Chicago Cubs catcher, Gabby Harnett following through after swinging bat on field prior to game. 1926 Photo SUMMARY Informal portrait of baseball player Charles Hartnett of the National League's Chicago Cubs, following through after swinging a baseball bat, standing on the field at Wrigley Field, located at 1060 West Addison Street and bounded by West Waveland Avenue, North Seminary Avenue, North Clark Street, and North Sheffield Avenue in the Lake View community area of Chicago, Illinois. SDN-066215, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society. Gabby Hartnett started playing for the Chicago Cubs in 1922 and played with them until 1940. When he retired was the first catcher to hit 200 career homers and have 1000 lifetime RBIs. He shared the NL record for most consecutive seasons leading catchers in fielding avg., from 1934 thru 1937. I grabbed six fielding titles and four putout titles. "Dizzy Dean once said, "If I had that guy to pitch to all the time, I'd never lose me a game." Gabby Hartnett was noted for his powerful throwing arm and ranks with baseball's best. In 1930, he had his best year hitting 37 homers, 122 RBI's while batting .339. He helped the Cubs win the pennants in 1929 and 1932 and played in 6 straight All-Star games. I won the NL MVP Award in 1935 and again led the Cubs to the NL Pennant. Gabby Hartnett became the Chicago Cubs' manager in 1938 and hit a historic homer in the bottom of the ninth as darkness set on Wrigley Field to win another pennant for the Cubs. He is a member of the Hall of Fame. Note: He picked up his nickname of Gabby because he was so quite. |