Gabby Hartnett was born on Thursday, December 20, 1900, in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Hartnett was 21 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 12, 1922, with the Chicago Cubs. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Gabby Hartnett baseball stats page.
"Most catchers have to wear a mask because their so ugly, but I have to wear one because I'm so pretty." - Hall of Famer Gabby Hartnett in Chicago's Wrigley Field (Paul Michael Peterson, Arcadia Publishing, 04/04/2005, Page 23)
Gabby HartnettGabby "Old Tomato Face" Hartnett Autograph on a 1961 Fleer Baseball Greats Baseball Card (#41) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gabby HartnettGabby Hartnett Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
- | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
Gabby HartnettGabby Hartnett Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1922 | 22 | Cubs | 31 | 72 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .194 | .256 | .236 |
1923 | 23 | Cubs | 85 | 231 | 28 | 62 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 39 | 25 | 0 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .268 | .347 | .442 |
1924 | 24 | Cubs | 111 | 354 | 56 | 106 | 17 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 67 | 39 | 0 | 37 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .299 | .377 | .523 |
1925 | 25 | Cubs | 117 | 398 | 61 | 115 | 28 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 67 | 36 | 3 | 77 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 10 | .289 | .351 | .555 |
1926 | 26 | Cubs | 93 | 284 | 35 | 78 | 25 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 41 | 32 | 0 | 37 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .275 | .352 | .468 |
1927 | 27 | Cubs | 127 | 449 | 56 | 132 | 32 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 80 | 44 | 6 | 42 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 10 | .294 | .361 | .454 |
1928 | 28 | Cubs | 120 | 388 | 61 | 117 | 26 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 57 | 65 | 0 | 32 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .302 | .404 | .523 |
1929 | 29 | Cubs | 25 | 22 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .273 | .407 | .591 |
1930 | 30 | Cubs | 141 | 508 | 84 | 172 | 31 | 3 | 37 | 1 | 122 | 55 | 4 | 62 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .339 | .404 | .630 |
1931 | 31 | Cubs | 116 | 380 | 53 | 107 | 32 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 70 | 52 | 2 | 48 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 8 | .282 | .370 | .434 |
1932 | 32 | Cubs | 121 | 406 | 52 | 110 | 25 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 52 | 51 | 4 | 59 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .271 | .354 | .436 |
1933 | 33 | Cubs | 140 | 490 | 55 | 135 | 21 | 4 | 16 | 1 | 88 | 37 | 2 | 51 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 17 | .276 | .326 | .433 |
1934 | 34 | Cubs | 130 | 438 | 58 | 131 | 21 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 90 | 37 | 7 | 46 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 15 | .299 | .358 | .502 |
1935 | 35 | Cubs | 116 | 413 | 67 | 142 | 32 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 91 | 41 | 5 | 46 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .344 | .404 | .545 |
1936 | 36 | Cubs | 121 | 424 | 49 | 130 | 25 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 64 | 30 | 6 | 36 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 12 | .307 | .361 | .443 |
1937 | 37 | Cubs | 110 | 356 | 47 | 126 | 21 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 82 | 43 | 7 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .354 | .424 | .548 |
1938 | 38 | Cubs | 88 | 299 | 40 | 82 | 19 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 59 | 48 | 9 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | .274 | .380 | .445 |
