Hank Greenberg
| Hank Greenberg | ||
|---|---|---|
| First baseman | ||
| Born: January 1 1911 New York, New York |
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| Died: September 4 1986 (aged 75) Beverly Hills, California | ||
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | ||
| September 14, 1930 for the Detroit Tigers | ||
| Final game | ||
| September 18, 1947 for the Pittsburgh Pirates | ||
| Career statistics | ||
| Batting average | .313 | |
| Home runs | 331 | |
| Runs batted in | 1,276 | |
| Teams | ||
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| Career highlights and awards | ||
| ||
| Member of the National | ||
 Baseball Hall of Fame | ||
| Elected | 1956 | |
| Vote | 85% (eighth ballot) | |
Henry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg (January 1, 1911, – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank," was an American professional baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s.
A first baseman primarily for the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg was one of the premier power hitters of his generation. He hit 58 home runs in 1938, equaling Jimmie Foxx's 1932 mark, as the most in one season by any player between 1927—when Babe Ruth set a record of 60—and 1961—when Roger Maris surpassed it. He was a five-time All-Star, was twice named the American League's Most Valuable Player, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1956.
Despite losing four prime seasons to World War II and another to a fractured wrist, Hank Greenberg still hit 331 home runs, including 40 or more on four occasions. His 183 Runs Batted In (RBI) in 1937 still stands as the third highest one season total behind Hack Wilson (191) and Lou Gehrig (184).
Greenberg was also one of the first Jewish superstars in American professional sports.[1] He garnered national attention in 1934 when he refused to play baseball on Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, even though the Tigers were in the middle of a pennant race.
Early life
Greenberg was born in New York City to Rumanian-born Jewish immigrants who owned a successful cloth-shrinking plant. His father and mother met in America and were married in New York. Hank had two brothers, Benjamin, four years older, and Joseph, five years younger, and a sister, Lillian, two years older. By the time Hank was six, his father's business had grown enough to enable them to move to the Crotona Park section of the Bronx. Since Crotona Park was a predominantly Jewish section, Greenberg knew practically nothing of anti-Semitism.[2]
Greenberg lacked coordination as a youngster, and flat feet prevented him from running fast.[3] But he worked diligently to overcome his inadequacies. His preferred sport was baseball, and his preferred position was first base. He became a basketball standout in high school, helping Monroe win the city championship.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag When Veeck sold his interest, Greenberg remained as general manager and part-owner until 1957. He was the mastermind behind a move to Minneapolis for the Indians, that was vetoed by the rest of ownership at the last minute. Greenberg was furious and sold his share soon afterwards.
In 1961, the American League announced plans to put a team in Los Angeles. Greenberg immediately became the favorite to become the new team's first owner, and persuaded Veeck, who had sold off his majority interest in the White Sox due to poor health, to join him as his partner. However, when Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley got word of these developments, he threatened to scuttle the whole deal by invoking his exclusive rights to operate a major league team in Southern California. In truth, O'Malley wanted no part of having to compete against an expansion team owned by a master promoter such as Veeck. Greenberg wouldn't budge, and pulled out of the running for what became the Los Angeles Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim). He later became a successful investment banker.
Family
He married Coral Gimbel (of the New York department store family) on February 18, 1946, three days after signing a $60,000 contract with the Tigers. Their son Glenn runs a $4 billion dollar hedge fund called Chieftain Capital. [4] [5] Their son, Stephen, played 5 years in the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers organization. In 1995, Steve Greenberg co-founded Classic Sports Network with Brian Bedol, which was purchased by ESPN and became ESPN Classic. He was also the Chairman of CSTV, the first cable network devoted exclusively to college sports, which was purchased by CBS in 2006.
Honors
- American League Most Valuable Player, 1935 and 1940.
- American League All-Star team, 1937-1940.
- First Jewish player elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in 1956. He garnered 85% of the votes. Joe Cronin was also elected that year.
- In 1983, the Tigers celebrated "Greenberg-Gehringer Day" at Tiger Stadium, honoring Greenberg with the retirement of his uniform number 5 and former teammate Charlie Gehringer with the retirement of his number 2. Both players were on hand for the ceremony.
