John Ganzel
John Henry Ganzel
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0½", Weight 195 lb.
- Debut April 21, 1898
- Final Game September 30, 1908
- Born April 7, 1874 in Kalamazoo, MI USA
- Died January 14, 1959 in Orlando, FL USA
Biographical Information[edit]
John Ganzel was the brother of Charlie Ganzel and uncle of Babe Ganzel. A first baseman, he played seven seasons in the majors and at least 14 in the minors. He also managed a couple seasons in the majors and 16 in the minors.
Ganzel was born in Kalamazoo, MI. He had a cup of coffee with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1898 and then came to the Chicago Orphans for 78 games in 1900 (and was with Detroit in the minors for 22 games that same year). He was with the New York Giants in 1901 and then spent 1902 in the minors with the Louisville Colonels. In 1903 and 1904 he played for the New York Highlanders and then in 1905 and 1906 he was with the Grand Rapids Orphans/Grand Rapids Wolverines. He came back to the majors one last time in 1907 and 1908 with the Cincinnati Reds. After his time with the Reds he played a few seasons with the Rochester Bronchos.
John had begun managing in 1905-06 with Grand Rapids and then managed the Cincinnati Reds to a fifth place finish in 1908 while serving as the regular first baseman. Thereafter, he managed at Rochester from 1909 to 1915, sometimes also playing, before coming back to the majors to manage in the Federal League for part of the 1915 season with the Brooklyn Tip-Tops.
He later managed the Kansas City Blues in the minors for three years, and many years later managed the Laurel Cardinals and Orlando Senators.
There were five Ganzel brothers, and the family was called the "First Family" of Michigan baseball. John and Charlie were in the majors, while Fred Ganzel played independent ball, Joe Ganzel played independent ball and in the minors, and George Ganzel played independent ball and in the minors. Source: Ganzel Brothers. The article also notes that at one point, John was the highest-paid minor league manager in the country.
| Preceded by Ned Hanlon |
Cincinnati Reds Manager 1908 |
Succeeded by Clark Griffith |
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