1939 | 39 | Cubs | 97 | 306 | 36 | 85 | 18 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 59 | 37 | 9 | 32 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 11 | .278 | .358 | .467 |
1940 | 40 | Cubs | 37 | 64 | 3 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .266 | .347 | .359 |
1941 | 41 | Giants | 64 | 150 | 20 | 45 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .300 | .356 | .433 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
20 Years | 1,990 | 6,432 | 867 | 1,912 | 396 | 64 | 236 | 5 | 1,179 | 703 | 65 | 697 | 127 | 0 | 35 | 149 | .297 | .370 | .489 |
Gabby HartnettGabby Hartnett Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1922 Cubs | C | 27 | 21 | 557 | 110 | 4.1 | 108 | 79 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 16 | .982 | 5.24 |
1923 Cubs | 1B | 31 | 27 | 702 | 289 | 9.3 | 285 | 270 | 15 | 4 | 23 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .986 | 10.96 |
1923 Cubs | C | 39 | 31 | 777 | 168 | 4.3 | 167 | 143 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 14 | .994 | 5.80 |
1924 Cubs | C | 105 | 100 | 255 | 484 | 4.6 | 466 | 369 | 97 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 37 | 44 | .963 | 49.34 |
1925 Cubs | C | 110 | 10 | 300 | 546 | 5.0 | 523 | 409 | 114 | 23 | 15 | 5 | 43 | 61 | .958 | 47.07 |
1926 Cubs | C | 88 | 83 | 2,026 | 402 | 4.6 | 393 | 307 | 86 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 23 | 0 | .978 | 5.24 |
1927 Cubs | C | 126 | 12 | 354 | 594 | 4.7 | 578 | 479 | 99 | 16 | 21 | 12 | 39 | 47 | .973 | 44.08 |
1928 Cubs | C | 118 | 114 | 2,909 | 564 | 4.8 | 558 | 455 | 103 | 6 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 0 | .989 | 5.18 |
1929 Cubs | C | 1 | 1 | 27 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 4.00 |
1930 Cubs | C | 136 | 13 | 384 | 722 | 5.3 | 714 | 646 | 68 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 40 | 33 | .989 | 50.20 |
1931 Cubs | C | 105 | 103 | 2,538 | 522 | 5.0 | 512 | 444 | 68 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 21 | 38 | .981 | 5.45 |
1932 Cubs | 1B | 1 | 0 | 40 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 9.45 |
1932 Cubs | C | 117 | 110 | 2,630 | 569 | 4.9 | 559 | 484 | 75 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 31 | .982 | 5.74 |
1933 Cubs | C | 140 | 138 | 3,195 | 634 | 4.5 | 627 | 550 | 77 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 39 | .989 | 5.30 |
1934 Cubs | C | 129 | 124 | 291 | 694 | 5.4 | 691 | 605 | 86 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 23 | 33 | .996 | 64.11 |
1935 Cubs | C | 110 | 104 | 2,298 | 563 | 5.1 | 554 | 477 | 77 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 19 | 34 | .984 | 6.51 |
1936 Cubs | C | 114 | 111 | 2,615 | 584 | 5.1 | 579 | 504 | 75 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 18 | 28 | .991 | 5.98 |
1937 Cubs | C | 103 | 97 | 1,997 | 503 | 4.9 | 501 | 436 | 65 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 29 | .996 | 6.77 |
1938 Cubs | C | 83 | 81 | 1,804 | 400 | 4.8 | 398 | 358 | 40 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 14 | .995 | 5.96 |
1939 Cubs | C | 86 | 83 | 1,781 | 386 | 4.5 | 383 | 336 | 47 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 15 | 16 | .992 | 5.81 |
1940 Cubs | 1B | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 9.00 |
1940 Cubs | C | 22 | 16 | 321 | 82 | 3.7 | 78 | 69 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .951 | 6.56 |
1941 Giants | C | 34 | 33 | 728 | 154 | 4.5 | 153 | 138 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 3 | .994 | 5.67 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
C Totals | 1,793 | 1,385 | 27,787 | 8,685 | 4.8 | 8,546 | 7,292 | 1,254 | 139 | 163 | 126 | 415 | 480 | .984 | 8.30 | |
