Hank Greenberg - 1935 & 1940 AL MVP

Subject: Hank Greenberg - 1935 & 1940 AL MVP Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:38 am

Hank Greenberg
1935 & 1940 AL MVP

Following data from http://www.hickoksports.com/biograph/greenberghank.shtml

Greenberg, "Hank" (Henry B.)
Baseball

b. Jan. 1, 1911, New York, NY

d. Sept. 4, 1986

Career Batting Record
A right-handed first baseman, Greenberg put up some amazing RBI
figures during his career and once challenged Babe Ruth's record of 60
home runs in a season.
The 6-foot-3 1/2, 210-pound Greenberg starred in basketball as well
as baseball in high school, then signed a contract with the Detroit
Tigers that allowed him to enter New York University in 1929. However,
he left school in the spring of 1930 to pursue his baseball career.
Greenberg had just one at-bat with the Tigers that year and didn't
rejoin the team until 1933, when he became a starter. He led the AL in
doubles with 63 in 1934, when he hit .339 with 26 home runs and 139 RBI
to help lead the Tigers into the World Series. Despite Greenberg's .321
average and 7 RBI, Detroit lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.
He was named the league's most valuable player in 1935. He hit .328
that season and led the league with 36 home runs and 170 RBI. The
Tigers won the World Series, but Greenberg suffered a broken wrist in
the second game.
The wrist was broken again early in the 1936 season and Greenberg
appeared in only 12 games. However, he came back with 40 home runs and
183 RBI, one short of Lou Gehrig's AL record, in 1937 and the following
year he hit 58 home runs to tie Jimmy Foxx's record for a right-handed
hitter.
After slipping to 33 home runs and 112 RBI in 1939, Greenberg was
moved to the outfield to make room for Rudy York at first base. He
responded by leading the league in doubles with 50, home runs with 41,
RBI with 150, and slugging percentage with a .670 mark to win his
second most valuable player award.
Drafted early in 1941, Greenberg became a captain in the Army Air
Corps and took part in the first bombing raids on Tokyo in 1944. He
rejoined the Tigers during the 1945 season and hit a ninth-inning
grand-slam home run in the last game of the season to win another
pennant for the Tigers. They went on to beat the Chicago Cubs in a
seven-game World Series in which Greenberg batted .304 with 2 home
runs, 7 RBI, and 7 runs scored.
After leading the league in home runs and RBI again, with 44 and 127
in 1946, Greenberg was sold to the NL's Pittsburgh Pirates. He retired
after slipping to .249, 25 home runs, and 74 RBI in one season there
and became vice president and farm director for the Cleveland Indians.
In 1959, he went to the Chicago White Sox as vice president, then
retired to go into private business.
Baseball Hall of Fame

Last edited by on Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:50 pm; edited 1 time in total

From: http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Hank_Greenberg_1911

Hank Greenberg

Although he missed time through injuries, military service, and early retirement, Greenberg still ranks as one of the most fearsome sluggers in baseball history. The powerful righthander played only the equivalent of nine-and-a-half seasons, yet produced outstanding career totals as well as exceptional season marks.

A native New Yorker, Greenberg was the son of Rumanian-born Jewish immigrants who owned a successful cloth-shrinking plant. Hank graduated from James Monroe High School in the Bronx, then attended New York University on an athletic scholarship for one semester before beginning his professional baseball career. The 6'4" 215-lb Greenberg's athletic success stemmed from size, strength, and hard work, more than native talent. His high school coach explained: "Hank was so big for his age and so awkward that he became painfully self-conscious. The fear of being made to look foolish drove him to practice constantly and, as a result, to overcome his handicaps."

Greenberg tried out for the New York Giants but Giants Manager John McGraw, although constantly on the lookout for a Jewish star to attract New York's large Jewish population and impressed by Greenberg's powerful hitting, decided Hank was too clumsy and uncoordinated to help the Giants. Hank turned down a lucrative offer from the Yankees, realizing there would be little chance of making the ML with Lou Gehrig on first for the Bombers. He also rejected overtures from the Senators, who had Joe Judge. In January 1930 he signed with the Tigers.

