| Pinky Hargrave | |
|---|---|
 Pinky Hargrave 1933Goudey baseball card | |
| Catcher | |
| Born:(1896-01-31)January 31, 1896 New Haven, Indiana, U.S. | |
| Died: October 3, 1942(1942-10-03) (aged 46) Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S. | |
Batted: Both Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 18, 1923, for the Washington Senators | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 23, 1933, for the Boston Braves | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .278 |
| Home runs | 39 |
| Runs batted in | 265 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
William McKinley "Pinky" Hargrave (January 31, 1896 – October 3, 1942) was an Americanbaseballcatcher. He played professional baseball for 19 years from 1919 to 1937, including 10 years inMajor League Baseball with theWashington Senators (1923–1925, 1930–1931),St. Louis Browns (1925–1926),Detroit Tigers (1928–1930), andBoston Braves (1932–1933).
Hargrave was born inNew Haven, Indiana, in 1896.[1] He was the younger brother ofBubbles Hargrave, who was a catcher in the major leagues between 1913 and 1930.[2][3]
Hargrave began playing professional baseball for Waterbury in theEastern League in 1919 and 1920. He next played for theNew Haven Weissmen in the Eastern League from 1920 to 1922. He compiled a .321 batting average for New Haven in 119 games during the 1922 season.[4]
He made his major league debut at age 27 on May 18, 1923, with theWashington Senators.[citation needed] On June 18, 1925, the Senators traded Hargrave andGeorge Mogridge to theSt. Louis Browns forHank Severeid.[5]
In 10 major league seasons, Hargrave played in 650 games (442 as catcher) and hit .278 with a .339 on-base percentage and a .428 slugging percentage. He had 1,452 putouts, 445 hits, 265 RBIs, 246 assists, 177 runs, 146 extra base hits, and 140 walks. He recorded a career .976fielding percentage. His best season was 1929 with the Tigers, when he batted .330. Hargrave played his last major league game on September 23, 1933.[1]
Hargrave continued to play in the minor leagues for five additional years. He played for theMinneapolis Millers from 1934 to 1936 and was selected in 1934, at age 38, as the Most Valuable Player in the American Association after compiling a .356 batting average with 17 home runs.[4][6] He concluded his career with theSyracuse Chiefs in theInternational League in 1938.[4]
After retiring from baseball, Hargrave worked at a municipal light plant inFort Wayne, Indiana.[3] He also worked as an umpire forBig Ten Conference baseball games.[7] He died of a heart attack in November 1942 while helping to convert a Fort Wayne baseball field into a football field.[3]
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