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Harry Heilmann

Harry Heilmann
Harry Heilmann.jpg
Heilmann in 1917 Bain News Service photo
Right fielder / First baseman
Born: (1894-08-03)August 3, 1894
San Francisco, California
Died: July 9, 1951(1951-07-09) (aged 56)
Southfield, Michigan
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 16, 1914, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
May 31, 1932, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
Batting average .342
Hits 2,660
Home runs 183
Runs batted in 1,539
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Empty Star.svgEmpty Star.svgEmpty Star.svgBaseball Hall of Fame Empty Star.svgEmpty Star.svgEmpty Star.svg
Inducted 1952
Vote 86.8% (fourth ballot)

Harry Edwin Heilmann (August 3, 1894 – July 9, 1951), nicknamed "Slug" due to his lack of speed, was an American baseball player and radio announcer. He played professional baseball for 19 years between 1913 and 1932, including 17 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers (1914, 1916–1929) and Cincinnati Reds (1930, 1932). He was a play-by-play announcer for the Tigers for 17 years from 1934 to 1950.

Heilmann won four American League batting championships, securing the honors in 1921, 1923, 1925 and 1927. He appeared in 2,147 major league games, including 1,525 games as a right fielder and 448 as a first baseman and compiled a career batting average of .342, the 12th highest in major league history, and third highest among right-handed batters. At the time of his retirement in 1932, Heilmann ranked sixth in major league history with 542 doubles and eighth with 1,540 RBIs. He remains one of only five players in American League history to hit .400 for a season, having accomplished the feat in 1923 with a .403 batting average. At his peak from 1921 to 1927, Heilmann compiled a .380 batting average, .452 on-base percentage, .583 slugging percentage, and averaged 116 RBIs, 41 doubles, 11 triples, and 104 runs scored per season.

After retiring from baseball, Heilmann ran unsuccessfully for the office of Detroit City Treasurer and operated a semipro baseball team in 1933 and, in 1934, began a career as a radio broadcaster. From 1934 to 1941, he was play-by-play announcer on the Michigan Radio Network covering parts of Michigan located outside metropolitan Detroit. From 1942 to 1950, he was the exclusive radio voice of the Tigers throughout the state. Heilmann died from lung cancer in July 1951. He was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame six months later in January 1952.


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Wikipedia

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