Hank Hulvey

James Hensel Hulvey

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
• School Shenandoah University
• Debut September 5, 1923
• Final Game September 5, 1923
• Born July 18, 1897 in Mount Sidney, VA USA
• Died April 9, 1982 in Mount Sidney, VA USA

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Biographical Information

Hank Hulvey had one game in the majors along with 19 years in the minors. He had a sterling minor league career - he was 17-9 in the minors in 1923, then 13-5 in 1924 and 11-2 in 1925, but was just getting started. He then had five straight seasons with the Hollywood Stars when he always won in double figures and always had a winning record. He then followed that up with other excellent seasons with Chattanooga (16-10 in 1931), Knoxville (18-14 in 1933) and Tacoma (15-9 in 1937).

Hank was also an excellent hitter for a pitcher, often hitting over .300 in the minors. He sometimes played outfield. During his one game in the majors, which came with the Philadelphia Athletics on September 5, 1923, he went 1-for-2. He was the starting and losing pitcher in a 6-3 loss to the New York Yankees.

Hank was born, and died, in Mount Sidney, VA. Through 2019 he is the only major leaguer out of Shenandoah University.

Hulvey is a good example of a player who had a career far beyond that of the majors. Various sites on the internet disparage Hulvey because he only pitched one major league game, with even SABR (in an article about short-time major leaguers) saying "his only claim to fame was that he gave up Babe Ruth's 230th career home run." [1] His sparkling minor league career, both pitching and hitting, deserves to be recognized. To be fair, the SABR article did mention Hulvey as "a minor league veteran".