1B Totals | 33 | 27 | 748 | 305 | 9.2 | 301 | 285 | 16 | 4 | 25 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .987 | 10.86 | |
20 Years | 1,826 | 1,412 | 28,535 | 8,990 | 4.9 | 8,847 | 7,577 | 1,270 | 143 | 188 | 126 | 415 | 480 | .984 | 8.37 |
Gabby HartnettGabby Hartnett Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1922 Cubs | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 4 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 9.0 | 18.0 | - | - | - |
1923 Cubs | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | 17 | 0 | n/a | 28.9 | 10.5 | 5.9 | - | - | - |
1924 Cubs | 10 | 2 | .833 | 7 | 0 | n/a | 22.1 | 9.6 | 5.3 | - | - | - |
1925 Cubs | 1 | 5 | .167 | 7 | 0 | n/a | 16.6 | 5.2 | 5.9 | - | - | - |
1926 Cubs | 0 | 0 | .000 | 5 | 0 | n/a | 35.5 | 7.7 | 6.9 | - | - | - |
1927 Cubs | 2 | 5 | .286 | 2 | 0 | n/a | 44.9 | 10.7 | 5.6 | - | - | - |
1928 Cubs | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 2 | 0 | n/a | 27.7 | 12.1 | 6.8 | - | - | - |
1929 Cubs | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 25 | 0 | n/a | 22.0 | 4.4 | 2.4 | - | - | - |
1930 Cubs | 0 | 5 | .000 | 5 | 0 | n/a | 13.7 | 8.2 | 4.2 | - | - | - |
1931 Cubs | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 11 | 0 | n/a | 47.5 | 7.9 | 5.4 | - | - | - |
1932 Cubs | 0 | 0 | .000 | 4 | 0 | n/a | 33.8 | 6.9 | 7.8 | - | - | - |
1933 Cubs | 1 | 3 | .250 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 30.6 | 9.6 | 5.6 | - | - | - |
1934 Cubs | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 19.9 | 9.5 | 4.9 | - | - | - |
1935 Cubs | 1 | 1 | .500 | 6 | 0 | n/a | 31.8 | 9.0 | 4.5 | - | - | - |
1936 Cubs | 0 | 0 | .000 | 7 | 0 | n/a | 60.6 | 11.8 | 6.6 | - | - | - |
1937 Cubs | 0 | 3 | .000 | 9 | 0 | n/a | 29.7 | 18.7 | 4.3 | - | - | - |
1938 Cubs | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 5 | 0 | n/a | 29.9 | 17.6 | 5.1 | - | - | - |
1939 Cubs | 0 | 0 | .000 | 11 | 0 | n/a | 25.5 | 9.6 | 5.2 | - | - | - |
1940 Cubs | 0 | 0 | .000 | 14 | 0 | n/a | 64.0 | 9.1 | 5.3 | - | - | - |
1941 Giants | 0 | 1 | .000 | 30 | 0 | n/a | 30.0 | 10.7 | 5.8 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
20 Years | 28 | 26 | .519 | 172 | 0 | n/a | 27.3 | 9.2 | 5.5 | - | - | - |
Gabby HartnettGabby Hartnett Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1922 Chicago Cubs | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1923 Chicago Cubs | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1924 Chicago Cubs | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1925 Chicago Cubs | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1926 Chicago Cubs | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1927 Chicago Cubs | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1928 Chicago Cubs | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1929 Chicago Cubs | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | Stats |
1930 Chicago Cubs | n/a | $18,000.00 | n/a | - |
1931 Chicago Cubs | n/a | Undetermined | n/a | - |
1932 Chicago Cubs | 7 | Undetermined | n/a | Stats |
1933 Chicago Cubs | 9 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1934 Chicago Cubs | 9 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1935 Chicago Cubs | 9 | $17,289.00 | Stats | Stats |
1936 Chicago Cubs | 9 | $19,355.00 | Stats | - |
1937 Chicago Cubs | 2 | $17,500.00 | Stats | - |
1938 Chicago Cubs | 2 | Undetermined | Stats | Stats |
1939 Chicago Cubs | 2 | $20,000.00 | - | - |
1940 Chicago Cubs | 2 | Undetermined | - | - |
1941 New York Giants | 9 | Undetermined | - | - |
Gabby Hartnett Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Gabby Hartnett, the first catcher in baseball history to hit more than twenty home runs during a season, hit 24 home runs in 1925, setting a new single-season home run record for catchers, once held by Jack Clements, who had 17 homers in 1893.
