August Julius "Gus" Hetling (November 21, 1885 – October 13, 1962) was a 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 ...

player from 1904 to 1917. He appeared in two games for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

in October 1906 and played 14 years of minor league baseball, including three seasons in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

(1904–06), four years in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

(1907–1908, 1915–1916), and four years with the

Oakland Oaks Oakland Oaks may refer to one of the following sport teams, listed chronologically: *Oakland Oaks (PCL), a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955 *Oakland Oaks (ice hockey), a professional ice hockey te ...

in the

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

(1911–14). After compiling more than 200 hits and a .297

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

in 1912, he was selected as the Most Valuable Player in the Pacific Coast League.

Early years

Hetling was born in November 1885 at

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. His father, Henry Hetling, was born in Missouri in 1856, and his mother, Bertha Hetling, was also a Missouri native born in 1865. At the time of the 1900 U.S. Census, the family lived in St. Louis, and Hetling's father was employed as a day laborer.

Baseball player

Major leagues

Hetling played only one day in

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 ...

, appearing as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

in both games of a double-header for the

on October 6, 1906. Hetling had one hit in seven at bats for a .143 batting average. He handled five

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

with three putouts, two assists, and no errors.

Minor leagues

Hetling spent most of his baseball career, totaling 14 years, in the minor leagues. He played for the

Springfield Midgets The Springfield Midgets were a minor league baseball team that played from 1903 to 1904 in the Missouri Valley League and from 1906 to 1909 and 1921 to 1930 in the Western Association. Based in Springfield, Missouri, they were affiliated with the St ...

(1904, 1906), Springfield Highlanders (1906), Wichita Jobbers (1907–08), Kansas City Blues (1909), and

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Co ...

(1910). In 1906, he had 30 doubles, 12 triples and three home runs in 140 games for Wichita. In 1908, he hit .318 in 140 games for Wichita. His .318 batting average was second best in the

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Wester ...

in 1908, and he led the league with 116 hits. Early in the 1909 season, while Hetling was playing for Kansas City in the American Association, ''Sporting Life'' wrote:

"Gus Hetling is the real article at third. Here is the star of the flock of Blue 1909 recruits. Hetling is a finished product. He handles himself with natural ease born of ability and confidence. He wings the pill to first with unerring accuracy, although he has a peculiar motion in throwing. In the exhibition games he has been hitting as if he intends to show the A. A. pitchers a sample of the .318 batting pace he stepped in the Western Association."

He spent several years of his career in the

playing for the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

in 1910, the

from 1911 to 1914, and the

Vernon Tigers The Vernon Tigers were a Minor League Baseball team that represented Vernon, California in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1909 to 1925. The team won back-to-back PCL pennants in 1919 and 1920. The Tigers, together with the Sacramento Solons, ...

in 1915. He appeared in a career high 202 games with 708 at bats and a .297 batting average for the Oaks in 1912. He helped lead the Oaks to the 1912 Pacific Coast League pennant and was selected as the Most Valuable Player in the league by a vote of the league's six official scorers. He was given an automobile for winning the MVP award. Hetling concluded his career with the Wichita Witches (1915–16) and

San Antonio Bronchos The San Antonio Bronchos were a minor league baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas, that played in the South Texas League (1903–1906) and Texas League (1907–1919). The team was also known as the Mustangs (1903–04), Warriors (1905), and A ...

(1917).

Family and later years

In September 1918, and at the time of the 1920 and 1930 U.S. Censuses, Hetling was living in

, with his wife Rose E. (Young) Hetling. He was employed in 1918 as a salesman, in 1920 as a travelling salesman, and in 1930 in the cigar business.Census entry for Gus Hetling, age 45, born in Missouri. Source Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: Wichita, Sedgwick, Kansas; Roll: 720; Page: 20B; Enumeration District: 0041; Image: 43.0; FHL microfilm: 2340455. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census atabase on-line Hetling died in October 1962 at Wichita, Kansas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hetling, Gus Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball third basemen Baseball players from St. Louis 1885 births 1962 deaths Springfield Midgets players Wichita Jobbers players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Portland Beavers players Spokane Indians players Oakland Oaks (baseball) managers Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Venice Tigers players Vernon Tigers players Wichita Witches players Colorado Springs Millionaires players San Antonio Bronchos players Iola Gasbags players