Harry Danning | |||
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Catcher | |||
Born: Los Angeles, California |
September 6, 1911|||
Died: November 29, 2004 Valparaiso, Indiana |
(aged 93)|||
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MLB debut | |||
July 30, 1933, for the New York Giants | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 25, 1942, for the New York Giants | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .285 | ||
Home runs | 57 | ||
Runs batted in | 397 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
Harry Danning (September 6, 1911 – November 29, 2004), was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career as a catcher for the New York Giants, and was considered to be both an excellent hitter and one of the top defensive catchers of his era. He batted and threw right-handed, and was a member of the National League All-Star team for four consecutive years, 1938-41. Danning, who was Jewish, was nicknamed "Harry The Horse" for Damon Runyon's Broadway character. He attended Los Angeles High School in Los Angeles. His brother, Ike Danning, played for the St. Louis Browns in 1928.
Danning first played with the New York Giants in 1933. From 1934 to 1936, he served as the Giants reserve catcher, working behind Gus Mancuso. In the 1937 season, Danning and Mancuso shared the catching duties with Danning appearing in 93 games, while Mancuso appeared in 86 games. In 1938 Danning took over the role as the Giants starting catcher. He was selected for the National League All-Star squad in four consecutive years (1938–41), was on the world champion Giants team which defeated the Washington Senators in the 1933 World Series, and appeared in the pennant-winning clubs that were defeated by the New York Yankees in the 1936 and 1937 World Series.