| Augie Galan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born:(1912-05-23)May 23, 1912 Berkeley, California, U.S. | |
| Died: December 28, 1993(1993-12-28) (aged 81) Fairfield, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 29, 1934, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 26, 1949, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .287 |
| Home runs | 100 |
| Runs batted in | 830 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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August John Galan (May 23, 1912 – December 28, 1993) was an American professionalbaseballoutfielder,manager andcoach. Heplayed 16 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB) from1934 to1949 for theChicago Cubs,Brooklyn Dodgers,Cincinnati Reds,New York Giants andPhiladelphia Athletics. Galan threw right-handed and began his career as aswitch hitter, however, starting in the latter part of1943, he became strictly a left-handed hitter until the end of his career. He was listed as 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 175 pounds (79 kg).
Galan was born inBerkeley, California, one of eight children. His parents had emigrated fromFrance in the late 19th century, and his father operated a French hand laundry on Berkeley’s University Avenue. At age 11, Augie Galan broke his right elbow playing sandlot ball. He concealed the injury from his parents, fearful of being barred from further play. The arm was never set, or healed improperly, and it was never fully healthy throughout Galan's professional career. He graduated from Berkeley High School.[1][2]
Galan started in the Texas League and graduated from the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in 1932. In 1933 he was PCL Most Valuable Player, and in 1934 was purchased by the Cubs.[2]
In a 16-season big-league career, Galan posted a .287batting average with 1,706hits, 100home runs and 830runs batted in in 1,742games played. He twice led theNational League instolen bases, with 22 thefts in1935 and 23 in1937. He also led the NL inruns scored (133 in1935) andbases on balls (103 in1943 and 101 in1944), and four times exceeded .800 inon-base plus slugging, each time finishing in the NL's top ten in that category.
In 1937, Galan was the first National Leaguer to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in a game.[3] Galan was selected to threeNational LeagueAll-Star teams and homered offSchoolboy Rowe in the1936 game to help power the NL to a 4–3 victory. He also played in threeWorld Series (1935 and1938 with the Cubs, and1941 with the Dodgers), but his teams never won. Galan collected four fall classic hits in 29 totalat bats (.138). He reached the .300 plateau in hitting six times.
In 1935, he became the first full-time player to make 649plate appearances and not hit into a double play,[4] though he hit into one triple play.[5] That year, he led the National League with 133 runs scored. Often injured (he broke his knee in 1940), Galan had a deformed arm from a childhood injury. The knee injury eventually forced him to give up batting from the right side of the plate.
After leaving the major leagues in 1949, Galan returned to theSan Francisco Bay Area and played two more seasons with theOakland Oaks of thePacific Coast League, thenmanaged the club to a 77–103 record (seventh place) in 1953. He joined the Philadelphia Athletics'coaching staff in1954, their last year in that city, and went on to spend 17 years as a minor league coach and manager in the Athletics' organization.[citation needed]
Galan died in 1993 inFairfield, California, at 81 years of age. He was survived by his wife of 40 years, Shirley, and four children.[6]
· Baseball Reference · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet · Baseball Almanac, orSABR Biography Project| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by | Oakland Oaksmanager 1953 | Succeeded by |
