Gabby Hartnett Stats

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.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"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 Hartnett

Gabby

Gabby "Old Tomato Face" Hartnett Autograph on a 1961 Fleer Baseball Greats Baseball Card (#41)

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Birth Name:   Charles Leo Hartnett
Nickname:   Gabby - Old Tomato Face
Born On:   12-20-1900  (Sagittarius)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Year of Death Data Died On:   12-20-1972 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Park Ridge, Illinois
Cemetery:   All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois Click For Grave Photo
High School:   Dean Academy (Franklin, MA)
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-01   Player Weight Chart Weight:   195
First Game:   04-12-1922 (Age 21)
Last Game:   09-24-1941
Draft:   Not Applicable

Gabby Hartnett

Gabby Hartnett Pitching Stats

- - Did Not Pitch - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Gabby Hartnett

Gabby Hartnett Hitting Stats

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
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 Hartnett

Gabby Hartnett Fielding Stats

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
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 Hartnett

Gabby Hartnett Miscellaneous Stats

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 - - -
20 Years 28 26 .519 172 0 n/a 27.3 9.2 5.5 - - -

Gabby Hartnett

Gabby Hartnett Miscellaneous Items of Interest

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 - -

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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 Hall of Fame Plaque

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

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

Gabby Hartnett & Al Capone | September 9, 1931 | Photoshopped by Baseball Almanac