Hank Gowdy
American baseball player and manager (1889-1966)
title: "Hank Gowdy" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1889-births", "1966-deaths", "new-york-giants-(baseball)-players", "new-york-giants-(nl)-coaches", "boston-rustlers-players", "boston-braves-players", "boston-braves-coaches", "cincinnati-reds-managers", "cincinnati-reds-coaches", "cleveland-indians-scouts", "lancaster-lanks-players", "dallas-giants-players", "buffalo-bisons-(minor-league)-players", "columbus-senators-players", "rochester-red-wings-players", "united-states-army-personnel-of-world-war-i", "united-states-army-personnel-of-world-war-ii", "major-league-baseball-catchers", "baseball-players-from-columbus,-ohio", "united-states-army-officers", "ohio-national-guard-personnel"] description: "American baseball player and manager (1889-1966)" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Gowdy" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American baseball player and manager (1889-1966) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox baseball biography"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | Hank Gowdy, Boston NL (baseball) LCCN2014697601 (cropped).jpg |
| image_size | 250px |
| caption | Gowdy in 1914 |
| position | Catcher / First baseman / Manager |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| bats | Right |
| throws | Right |
| debutleague | MLB |
| debutdate | September 13 |
| debutyear | 1910 |
| debutteam | New York Giants |
| finalleague | MLB |
| finaldate | August 29 |
| finalyear | 1930 |
| finalteam | Boston Braves |
| statleague | MLB |
| stat1label | Batting average |
| stat1value | .270 |
| stat2label | Home runs |
| stat2value | 21 |
| stat3label | Runs batted in |
| stat3value | 322 |
| :: |
|image=Hank Gowdy, Boston NL (baseball) LCCN2014697601 (cropped).jpg |image_size=250px |caption=Gowdy in 1914 |position=Catcher / First baseman / Manager |birth_date= |birth_place=Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |death_date= |death_place=Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |bats=Right |throws=Right |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=September 13 |debutyear=1910 |debutteam=New York Giants |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=August 29 |finalyear=1930 |finalteam=Boston Braves |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=.270 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=21 |stat3label=Runs batted in |stat3value=322 |teams= As player
- New York Giants (–)
- Boston Braves (–, –)
- New York Giants (–)
- Boston Braves (–) As manager
- Cincinnati Reds () |highlights=
- 2× World Series champion (, ) Harry Morgan Gowdy (August 24, 1889 – August 1, 1966) was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in the Major League Baseball as a catcher and first baseman from 1910 to 1930, most prominently with the Boston Braves where he was a member of the "Miracle" Braves team that went from last place at mid-season to win the National League pennant and the 1914 World Series. He began his career playing for the New York Giants.
He was the first active major league player to enlist for service in World War I, and the only player to fight in both World War I and World War II.
Background
Gowdy was born in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Columbus North High School in 1908.
He and his wife Pauline had no children.
A nephew, Pat Bonaventura, is completing a book about Gowdy's life.
Major League career
Gowdy made his major league debut with John McGraw's New York Giants in 1910, before being traded to Boston the next year. He did not see much playing time and spent the majority of the 1913 season with the Buffalo Bisons in the International League. In 1914, Gowdy became the Braves regular catcher in a year that saw them go from last place to first in two months, becoming the first team to win a pennant after being in last place on the Fourth of July. In the 1914 World Series, he had a .545 batting average, including the only home run of the series, in the historic upset of Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics. Gowdy had 50,000 fans celebrate him in a parade in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio that October.
Gowdy saw more playing time in subsequent seasons, but when World War I broke out, he became the first major league player to enlist. In , the Giants released him. Four years later, he made a comeback with the Braves, albeit with very limited playing time.
Career statistics
In a seventeen-year major league career, Gowdy played in 1,050 games, accumulating 738 hits in 2,735 at bats for a .270 career batting average along with 21 home runs and 322 runs batted in. He ended his career with a .975 fielding percentage. Gowdy twice led the National League in caught stealing percentage. His 52.58% career caught stealing percentage ranks him sixth in major league history. Gowdy's reputation as a defensive stand out is enhanced because of the era in which he played. In the Deadball Era, catchers played a huge defensive role, given the large number of bunts and stolen base attempts, as well as the difficulty of handling the spitball pitchers who dominated pitching staffs.
Coaching career
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Hank_Gowdy_Reds_(cropped).jpg" caption="Gowdy as Reds coach"] ::
After his playing career was over, he became a coach with the Giants, Braves, and the Reds. By 1948, he had retired from baseball.
Unsuccessful Hall of Fame bid
Gowdy has the record for most unsuccessful Hall of Fame induction attempts, without ever having been enshrined in the Hall. While current custom limits the times a player can appear on the ballot to 10, Gowdy received votes 17 years, never being elected to the Hall of Fame (Edd Roush has the record for most Hall attempts with 19, but he was later enshrined by the Veteran's Committee).
Gowdy died at his home in Columbus, Ohio at age 76. Gowdy Field in Columbus is named in his honor as is the Columbus chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research.
References
References
- {{sabrbio. afac3842. Carol McMains and Frank Ceresi.. 17 February 2010
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gowdyha01.shtml Hank Gowdy at Baseball Reference]
- [https://www.dispatch.com/entertainmentlife/20190510/100-years-ago-hank-gowdy-returned-to-columbus 100 years ago, Hank Gowdy returned to Columbus] {{Webarchive. link. (2019-05-12 Retrieved May 12, 2019)
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=aS0DAAAAMBAJ&dq=hank+gowdy+baseball+digest&pg=PA84 "How Losing an Exhibition Sparked Miracle Braves"], by Joseph M. Overfield, ''Baseball Digest'', May 1961, Vol. 20, No. 4, ISSN 0005-609X
- "The Miracle Braves". thisgreatgame.com.
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZzIDAAAAMBAJ&dq=hank+gowdy+baseball+digest&pg=PA35 "1914: Hank Gowdy's Big, Big Day"], by [[Francis J. Powers]], ''Baseball Digest'', October 1964, Vol. 23, No. 9, ISSN 0005-609X
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gowdyha01.shtml#batting_postseason Hank Gowdy post-season batting statistics] at Baseball Reference
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/caught_stealing_perc_career.shtml Caught Stealing career leaders at Baseball Reference]
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/roushed01.shtml Edd Roush at Baseball Reference]
- "Hank Gowdy New York Times Obituary at www.thedeadballera.com".
- "Hank Gowdy Chapter".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::