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American baseball player (1892-1969)
Baseball player
Bubbles Hargrave
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Catcher
|
Born:
(
1892-07-15
)
July 15, 1892
New Haven, Indiana
, U.S.
|
Died:
February 23, 1969
(1969-02-23)
(aged 76)
Cincinnati, Ohio
, U.S.
|
Batted:
Right
Threw:
Right
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|
September 18, 1913, for the Chicago Cubs
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September 6, 1930, for the New York Yankees
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Batting average
| .310
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Home runs
| 29
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Runs batted in
| 376
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Eugene Franklin "Bubbles" Hargrave
(July 15, 1892 ? February 23, 1969) was an
American
catcher
in
Major League Baseball
who played for the
Chicago Cubs
,
Cincinnati Reds
, and
New York Yankees
. He won the
National League
batting title in 1926 while playing for Cincinnati. He was nicknamed "Bubbles" because he stuttered when saying "B" sounds.
[1]
Bubbles' younger brother,
Pinky Hargrave
, was also a major league catcher.
Biography
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edit
]
Hargrave was born in
New Haven, Indiana
. He started his professional baseball career in 1911 in the
Central League
and made his major league debut in 1913 with the Chicago Cubs. He was their backup catcher until 1915. From 1916 to 1920, he played mostly in the
American Association
. In 1920, he had a big season with the
St. Paul Saints
, batting .335 with 22
home runs
and finishing second in the league batting race. St. Paul won the pennant.
[2]
Hargrave was then acquired by the Cincinnati Reds. He was their starting catcher for most of the 1920s and consistently put up good hitting numbers. In 1926, he won the National League batting title with a .353 average. The rules at the time required batting champions to play in at least 100 games, and Hargrave
pinch hit
several times to get to 105. He was the first catcher to lead the NL in
batting average
.
[3]
In 1927, he led the league's catchers in
fielding percentage
.
Hargrave went back to St. Paul for the 1929 season. He managed the club to a second-place finish and also made the league All-Star team.
[4]
He batted .369 in 104 games.
[5]
The following year, Hargrave served as a backup catcher for the New York Yankees. He then went back to the minors for a few seasons before retiring in 1934.
After his baseball days, Hargrave worked for a valve company.
[6]
He died at age 76 in
Cincinnati, Ohio
. He was inducted into the
Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame
in 1962 and the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.
See also
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]
References
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]
External links
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]