Harry Lee "Peanuts" Lowrey (August 27, 1917 – July 2, 1986) was an American
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...
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 ...
who played for the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
(1942–43; 1945–49),
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
(1949–50),
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
(1950–54) and
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
(1955).
He was born in
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...
and attended
Alexander Hamilton High School in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. He was nicknamed as a child by an uncle who, remarking on Lowrey's small size, said, "Why, he's no bigger than a peanut." While Lowrey was growing up in Greater Los Angeles, he worked as a child actor on the
Our Gang
''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, who also pr ...
comedies.
As a 35-year-old, he was credited for his screen role as a ballplayer, nicknamed "Peanuts," in ''
The Winning Team'', a 1952 biography of
Grover Cleveland Alexander
Grover Cleveland Alexander (February 26, 1887 – November 4, 1950), nicknamed "Old Pete" and "Alexander the Great", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, an ...
that starred
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
in the title role.
Lowrey the ballplayer stood 5 feet, inches (1.74 m) tall, weighed and threw and batted right-handed. In a 13-season career, Lowrey posted a .273
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 ...
with 1,177
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...
, 37
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
s and 479
RBI in 1,401
games played
Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.
Associat ...
. In his late career, he became known as one of the top
pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...
s in the Major Leagues. He set an MLB record with seven consecutive pinch hits in , and the
following season made 21 pinch hits to fall one shy of the then-MLB all-time record.
He missed the season while serving 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 ...
with a military police unit. Lowrey was discharged after six months and rejoined the Cubs in 1945.
Lowrey was the starting
left fielder
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...
for the Cubs in all seven games of the
1945 World Series
The 1945 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1945 season. The 42nd edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. Th ...
, batting .310 (nine for 29) with a
double
Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Multiplication by 2
* Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length
* A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1
* A ...
, and four
runs scored; in Game 7, he was the last Cub to score a run in a World Series until
Kris Bryant
Kristopher Lee Bryant (born January 4, 1992), nicknamed "KB", is an American professional baseball designated hitter, outfielder, and third baseman for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the ...
did so in Game 2 of the
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
Fall Classic.
After a brief
managing
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
career 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 ...
, Lowrey returned to the Major Leagues as a
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Coac ...
with the Phillies (1960–66),
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
(1967–68),
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...
(1969), Cubs (1970–71; 1977–81) and
California Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...
(1972).
Lowrey died in
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...
, at the age of 68 and is buried at
Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.
References
External links
*
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowrey, Peanuts
1917 births
1986 deaths
20th-century American male actors
American male child actors
Austin Senators players
Baseball players from Los Angeles
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
California Angels coaches
Chicago Cubs coaches
Chicago Cubs players
Cincinnati Reds players
Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players
Major League Baseball center fielders
Major League Baseball first base coaches
Major League Baseball outfielders
Major League Baseball left fielders
Major League Baseball third base coaches
Major League Baseball third basemen
Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players
Moline Plowboys players
Montreal Expos coaches
National League All-Stars
New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players
Philadelphia Phillies coaches
Philadelphia Phillies players
Ponca City Angels players
St. Joseph Angels players
St. Louis Cardinals players
San Francisco Giants coaches
Seattle Rainiers players
Alexander Hamilton High School (Los Angeles) alumni
Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players
Baseball players from Culver City, California