| Larry Gardner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Third baseman | |
| Born:(1886-05-13)May 13, 1886 Enosburg Falls, Vermont, U.S. | |
| Died: March 11, 1976(1976-03-11) (aged 89) St. George, Vermont, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 25, 1908, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 6, 1924, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .289 |
| Home runs | 27 |
| Runs batted in | 934 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
William Lawrence Gardner (May 13, 1886 – March 11, 1976) was an Americanthird baseman inMajor League Baseball. From 1908 through 1924, Gardner played for theBoston Red Sox,Philadelphia Athletics, andCleveland Indians. He was a four-time World Series champion.
Gardner was born inEnosburg, Vermont, and attended Enosburg High School. He began playing baseball in the Franklin County League and attended theUniversity of Vermont where he played baseball for three years.[1] He was the first player out of the University of Vermont to play in theAmerican League. Gardner was signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1908, and played his first professional game on June 25, 1908.[2]
He played most of his prime in thedead-ball era, as the third baseman on several successful Red Sox teams. He helped the Red Sox to victories in the1912,1915, and1916 World Series. He led Boston with 5 RBIs in the 1912 Series and hit his team's only home run. In the 10th inning of the final game, the same inning that includedFred Snodgrass andChief Meyers making critical fielding mistakes and giving the Red Sox two extra outs to work with, Gardner drove inSteve Yerkes with the series-winning sacrifice fly. He is the only batter to end a World Series with a sacrifice fly.[3] Gardner homered in consecutive games of the 1916 Series, including a three-run inside-the-park homer in Game 4. The two home runs matched his regular season total.
Gardner played a key role on the pennant-winning 1920 Indians, leading the team in RBIs (118) as well as games played (154) and at-bats (597). However, he also was a dismal 3-for-23 in stolen base attempts. He went 5-for-24 in the1920 World Series, which Cleveland won, 5 games to 2. Gardner was on the winning side in all four of his World Series appearances. Gardner batted only .198 (17-for-86) in 25 World Series games but did score 9 runs, with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs, 13 RBI and 4 walks.
His best season was 1921, when he achieved career-highs in batting average (.319), RBIs (120), runs scored (101), and hits (187).
Gardner batted left-handed and threw right-handed. In his 17-season career, Larry Gardner posted a .289batting average with 27home runs and 934RBI in 1923games.
Gardner was inducted into Vermont's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1969.[4] After his retirement, he returned to the University of Vermont as abaseball coach andathletic director from 1929 to 1951.[5]
Gardner died on March 11, 1976, inSt. George, Vermont.
In its December 27, 1999, issue commemorating the millennium,Sports Illustrated named Gardner as one of the Top 50 Vermont athletes of the 20th century.[6] Gardner was inducted to theBoston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2000.[7] In 2012 Gardner was inducted into theVermont Sports Hall of Fame.
The Vermont chapter of theSociety for American Baseball Research, located inBurlington, is named in honor of Gardner.[8]