Harold Gust Carlson (May 17, 1892 – May 28, 1930) was a professional baseball
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 ...
in the Major Leagues from 1917 to 1930, 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 part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...
,
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...
and
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...
.
Carlson used his curveball exclusively, owing to his lack of speed. He played seven years for the Pirates, going 42–55, went 42–48 in four years with the Phillies, and had a mark of 30–17 with the Cubs in four years. He had his most wins in 1926, with 17 (along with 12 losses). He had a career best 2.23 ERA in 1919.
He was a strong hitting pitcher in his 14-year major league career, posting a .223
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 i ...
(159-for-712) scoring 58
runs, with 5
home runs
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 ...
and 72
RBI
RBI most often refers to:
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*Run batted in
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and drawing 24
bases on balls
A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Sec ...
. He had 13 RBI in both 1926 and '27. He was also good fielding his position, recording a .971
fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...
which was 12 points higher than the league average at his position.
Death
At 3:00 p.m. on May 28, 1930, Carlson was complaining of stomach pains and called a doctor. Approximately 35 minutes after the team physician was called, Carlson died, just as he was being moved to hospital. He was 38 at the time of his death. According to the physician, Carlson died of a
stomach hemorrhage. He left behind a wife and a child.
Carlson is buried at Arlington Memorial Park Cemetery in Rockford, Illinois.
See also
*
List of baseball players who died during their careers
This is a list of baseball players who died during their careers. These deaths occurred during a game, due to illness, results of accidents, acts of violence, or suicide.
Repeated studies have shown that Major League Baseball players have a greate ...
References
External links
*
1892 births
1930 deaths
Major League Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from Illinois
Chicago Cubs players
Philadelphia Phillies players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Sportspeople from Rockford, Illinois
Rockford Wolverines players
Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players
Rockford Wolves players
Rockford Wakes players
Grand Rapids Black Sox players
Wichita Falls Spudders players
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