Harry Harper
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Harry Clayton Harper (April 24, 1895 – April 23, 1963) 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, ...
, businessman, and politician. He played 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 ...
for the Washington Senators,
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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
,
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
, and Brooklyn Robins between 1913 and 1923. Harper started Game 6 of the
1922 World Series The 1922 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1922 Major League Baseball season, 1922 season. The 19th edition of the World Series, it matched the National League (baseball), National League champion 1922 New ...
for the Yankees. Harper was from
Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is the most populous municipality in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
, and was often called "Hackensack Harry" during and after his baseball career. Harper invested his salaries in his business career while he was a baseball player. After retiring from baseball, Harper entered politics, and won election as
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
of Bergen County as a Republican. He served in the cabinets of Governors Walter Evans Edge and Alfred E. Driscoll, as the Commissioner of Labor and Industry. He also lost elections to the
New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...
and
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
.


Early life

Harper was born on April 24, 1895, in
Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is the most populous municipality in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
, to Elizabeth (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Van Saren) and Henry Clay Harper. He was the second of three sons born to the couple. He started earning money through selling newspapers, coffee, and tea when he was ten years old. Harper's father died when he was 13 years old, and he dropped out of school after the eighth grade to work in a factory in New York City, earning $7 per week ($ in current dollar terms).


Baseball career


Washington Senators

Harper also earned money by playing in semi-professional baseball in Hackensack. Former
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 ...
(MLB) player George Davis watched Harper throw a
no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...
in 1913, when Harper was 18 years old, and scouted Harper for the Washington Senators of the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
. They convinced his mother to give permission for Harper to join the team. Harper made his MLB debut for the Senators on June 27, 1913, pitching three innings as a
relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...
. He played in four games during the 1913 season, with a 3.55 earned run average (ERA) in
innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...
. Harper signed a contract with the Senators in 1914 that contained a clause barring him from pitching on Sundays. He had a 2–1 win–loss record and a 3.47 ERA in 57 innings in 1914, but also committed three errors in 14 total chances. When the Senators needed to reduce their roster size by a mid-May deadline in 1915, they sent Harper to the Minneapolis Millers of the Class AA American Association. He threw a
no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...
for Minneapolis in May, and had a 7–9 record with a 2.81 ERA in 154 innings, while issuing 127 walks. He returned to Washington in July. He had a 4–4 record and a 1.77 ERA in 19 games, 10 games started, for Washington in 1915. Throughout his career, Harper was a bad-luck pitcher either due to injury or playing on a bad baseball team. He played for the Senators for seven seasons. His most productive season came in 1916 with Washington, when he posted career numbers in wins (14),
strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...
s (149) and
innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...
(), while recording a 2.45 ERA. Harper had a 11–12 record and a 3.01 ERA in 31 games, all starts. In 1918, Harper went 11–10 in 244 innings, His 2.18 ERA ranked him sixth between the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
pitchers, while his 13 wild pitches led the league. He had a 6–21 record with a 3.72 ERA for the Senators in 1919; his 21 losses led the league.


Later career

After the 1919 season, the Senators traded Harper, Eddie Foster and Mike Menosky to the
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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
for Braggo Roth and Red Shannon. He had a 5–14 record with a 3.04 ERA for the Red Sox in 1920, which was seventh-best in the league. After the 1920 season, the Red Sox traded Harper, Waite Hoyt, Mike McNally, and Wally Schang to the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
for Del Pratt, Muddy Ruel, Hank Thormahlen, and Sammy Vick. In his first start for the Yankees, on May 13, his thumb was broken by a line drive hit by Eddie Ainsmith. He did not return to the Yankees until August. He started six games for the Yankees in September, finishing the season with a 4–3 record and a 3.76 ERA. The Yankees won the American League pennant and Harper started Game 6 of the 1921 World Series, but did not earn a decision. The Yankees did not use Harper in a game during the 1922 season due to an injury to his pitching hand, and he was released by the team in June 1922. He pitched for a semi-professional team in Hackensack after he was released. Harper signed with the Brooklyn Robins for the 1923 season. He pitched in one game for Brooklyn before he was released, and he returned to playing semi-professional baseball. In May 1924, he joined the Reading Keystones of the Class AA
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 ...
. He continued to pitch and manage in semi-professional baseball for a team based in Hackensack. In a 10-season career, Harper posted a 57–76 record with 623 strikeouts and a 2.87 ERA in 219 appearances, including 171 games started, 66
complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...
s, 12
shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...
s, five saves in 1,256 innings pitched.


Political and business career

With the salary that he drew from the Senators in 1913, Harper purchased a truck and opened a garbage collection business. His fiancé compelled him to sell the business before they married. Harper formed a trucking business in 1922, and requested a leave of absence from the Yankees to pursue it. The company expanded into construction, helped build the Holland Tunnel and moved pipe that was laid from the
Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...
to New York City. In 1925, Harper was elected president of the Hackensack chapter of the
Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. In 1987, the organization ...
Club. He entered local politics in 1927 with a campaign for
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
of Bergen County as a Republican. He defeated Mort O'Connell, the political boss of the Bergen County Democratic Party by around 10,000 votes. He served a three-year term as sheriff, and ran in a
special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
for the
New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...
in 1931, following the expulsion of Ralph W. Chandless. Harper won the Republican nomination by defeating County Judge John Zabriskie with 61% of the vote. Harper lost the general election to William H. J. Ely, a Bergen County District Judge, 52%–48%, during what was a difficult year for Republicans due to the unpopularity of President
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...
's economic policies. In 1934, Governor Harold G. Hoffman appointed Harper to serve on the New Jersey Civil Service Commission. He remained in that role for a decade, until Governor Walter Evans Edge appointed him Commissioner of Labor and Industry in 1944. Alfred E. Driscoll kept Harper in the position after he was elected governor in 1946. In 1948, Harper ran for
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
seat occupied by Albert W. Hawkes, who was retiring, against Driscoll's wishes. Driscoll endorsed Harper's primary opponent, Robert C. Hendrickson, the New Jersey State Treasurer. Hendrickson won the primary by over 60,000 votes, though Harper carried Bergen County in a landslide. Harper resigned from the state cabinet in order to run in a special election in February 1950 for the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
for following the resignation of J. Parnell Thomas. He faced William B. Widnall, a member of the
New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...
. Though Harper had the support of the Bergen County Republicans, he narrowly lost the primary election to Widnall, 50%–40%, a margin of 402 votes.


Personal life and family

Throughout his baseball career, Harper refused to play on Sundays; he held out from the Red Sox after his trade there in part to ensure that clause was added to his contract. Harper became engaged to Bessie (née Brewster) of Hackensack, daughter of Sheriff George Brewster, in October 1917. They were married on February 26, 1918. They had a son, George, and a daughter, Elizabeth. George represented Sussex County in the
New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...
and served as New Jersey Auditor from 1964 to 1974. Harry Harper's grandson, George Jr., became mayor of Sandyston.


Death

Later in life, Harper relocated to the Layton section of Sandyston Township, New Jersey. Harper had surgery at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York, and died in the hospital on April 23, 1963.


References


External links


Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Harry 1895 births 1963 deaths American construction businesspeople American trucking industry businesspeople Boston Red Sox players Brooklyn Robins players Businesspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey Businesspeople from Sussex County, New Jersey Major League Baseball pitchers Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players New Jersey Republicans New Jersey sheriffs New York Yankees players People from Sandyston Township, New Jersey Reading Keystones players Baseball players from Hackensack, New Jersey Washington Senators (1901–1960) players 20th-century American sportsmen Baseball players from Sussex County, New Jersey