Howard Albert Maple (July 20, 1903 – November 9, 1970) was an American

professional athlete In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger a ...

. He played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

for the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) in 1930 and

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 ...

for the Washington Senators of

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) in 1932. He was a college athlete at then- Oregon State Agricultural College.

Biography

Maple played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

and

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the Oregon State Aggies (now the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...

). As a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

, he led the team to an overall 16–7–1 record for the seasons of 1926 through 1928, and was named a 1928 All-American. Maple is the university's only alumnus to play in both the NFL and MLB. He was inducted to the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

in 1981, and the athletics hall of fame at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

in 1990. In 1930, Maple played in eight games for the

of the NFL. The NFL's website lists him as a wingback. Maple played in

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

from 1930 through 1935, appearing in over 400 minor league games. Listed at and , he batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Maple appeared 44 major league games, all with the 1932 Washington Senators. He posted a .244

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 ...

(10-for-41) with seven RBIs. His best offensive game came on August 31, when he went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored against pitcher Sam Gray, as the Senators defeated the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

, 7–6. Maple appeared in 41 games defensively, all as a

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 catc ...

, handling 39

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 ...

without an

error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

for a 1.000

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

. Maple was born in 1903 in

Adrian, Missouri Adrian is a city in northern Bates County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Its population was 1,730 at the 2020 census. History Adrian was platted in 1880 when the Missouri Pacific Railroad was extende ...

, and graduated from Peoria High School in Illinois. He coached basketball, football, and baseball at

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

from the early 1930s through 1941. During World War II, he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He worked in several jobs after the war, and went on to manage the

Oregon State Fair The Oregon State Fair is the official state fair of the U.S. state of Oregon. It takes place every August–September at the Oregon State Fairgrounds located in north Salem, Oregon, Salem, the state capital, as it has almost every year since 1862 ...

from 1957 to 1967. He was married, and had one daughter and a foster son. Maple died in 1970 in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, and is interred in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

References

External links

*, o
Baseball AlmanacBaseball and Football Players: Played Major League Baseball & National Football League
at

Baseball Almanac Baseball Almanac is an interactive baseball encyclopedia with over 500,000 pages of baseball facts, research, awards, records, feats, lists, notable quotations, baseball movie ratings, and statistics. Its goal is to preserve the history of baseba ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maple, Howard 1903 births 1970 deaths People from Adrian, Missouri Oregon State Beavers baseball players Oregon State Beavers football players Chicago Cardinals players American football running backs Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from Oregon Washington Senators (1901–1960) players 20th-century American sportsmen Bloomington Cubs players Chattanooga Lookouts players Harrisburg Senators players Albany Senators players Keokuk Indians players Rock Island Islanders players United States Army personnel of World War II

Biography

See also

References

External links