- In 1999, despite injuries and wartime service that essentially limited him to half a career, he ranked Number 37 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
- Member of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (1996).
- Member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (1979).
- Member of the Jewish American Hall of Fame (1991).[6]
Miscellaneous
The antisemitism Greenberg faced ranged from players staring at him because they had never before seen a Jew, to coarse racial epithets hurled at him. Particularly abusive were the St. Louis Cardinals during the 1934 World Series.[1] Examples of this were: "Hey Mo," referring to Moses, and "Throw a pork chop, he can't hit that,"[2] referring to laws of Kashrut. Template:Quote box2Greenberg sometimes retaliated against the ethnic attacks, once going into the Chicago White Sox clubhouse to challenge manager Jimmy Dykes, and at another time calling out the entire Yankee team.[3]
Jewish fans in Detroit—and around the American League for that matter—took to Greenberg almost at once, offering him everything from free meals to free cars, all of which he refused.[4] Template:Quote box2In 23 World Series games, he hit .318, with five homers and 22 RBI.
Greenberg was one of the few baseball people to testify on behalf of Curt Flood in 1970 when the outfielder challenged the reserve clause.[5]
Greenberg died of cancer in Beverly Hills, California and his remains were entombed at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.
In an article in 1976 in Esquire magazine, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Greenberg was the first baseman on Stein's Jewish team.
Legacy
In 2006, Greenberg was featured on a United States postage stamp. [7] The stamp is one of a block of four honoring Baseball Sluggers, the others being Mickey Mantle, Mel Ott, and Roy Campanella.
Aviva Kempner's The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is a loving tribute is chock full of wonderful archival footage from the '30s and '40s and interviews with a self-effacing Greenberg and many of his Tiger teammates.[6]
In 2008 A tribute to Hank Greenberg, marking the 75th anniversary of his rookie season in the Major Leagues, will take place this weekend at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The event is a presentation of Jewish Major Leaguers, Inc., the Newton, Mass., organization that created the two-day "Celebration of American Jews in Baseball" special at the Hall in the summer of 2004.[7]
See also
- 1935 Detroit Tigers season
- List of Major League Baseball Home Run Records
- List of Major League Baseball doubles records
- 50 home run club
- Top 500 home run hitters of all time
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
- List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
- List of Major League Baseball home run champions
- List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
- List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
- Major League Baseball titles leaders
Notes
- ↑ Hank Greenberg
- ↑ Ralph Berger. Hank Greenberg Bioproj.sabr.org. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
- ↑ Nick Acocella. 2003. Greenberg was Tiger at the plate Espn.go.com. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
- ↑ Hedge Fund Toddlers
- ↑ WEDDINGS; Linda Vester, Glenn Greenberg - New York Times
- ↑ Jewish-American Hall of Fame - Nominate Somebody
- ↑ USPS - 2006 Commemorative Stamps
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Greenberg, Hank, and Ira Berkow. 1989. Hank Greenberg, The Story of My Life. New York: Times Books. ISBN 0812917413
- Klein, Clayton. 2007. A Well-Kept Secret: From the Glory Years of the Detroit Tigers. Manchester, MI: Wilderness Adventure Books. ISBN 0923568816
- Riess, Steven A. 1998. Sports and the American Jew. Sports and entertainment. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0815627610
- Simons, William M. 2002. The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2001. Jefferson NC: McFarland. ISBN 0786413573
External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - Major league career statistics
- Template:Bbhof
- Hall to Honor Greenberg
- The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg - documentary homepage
- Jewish Virtual Library bio
- Simons, William M. 2001. Searching for Hank Greenberg
- Sandomir, Richard. 2000. He Batted for the Tigers, Himself and American Jews
- Moynahan, Brian. 2003. Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax in the Mainstream Media
- The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg
- Jewish Major League career leaders
- Baseball Almanac
- Baseball Cube stats
- Fangraphs stats
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Greenberg, Hank |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hammerin' Hank |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Baseball outfielder |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 1, 1911 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York, New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 4, 1986 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Beverly Hills, California |
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