Bob Harvey

Robert Alexander Harvey

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 220 lb.
• School Bowie State College
• High School St. Michaels (MD) High School
• Debut 1943
• Final Game 1948
• Born May 28, 1918 in St. Michaels, MD USA
• Died June 27, 1992 in Montclair, NJ USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Bob Harvey was a two-time All-Star outfielder in the Negro Leagues.

Harvey played football in college. He got his start in the Negro Leagues in 1944, hitting .307 for the Newark Eagles. That fall, he went 2 for 12 for exhibition play against Hal Gregg, Ralph Branca and Virgil Trucks. In 1945, he was a bench player. He batted only .220 in 1946. In the 1946 Negro World Series, he broke up a double play in game one and injured Kansas City Monarchs shortstop Jim Hamilton in the process. Hamilton would be replaced by Chico Renfroe, who wound up being Kansas City's top contact hitter in their loss to Newark. Harvey was 6 for 25 in the Series. That winter, he hit .367 for Aquadilla in the Puerto Rican League, fourth-place behind Willard Brown, Monte Irvin and Tetelo Vargas.

The Maryland native took a big step up in 1947 and hit .355, among the top five in the Negro National League. His 17 doubles tied Johnny Washington and Johnny Davis for third in the circuit behind Henry Kimbro and Monte Irvin. Harvey hit .363 in 1948 to tie Luke Easter for third in the NNL behind Buck Leonard and Lester Lockett. Harvey started in right for the East in the first 1948 East-West Game, hitting 5th. He went 0 for 1 before Irvin replaced him in a 3-0 loss.

Harvey hit .295 for the Eagles (now the Houston Eagles) in 1949 and .367 with 8 homers in 59 games in 1950. He again played right field in the 1950 East-West Game, going 0 for 2 with a walk and a run. He also lost a ball in the sun because he was not wearing his sunglasses. He ended his career in 1951 in the Manitoba-Dakota League, hitting .306 with 9 homers in 44 games for the Elmwood Giants.

Harvey later worked for 32 years for a pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Notable Achievements

• NNL All-Star (1948)
• NNL Batting Average Leader (1944)
• NNL On-Base Percentage Leader (1944)
• NNL Slugging Percentage Leader (1944)
• NNL OPS Leader (1944)
• Won one Negro World Series with the Newark Eagles in 1946

Sources

• The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway
• The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley
• Black Baseball's National Showcase by Larry Lester

Related Sites

• Bob Harvey at the SABR Bio Project