Five years (1930) after setting that single season record, Gabby Hartnett hit .339, drove in 122 runs, and whalloped 37 home runs, shattering his own single-season home run record for catchers - a record for catchers that stood for 23 years, until Roy Campanella hit 40 home runs in 1953!
Gabby Hartnett | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1955 (HOF)
When Gabby Hartnett hung up his tools of ignorance, he held several career records for backstops including, most games caught (1,793), most home runs by a catcher (236), most hits by a catcher (1,912), most doubles by a catcher (396), and most runs batted in by a catcher (1,179). Hartnett was able to accumulate these stats not solely because he could hit, but also due to his durability, he (as seen on his Hall of Fame Plaque above) "caught 100 or more games per season for 12 years, eight in succession, 1930 to 1934 for league record."
Gabby Hartnett clearly crushed the "good-field, no-hit" mold often applied to catchers of the era, yet remained an absolute force to be reckoned with defensively as well. Before hanging up his cleats, he had led the league in putouts by a catcher four times, assists by a catcher six times, double plays by a catcher six times, and had the highest fielding percentage by a catcher six times (all records at that time). Hartnett once handled a since-broken record of 452 consecutive chances without committing a single error behind the plate, while throwing out 56.11% of the runners who attempted to steal on him - the second highest percentage in baseball history through today, behind only Roy Campanella (57.40%).
Gabby Hartnett, the fifth backstop sent to Cooperstown - joining Buck Ewing (1939), Roger Bresnahan (1945), Mickey Cochrane (1947), and Bill Dickey (1954) - was clearly one of the greatest catchers of his time, as well as one of the greatest catchers in the entire history of the National League (still to this day):
"Gabby was the greatest catcher I ever saw. He was so good with his pitchers. Now if you got a man on first base who was a good base runner, you didn't have to keep your mind too much on him. You could concentrate on the hitter. Because if the runner got too far off first, Hartnett would pick him off. When he threw to second base, the pitcher to fall to the ground in a hurry or get hit, the ball came so fast and so straight." - Sheriff Blake
"There are receivers, and there are catchers. Receivers just catch the ball. Today they are just receivers, always looking into the dugout for a sign. A catcher looks out for everything. He gives the signals. He guides and directs the pitchers. He's always ready to throw. Gabby, he could do it all." - Harry Danning
"The best throwing arm I ever saw on a catcher probably belonged to Gabby Hartnett. Better than (Johnny) Bench? Yes. The fans used to come out early to watch infield practice just to watch Hartnett throw the ball around." - Paul Richards
Gabby Hartnett had a legendary career, some legendary seasons, and was behind the plate in some legendary games, including (but hardly limited too): the 1932 World Series (The Babe Ruth Called Shot), the 1934 All-Star Game (Carl Hubbell struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin, five future hall of famers, all in a row), and The Homer in the Gloamin' - a two-out, two-strike, bottom of the ninth, walk off home run he hit into the darkening skies at the lightless Wrigley Field that put the Chicago Cubs into first place on September 28, 1938.
Gabby Hartnett Homer in the Gloamin' (Box Score) | Arizona Republic | September 29, 1938 | Page 2
Did you know that Gabby Hartnett once said to the Commissioner of Baseball, "If you don't want me to have my picture taken with Al Capone, you tell him." The anecdote appears in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (Free Press, 06/13/2003, Page 374), where Hartnett was ranked the ninth greatest catcher in the history of baseball: "Al Capone was at Wrigley Field one day, called Gabby over to his box and asked him to sign an autograph for Capone's nephew. Gabby signed and a photographer took a picture of the two together. When the picture appeared in the paper Judge Landis called Hartnett in and ordered him not to sign anything else for Scarface. 'Judge,' said Hartnett, 'if that's your rule, it's OK by me. But I'm not explaining it to him. Next time you see him, YOU explain it to him."
Gabby Hartnett & Al Capone | September 9, 1931 | Photoshopped by Baseball Almanac