Grover Allen Hartley (July 2, 1888 – October 19, 1964) was a backup

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

. From

1911 A notable ongoing event was the race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * Ja ...

through

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a max ...

, he played for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

(1911–13, 1924–26), St. Louis Terriers (1914–15), St. Louis Browns (1916–17, 1934),

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

(1927) and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

(1930). Hartley batted and threw right-handed. He was born in

Osgood, Indiana Osgood is a town in Center Township, Ripley County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 1,624 at the 2010 census. History Osgood was platted in 1854 when the railroad was extended to that point. The town was named for A. L. Osgood ...

. In a 14-season career, Hartley was a .268

hitter In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, to driv ...

with three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

s and 144

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

in 569

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Baseball ...

Hartley was a catcher with good defensive skills as he took responsibility for getting the most out of his

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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, who attempts to e ...

s, and worked hard at ensuring their success. He debuted with the New York Giants in 1911, appearing in part of three seasons. In 1914 he jumped to the outlaw

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

, becoming a regular with the St. Louis Terriers for the next two years, and later shared catching tenures for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, and new stints with the Giants and Browns, retiring at the end of the 1934 season. Between his stints with the Browns and Giants, he spent seven years in the minor leagues with the

Columbus Senators The Columbus Senators Minor league baseball team was created in as a founding member of the Tri-State League. After that, the Senators played in the Western League (1897-1899), Interstate League (1900), Western Association (1901), and Ame ...

. In 1935 Hartley became an

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

. He also managed in the minors and coached for the Giants, Browns,

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

and

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

. Hartley died in Daytona Beach, Florida, at the age of 76.

Notes

External links

Baseball ReferenceBaseball AlmanacGrover Hartley
- Baseballbiography.com

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartley, Grover Boston Red Sox players Cleveland Indians players New York Giants (NL) players New York Giants (NL) coaches St. Louis Browns players St. Louis Terriers players Major League Baseball catchers 1888 births 1964 deaths People from Ripley County, Indiana St. Louis Browns coaches Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Cleveland Indians coaches Minor league baseball managers Battle Creek Crickets players Toledo Mud Hens players Springfield Senators players Decatur Commodores players Columbus Senators players Indianapolis Indians players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Findlay Browns players Findlay Oilers players Baseball players from Indiana Lima Chiefs players Marion Cardinals players Marion Diggers players