John Patrick Grabowski (January 7, 1900 – May 23, 1946) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

player. He played professional baseball for 12 years from 1922 to 1933, including seven years 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 catcher ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

with 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) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

(1924–1926),

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

(1927–1929), and

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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1931). He was a member of the

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

and 1928 New York Yankees teams that won consecutive World Series championships. Grabowski was one of a number of American athletes in the first half of the 20th century to be nicknamed "Nig", being referred to as such in newspaper reports as early as October 1924.

Early years

Grabowski was born in

Ware, Massachusetts Ware is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,066 as of 2020. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The census-designated place of Ware, comprising the main settle ...

, in 1900 to a family of Polish descent.

Professional baseball

Grabowski began his professional baseball career in 1922 with the St. Joseph Saints, then spent 1923 and 1924 with the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the American Association. He was traded to the

in July 1924 and made his major league debut that month. Grabowski played for the White Sox for three years, from 1924 to 1926, appearing in 89 games, 78 of them as a catcher. One of the games Grabowski caught was

Ted Lyons Theodore Amar Lyons (December 28, 1900 – July 25, 1986) was an American professional baseball starting pitcher, manager and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in 21 MLB seasons, all with the Chicago White Sox. He is the franchise le ...

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher w ...

on August 21, 1926. In January 1927, the White Sox traded Grabowski to the

. He had his best season for the 1927 " Murderer's Row"

, considered by some to be the best baseball team in history. Grabowski appeared in 70 games for the 1927 Yankees, sharing the catching duty with Pat Collins and

Benny Bengough Bernard Oliver "Benny" Bengough (July 27, 1898 – December 22, 1968) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played the majority of his Major League Baseball career as a catcher for the New York Yankees during the 1920s when ...

in 1927. Grabowski had a .350 on-base percentage for the 1927 Yankees. He remained with the Yankees through the 1929 season and won two

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...

championships with the Yankees in 1927 and 1928. After spending 1930 with the St. Paul Saints, Grabowski returned to the major leagues in 1931 with the

. He appeared in 40 games with the Tigers, 39 as a catcher. He appeared in his last major league game in September 1931. In seven major league seasons, Grabowski appeared in 296 games, 282 as a catcher, and compiled a career .252 batting average and .295

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

. Grabowski concluded his playing career playing for the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league baseball, minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm system, farm club (Triple-A (base ...

of the

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 level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

in 1932 and 1933.

Later years

After retiring as a player, Grabowski became an umpire in the

Canadian–American League The Canadian–American League, nicknamed the Can-Am League, was a class C level minor league baseball circuit which ran from 1936 through 1951, with a three-year break during World War II. Teams * Amsterdam Rugmakers, 1938–1942, 1946–1 ...

(1937), Eastern League (1938–1939), and International League (1940–1941). He suffered severe burns in 1946 after a fire at his home in

Guilderland, New York Guilderland is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Albany County, New York, United States. In the 2020 census, the town had a population of 36,848. The town is named for the Gelderland province in the Netherlands. The town of Gui ...

. He died at St. Peter's Hospital in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Ci ...

, at age 46.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grabowski, Johnny 1900 births 1946 deaths Chicago White Sox players Detroit Tigers players New York Yankees players Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from Massachusetts Accidental deaths in New York (state) St. Joseph Saints players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Montreal Royals players People from Ware, Massachusetts People from Guilderland, New York Deaths from fire in the United States American people of Polish descent American expatriate baseball players in Canada