After several minor league stops, he was called up to the Tigers in 1933. Still awkward in the field, though quick on his feet, he showed line-drive power, with 33 doubles, 12 homers, and a .301 batting average. In 1934 he cracked a league-leading 63 doubles and batted .339 with 26 homers and 139 RBI as the Tigers won the AL pennant. In the WS loss to the Gashouse Gang Cardinals, he hit .321 but struck out nine times.

The Tigers repeated as AL champs in 1935, spurred by Greenberg's league-topping 36 homers and 170 RBI. He was named AL MVP. He suffered a broken wrist in the second game of the WS and watched from the sideline as the Tigers defeated the Cubs. Off to an excellent start in 1936, with 16 RBI in 12 games, he broke the same wrist in a collision at first base and missed the rest of the season, amid speculation that his career was over.

Instead, he rebounded with 183 RBI in 1937, the third-highest total ever. He also hit 40 homers and batted .337. The next season he made a determined assault on Babe Ruth's 60 home run record. With five games to go, he had 58, to tie Jimmie Foxx's record for righthanded hitters, but he was unable to add to that total. He set a record for most multi-homer games in a season, with eleven.

In 1940, Greenberg shifted from his hard-won first base position to left field to enable the Tigers to find a regular lineup spot for hard-hitting but poor-fielding Rudy York. The result was a Detroit pennant, breaking the Yankees' streak of four straight pennants. Many credited Greenberg's willingness and ability to learn a completely new position as the key factor in Detroit's success. He hit .340 and led the AL in doubles (50), home runs (41), and RBI (150), and earned his second MVP award.

Greenberg, then a bachelor, was one of the first major leaguers inducted into the service, entering 19 games into the 1941 season. He was discharged from the army on December 5, 1941, two days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He immediately enlisted as an officer
candidate in the Air Corps. Hank served with distinction in the Far East until his discharge in mid-1945. He returned with a bang, with a home run in his first game. His grand slam on the final day of the season won the pennant for the Tigers. In the WS win over the Cubs, he hit two more homers and batted in seven runs.

He led the AL in homers (44) and RBI (127) again in 1946, but a salary dispute developed with the Tigers during the season. Rather than raise his salary, Detroit waived him out of the AL to Pittsburgh. Greenberg deeply resented learning of the deal from the radio rather than being informed in advance of the public announcement. The Pirates coaxed him into playing the 1947 season with a complicated contract that netted him between $100,000 and $145,000, making him the NL's first $100,000 player. A bullpen was built in front of Forbes Field's distant left field wall and fans quickly labeled it "Greenberg Gardens." Although he hit a disappointing .249, he contributed 25 home runs and served as a gate instructor. More important, he served as hitting instructor and advisor to his protege and friend, young Ralph Kiner. When Greenberg retired after the 1947 season, the left field bullpen became known as "Kiner's Korner."

In 1948 Cleveland owner Bill Veeck hired Greenberg as farm system director. He became general manager in 1950 and built the team that derailed the Yankees' string of pennants in 1954. Unable to purchase stock in the Indians, he moved to the White Sox as part owner and vice president as that team won the 1959 pennant. He retired from baseball in 1963 to become a successful investment banker.

Burial:
HANK
GREENBERG: HILLSIDE MEMORIAL PARK, CULVER CITY, CA

Subject: Re: Hank Greenberg - 1935 & 1940 AL MVP Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:36 pm

Definitely one of my All-Time favoriteTIGER sluggers!!

Oh for those 4 seasons back but God Bless him for serving this country!!

Subject: Re: Hank Greenberg - 1935 & 1940 AL MVP Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:37 pm

Subject: Re: Hank Greenberg - 1935 & 1940 AL MVP Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:50 pm

Greenberg rules

Subject: Re: Hank Greenberg - 1935 & 1940 AL MVP Wed Oct 24, 2007 7:15 pm

Yes he does!!

Subject: Re: Hank Greenberg - 1935 & 1940 AL MVP Wed Oct 24, 2007 7:15 pm

er.....did!!

Subject: Re: Hank Greenberg - 1935 & 1940 AL MVP Sat Nov 03, 2007 7:34 pm

Bump!

