Harry Wolter
Harry Meiggs Wolter
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.
- School Santa Clara University
- High School Monterey (CA) High School
- Debut May 14, 1907
- Final Game September 23, 1917
- Born July 11, 1884 in Monterey, CA USA
- Died July 7, 1970 in Palo Alto, CA USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Harry Wolter played seven seasons in the big leagues, posting a respectable OPS+ of 115.
He did some pitching when he first came to the majors, going 4-6 in 15 games in 1907 and 1909. Mostly, however, he was an outfielder, playing primarily in right field with some games in center.
A multi-talented player, Wolter was twice among the leaders in OBP and once among the leaders in SLG. He was as high as fifth in the league in triples one year, and as high as sixth in home runs. He was as high as third in the league in walks and ninth in stolen bases.
However, it took Wolter some time to settle in at the major league level. He was first briefly with the Cincinnati Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox before coming to the New York Highlanders in 1910 for his first season as a regular player.
Harry was born in Monterey, CA and attended Santa Clara University from 1903-1906, at a time when a number of other future major leaguers were there. Hal Chase was there between 1901-1904. Harry played at least 10 seasons in the minors, mostly for teams based in California. As a pitcher, he went 25-2 for San Jose in 1908. As a hitter, he typically hit over .300 with a high of .359 for Los Angeles in 1915. An obituary says he twice led the Pacific Coast League in hitting.
Wolter coached Stanford University baseball in 1916 and from 1923 to 1949. He also managed the Logan Collegians in 1926-1927 and coached the USA in the 1936 Olympics. In 1928, he led Stanford on a tour of Australia, the first ever visit to the country by a team from the United States. The team's first game against the Australian national team on August 4th marked the first time ever the Australians had faced a team from outside their country.
Further Reading[edit]
- Ray W. Nickson: "An Epoch in Australian Baseball: Stanford University's Tour of 1928", Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Vol. 47, Nr. 1 (spring 2018), pp. 23-28.
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