George Joseph "Chippy" Gaw (March 13, 1892 – May 5, 1968) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

and college

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

and baseball coach. He appeared in six

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

games for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

in 1920.

Biography

A native of

West Newton, Massachusetts West Newton is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Among the oldest of the thirteen Newton villages, the West Newton Village Center is a National Register Historic Distric ...

, Gaw was a high school baseball and hockey star for Newton, and began playing minor league baseball at age 19. Throughout the 1910s, he played for the Brockton Shoemakers and

Worcester Busters The Worcester Busters was an American baseball team which played at Boulevard Park, Worcester, Massachusetts. They played in Class B of the New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball tha ...

of the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

, and the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, and

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. Along the way, he received his degree in dentistry from

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

. Gaw made his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs in the 1920 season. He pitched in six major league games for the Cubs, posting a 4.85 ERA in 13 innings of work, and recording one hit and one run in four plate appearances. Gaw's longest outing for Chicago came on June 11 when he tossed 7.1 innings in relief of Speed Martin against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in an 8-3 Cubs loss at the

Baker Bowl National League Park, commonly referred to as the Baker Bowl after 1923, was a baseball stadium home to the Philadelphia Phillies from 1887 until 1938, and the first home field of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1933 to 1935. It opened in 1887 with ...

. The Cubs sent Gaw down to the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

in July. He spent 1921 with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

of the American Association, his final season in professional baseball. After his professional playing career, Gaw went on to coach at the collegiate level. He was head ice hockey coach at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

(1921–1922),

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

(1922–1924) and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

(1924–1928), and also coached baseball at BU. In 1926, he pitched and was the player-manager for Falmouth in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

, where his star player was future major leaguer

Josh Billings Henry Wheeler Shaw (April 21, 1818October 14, 1885), better known by the pen name Josh Billings, was a 19th-century American humorist and lecturer. Biography Shaw was born in Lanesborough, Massachusetts on April 21, 1818. His father was ...

. At Falmouth, Gaw was described as "a brainy ball player, an excellent pitcher, avinga wonderful and most pleasing personality, and a gentleman par excellence at all times." Gaw died in 1968.

Head coaching record

Ice hockey

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaw, Chippy 1892 births 1968 deaths Baseball players from Newton, Massachusetts Boston University Terriers baseball coaches Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey coaches Cape Cod Baseball League coaches Cape Cod Baseball League players (pre-modern era) Chicago Cubs players Dartmouth Big Green men's ice hockey coaches Falmouth Commodores players Major League Baseball pitchers Princeton Tigers men's ice hockey coaches Tufts University alumni MIT Engineers men's ice hockey coaches Brockton Shoemakers players