games played by a catcher.
Born and raised in Jamesburg, New Jersey, Hayes was nicknamed "Blimp", even though he was listed at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) and 185 lb (84 kg). He first caught the attention of an umpire who then recommended him to Connie Mack, the owner and manager of the Philadelphia Athletics.
Hayes made his major league debut with the Athletics on September 21, 1933 at the age of 18, making him the youngest player in the league at the time. He would go hitless in five at bats that season.
After the Athletics' regular catcher, Charlie Berry, suffered an injury in 1934, Hayes took his place and set a major league record for most games caught in a season by a teenager when he appeared in 92 games as a nineteen-year-old. In September 1934, Hayes joined a group of American baseball players led by Connie Mack in a barnstorming tour of Japan when Charlie Berry, who had originally been selected to go, was struck with appendicitis. Among the baseball players who joined Hayes in Japan were such names as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx and Charlie Gehringer. He was sent to the minor leagues in 1935 where he played for the Buffalo Bisons and the Albany Senators of the International League.
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