Fleer Autograph Project - 1960 Part 20 and 1961 Part 52

It is coming up on a month since my last post. I should probably do a little dusting around here.  Recently, I partnered up with two other people to bid on two different lots of signed 1960 and 1961 Fleer baseball cards.  My focus over the last several years has been 1961.  Alas, we won the lot that was comprised solely of 1960 cards.  At some point, once I get to the realistic end of the 1961 set quest, I will turn to 1960.  So I was only a little disappointed that I made no progress on 1961.  

What was interesting is that I needed 5 of the cards on the lot we won. One of the other partners needed the exact same cards. I ended up taking two of my needs and let him have the other three.  Both of the cards I got were of players for which I already have their 1961 card in my collection. So, the next two posts will be combined.

And away we go:

Here is Hall of Famer Gabby Hartnett.

1. Gabby Hartnett was born as Charles Leo Hartnett in the waning hours of the 19th century on December 20, 1900. He was the oldest of 14 (!) children.
2. Like many of that era, he played semi-pro ball on both town and industrial teams. It was as a member of the American Steel & Wire where he came to the attention of professional baseball.
3. In a possibly apocryphal story a scout for John McGraw's NY Giants passed on Hartnett because his hand sere too small for major league baseball.
4. What isn't disputable is that, based on his performance for that industrial team, he signed his first professional contract with theWorcester Boosters of the Class A Eastern League. And that led to his contract with the Cubs.
5. He initally backed up Bob O'Farrell, who will be featured in a future edition of this series. It was in this role that he earned his nickname. As a shy 21 year old he barely spoke thus earning the ironic sobriquet Gabby.
6. Nickname was "Old Tomato Face"'
7. His first major league hit was a single of Dolf Luque on April 13, 1922. His final hit came 19 years later and was a single off of Gene Lambert on September 24, 1941.
8. He was the National League's MVP in 1941.Modern sabermetrics credit him with 4.9 WAR that season. Looking at the voting results, there were 12 other players with higher WAR led by Arky Vaughan who clocked up 9.8 WAR with the 4th place Pirates.
9. Was the Cubs catcher in the 1932 World Series and was behind the plate for Babe Ruth's controversial called shot.  Hartnett was quoted in his biography saying “I don’t want to take anything from the Babe, because he’s the reason we made good money, but he didn’t call the shot. He held up the index finger of his left hand … and said, ‘It only takes one to hit.’
10. Hit one of the greatest walk-off home runs on September 28, 1938 when he took a curve ball from Pirates pitcher Mace Johnson. It was a key victory in the Cubs path to the pennant that year. It was (is) known 
11. Hartnett played in 4 World Series but, befitting someone who played 19 years with the Cubs, was never was on a winning team.
12. He was the Cubs player-manager from 1938 through 1940. Fired after the 1940 season, he signed on as player-coach for the Giants that had chose to not sign him 20 years earlier.
13. Despite being a son of New England, he lived his entire post-baseball life in the Chicago area. He opened Gabby Hartnett’s Recreation Center which included bowling lanes, a barbershop, a soda fountain, a cocktail lounge, and a sporting-goods store.
14. Died on his 72nd birthday after several years of failing health.

What I am listening to: Enter Sandman by Metallica (N.B. This was recorded last year at Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech. The crowd's reaction to the start of the song was so strong it actually registered as an earthquake at Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory about a mile away. I mention this only because I was actually at that concert. It was one of the best concerts I have ever attended.)