James Henry "Hub" Hart (February 2, 1878 – October 10, 1960) was a

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 ...

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 ...

who played for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

from 1905 to 1907. Listed at , 170 lbs, Hart batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Hart 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 ...

as halfback at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

and

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Early life

Hart was born in

Everett, Massachusetts Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, directly north of Boston, bordering the neighborhood of Charlestown. The population was 49,075 at the time of the 2020 United States census. Everett was the last city in the ...

on February 2, 1878. He played football at Everett High School and began his collegiate career at Boston College, where he played with fellow Georgetown back Joseph Reilly.

Football

In 1901, Hart enrolled at Georgetown to study

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

. On November 16, 1901, he solidified himself in Georgetown football history by scoring all three of his team's

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s in a 17–16 win over the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

.Ferraro, Bill
"James (Hub) Hart (D'1905)"
. ''hoyafootball.com''. Retrieved 2010-11-07. He was selected All-Southern in 1901. Hart was named team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 10 – The Aceh Sultanate was fully annexed by the Dutch forces, deposing the last sultan, marking the end of the Aceh War that have lasted for al ...

. That season, he had a 99-yard run from scrimmage against

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

; this is still a school record. His nickname, "Hub", originated from his central position on most of the team's plays. He was elected to the Georgetown Hall of Fame. In 1910, Hart served as the head football coach at

in 1910, compiling a record of 0–4–2.

Head coaching record

Baseball

Hart also played on Georgetown's baseball team and was considered the best college catcher in the country. He signed with the Chicago White Sox in June 1905 and appeared in 11 games his rookie year. He was the team's backup catcher in 1906 and 1907 behind fellow Georgetown School of Dentistry alum

Doc White Guy Harris "Doc" White (April 9, 1879 – February 19, 1969) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago White Sox during his career, which lasted from 1901 to 1913. ...

. During the offseason, Hart worked as a dentist in

Melrose, Massachusetts Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population as of the 2020 census was 29,817. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston. It is situate ...

. From 1908 to 1910, he played for the Montgomery Senators/Climbers of the

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

. He received a tryout for the

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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

in 1911, but did not make the team. He instead played for the Utica Utes of the

New York–Pennsylvania League New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

. He split the 1912 season with the

Sacramento Sacts Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 popul ...

of 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 ...

and the Manistee Champs of the

Michigan State League The Michigan State League was a minor league baseball league that operated in various seasons between 1889 and 1941. The league franchises were based exclusively in Michigan, with the league forming on six different occasions. Twenty two different ...

. After his playing career ended, Hart settled in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

, where he managed a semipro team known as the Fort Wayne Cubs or Hart's Cubs and owned a

billiard hall A billiard hall, also known as a pool hall, snooker hall, pool room or pool parlour, is a place where people get together for playing cue sports such as pool, snooker or carom billiards. Such establishments commonly serve alcohol and often ha ...

. In 1934, he was president of the Fort Wayne Chiefs of the

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

. Hart died on October 10, 1960 in Fort Wayne. He was buried at Greenlawn Memorial Park in Fort Wayne.

MLB batting statistics

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Hub 1878 births 1960 deaths All-Southern college football players American football halfbacks Baseball players from Everett, Massachusetts Boston College Eagles football coaches Boston College Eagles football players Coaches of American football from Massachusetts Chicago White Sox players Georgetown Hoyas football players Major League Baseball catchers Manistee Champs players Montgomery Climbers players Players of American football from Everett, Massachusetts Sacramento Sacts players Utica Utes players