Subject: Re: Hank Greenberg - 1935 & 1940 AL MVP Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:14 am

Keep bumpin' baby!!

Subject: Re: Hank Greenberg - 1935 & 1940 AL MVP Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:21 pm

Subject: Re: Hank Greenberg - 1935 & 1940 AL MVP Fri Jun 27, 2008 1:55 pm

Hank Greenberg was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1956. (AP)

06/27/2008 10:00 AM ET
Greenberg's legacy to be celebrated
Tribute in Cooperstown honors Hall of Famer's heritage
By Jack O'Connell / MLB.com

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- A tribute to the career of Hank Greenberg, marking the 75th anniversary of his rookie season in the Major Leagues, will take place this weekend at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

The event is a presentation of Jewish Major Leaguers, Inc., the Newton, Mass., organization that created the two-day "Celebration of American Jews in Baseball" special at the Hall in the summer of 2004.

Greenberg, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1956, is regarded as baseball's greatest Jewish player. The right-handed slugger won the American League Most Valuable Player Award at two positions, as a first baseman in 1935 and as a left fielder in 1940. He batted .313 with 331 home runs and 1,276 RBIs over a 13-season career -- all but one year with the Detroit Tigers -- that was interrupted by four years of military service during World War II.

The program begins at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday with a screening of Aviva Kempner's film, "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg," at the Bullpen Theater, to be followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience. A panel discussion will begin at 9:10 a.m. Sunday in the Grandstand Theater.

Fellow Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, 85, a teammate of Greenberg's with the Pittsburgh Pirates in his final season as a player in 1947, will be among the speakers, along with former Tigers pitcher Virgil "Fire" Trucks, 91.

Other panelists will include Kempner; Pulitzer Prize winner Ira Berkow, former New York Times sports columnist and co-author of Greenberg's 1989 autobiography; Alva Greenberg, Hank's daughter; social and sports historian Bill Simons of the State University of New York-Oneonta, and Dr. Martin Abramowitz, founder and president of Jewish Major Leaguers, Inc.

Author-historian Marty Appel, a former public relations director and television producer for the New York Yankees, will serve as moderator following welcoming remarks from Hall president Jeff Idelson.

A book signing in the Library Atrium will follow from 12:15-12:45 p.m. A second showing of "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg" will be at 1:30 p.m. in the Bullpen Theater.

The event is free of charge but will require a ticket that can be reserved by calling the Membership department at 607-547-0397.

Greenberg, who drove in 183 runs in 1937 and hit 58 home runs in 1938, is one of four Jews elected to the Hall of Fame. The others are pitcher Sandy Koufax, former Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss (to be inducted next month) and shortstop Lou Boudreau, whose mother was Jewish. After his playing career, Greenberg was general manager of the Cleveland Indians and co-owner with Bill Veeck of the Indians and Chicago White Sox.

"We honor Hank Greenberg for what he did for a generation of Jewish youngsters, many first-generation Americans who were learning baseball and looked with pride to the great slugger star of the Tigers," Abramowitz said. "His refusal to play on Yom Kippur, his standing up to anti-Semitism, and the stature he brought to our national pastime made him then -- and now -- a role model for the ages."

In a letter to Jewish Major Leaguers, Inc., Commissioner Bud Selig wrote, "Alongside the likes of Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron, Hank Greenberg is another player who surely would appear on my personal list of favorites. Hank was a magnificent player, a true Hall of Famer. A two-time American League MVP, Hank played on four AL pennant winners and two world championship clubs with the Tigers (1935, 1945).

"But to talk solely about his exploits on the field would be a disservice. Hank's career reflected the times in which he lived. Hank Greenberg served his country with honor, overcame the ignorance that marked the times and blazed trails during his wonderfully rich life."

Jack O'Connell is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Subject: Re: Hank Greenberg - 1935 & 1940 AL MVP Fri Jun 27, 2008 2:13 pm

There was a well-received documentary made about him - The Hank Greenberg Story that might be worth a watch. I bought the DVD months ago but still haven't seen it.
_________________
Coming soon: A better signature!