Urban John Hodapp (September 26, 1905 – June 14, 1980) 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 ...

player in the 1920s and 1930s, mostly 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 ...

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). He primarily played

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

, and was a solid

contact hitter Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * ...

, with a .311

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 ...

over nine major league seasons.

Career

Hodapp was first signed to the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

in 1924, and he made his major league debut with the

in 1925. He was traded along with Bob Seeds to 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 ...

in exchange for Bill Cissell and Jim Moore in 1932. A year later, he was traded with Seeds 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 ...

. In 1933, he was traded to the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

, who sold him to the

Columbus Red Birds The Columbus Red Birds were a top-level minor league baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, in the American Association from 1931 through 1954. The Columbus club, a member of the Association continuously since 1902, was previously known as ...

before he played a game. He finished the season with the Single-A

Knoxville Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

. Hodapp's best year was in 1930, when he batted .354 with 121 runs batted in, leading 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 ...

in hits (225) and doubles (51). Hodapp struck out only 136 times in 2,826 at-bats in his career, or once every 20.8 at-bats. During his nine-year career, Hodapp appeared in 791 games and had a .311 batting average (880-2826) with 28 home runs and 429 RBI. His career numbers include 378 runs, 169 doubles, 34 triples, 18 stolen bases and 163 walks for a .350

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

and .425

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

. He recorded a .964

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 ...

Personal life

Hodapp was born on September 26, 1905, in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. His father was John Hodapp, an

undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker or mortician (American English), is a professional who has licenses in funeral arranging and embalming (or preparation of the deceased) involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks o ...

born in Cincinnati of immigrant parents from Stadelhofen

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

, Germany, and his mother was Lena (Helena) Kneuven, born in Carthage (Cincinnati) Ohio, of Lower Saxon and Dutch immigrant parents. He had two younger brothers, Clifford B. and John W. ("Bill"). His brother Cliff played for the 1928

Quincy Indians The Quincy Indians were a minor league baseball team that existed from 1928 to 1933. They were located in Quincy, Illinois. From 1928 to 1932, they played in the Class B Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League, and in 1933, they played in the Class B Mis ...

. Hodapp was raised in the

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

neighborhood of Cincinnati and attended St. Xavier High School. Hodapp married Martha Garaghan of

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

on November 3, 1931, and together they had five children. He worked as a funeral director at the family funeral home after retiring from baseball. He died on June 14, 1980.

Sources

Biography at the Society for American Baseball Research
*

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hodapp, Johnny Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Baseball players from Cincinnati 1905 births 1980 deaths Cleveland Indians players Chicago White Sox players Boston Red Sox players Indianapolis Indians players Columbus Red Birds players Knoxville Smokies players St. Xavier High School (Ohio) alumni

Career

Personal life

See also

Sources

References

External links