Hank Gowdy

Catcher / First baseman / Manager

Born: August 24, 1889
Columbus, Ohio

Died: August 1, 1966 (aged 76)
Columbus, Ohio

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut

September 13, 1910, for the New York Giants

Last MLB appearance

August 29, 1930, for the Boston Braves

MLB statistics

Batting average

.270

Home runs

Runs batted in

322

Teams

As Player

As Manager

Cincinnati Reds (1946)

Career highlights and awards

2x World Series champion (1914, 1940)

Henry Morgan Gowdy (August 24, 1889 – August 1, 1966) was an American professional baseball catcher, first baseman, manager and coach who played in the major leagues for the New York Giants and the Boston Braves. He was best known for being the first active major leaguer to enlist for service in World War I, and for being a member of the 1914 "Miracle" Boston Braves.

Gowdy made his major league debut for John McGraw's New York Giants in 1910, before being traded to the Boston the next year. He didn't have much playing time, and spent the majority of the 1913 season with the Buffalo Bisons in the International League. In 1914, Gowdy became the Braves regular catcher in a year that saw them go from last to first in two months, becoming the first team to win a pennant after being in last place on the Fourth of July. In the 1914 World Series, he had a .545 batting average, including the only home run of the series, in the historic upset of Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics.

Gowdy saw more playing time in subsequent seasons, but when World War I broke out, he became the first major league player to sign up. He saw considerable action in France with the 166th Infantry Regiment of the Ohio National Guard, including some of the worst trench fighting in the war. When he returned in 1919, he got his old job as a catcher back, but not before going on a speaking tour of the United States, detailing his war experiences. Four years later, he was traded back to the Giants, where he played in the 1923 and 1924 World Series, but his heroics weren't repeated, as he committed a costly error which led to the game-winning run in Game 7 against the Washington Senators. In 1925, the Giants released him. Four years later, he made a comeback with Braves, albeit with very limited playing time. He then became a coach with the Giants, Braves, and the Reds. Later he left his coaching job to serve as a captain in World War II at the age of 53. He's believed to be the only big-league baseball player to serve in both wars.

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Wikipedia