Hank Gowdy

Harry Morgan Gowdy

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 182 lb.
• High School North High School (Columbus)
• Debut September 13, 1910
• Final Game August 29, 1930
• Born August 24, 1889 in Columbus, OH USA
• Died August 1, 1966 in Columbus, OH USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Catcher Hank Gowdy played seventeen years in the majors with the New York Giants and Boston Braves but was primarily a backup for most of his career, although he was the starting catcher on the "Miracle Braves" team that won the 1914 World Series. He was a hero in that World Series - he hit .545 in the four-game sweep of the Philadelphia Athletics and would likely have been named the Series' MVP had the award existed. However, he was a goat in the 1924 World Series, which the Giants lost to the Washington Senators. In the 12th inning of Game 7, Muddy Ruel hit what seemed a routine foul ball behind home plate. Gowdy tripped over his own mask and failed to catch the ball; given a reprieve, Ruel hit a double and went on to score the Series-winning run when Earl McNeely hit a ball that took a bad bounce off a pebble and escaped the grasp of 3B Fred Lindstrom.

He was the first MLB player to enlist in World War I. He saw considerable action in the second brigade of the Ohio National Guard, and was a member of the 166th infantry of the legendary 42nd or Rainbow Division. He was in action at Chateau Thierry, St. Mihiel, Champagne, Argonne and Lorraine in France. After the war, he returned to baseball for another decade, appearing in his final big league game when he was 41 years old.

Gowdy was a Braves coach from 1929 to 1937 and served on the Cincinnati Reds staff from 1938 to 1942. During World War II, he entered the U.S. Army with the rank of Captain on January 20, 1943, and then was promoted to the rank of Major in August of that year. He was placed on the inactive list in December 1944, and returned to the Reds as a coach in 1945 and 1946, also managing four games in the latter season. He was a member of the Giants coaching staff in 1947 and 1948 and a scout for the Cleveland Indians in 1950-1951 and the Giants in 1958.

In Game 3 of the 1914 World Series, Gowdy became the first player ever to hit a home run in extra innings in a World Series. It came in the 10th inning, off Joe Bush: Gowdy's Braves won in twelve innings. It would be 1933 before Mel Ott became the second player to do this.

Notable Achievement

• Won a World Series with the Boston Braves in 1914

Preceded by Bill McKechnie

Cincinnati Reds Manager 1946

Succeeded by Johnny Neun

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1926	Columbus Senators	American Association	10-40	–	none		Replaced by George McQuillan
1946	Cincinnati Reds	National League	3-1	6th	Cincinnati Reds		Replaced Bill McKechnie (64-86) on September 27
1950	Oklahoma City Indians	Texas League	7-5	–	Cleveland Indians		Interim for Joe Vosmik

Further Reading

• Carol McMains and Frank Ceresi: "Hank Gowdy", in Bill Nowlin, ed.: The Miracle Braves of 1914: Boston's Original Worst-to-First World Series Champions, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2014, pp. 76-78. ISBN 978-1-933599-69-4

Related Sites

• Hank Gowdy at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Manager page