Harold Bell "Rowdy" Elliott (July 8, 1890 – February 12, 1934) was 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 ...

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 Boston Doves,

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 ...

and

Brooklyn Robins The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brookl ...

in parts of five seasons spanning 1910–1920. Listed at 5' 9", 160 lb., Elliott batted and threw right handed. He was born in

Kokomo, Indiana Kokomo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States. Its population was 60,093 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana metropolitan area, Kokomo metropol ...

. Elliott spent 23 years in baseball between 1907 and 1929, which included his five in the majors and 20 in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

, while losing most of 1918 when he joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. On February 23, 1920, Elliott married Helena McKerman, a native of

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

, in

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and List ...

. He died at the age of 43 at Harbor Hospital in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

from injuries received in a fall from an apartment house window. The circumstances of his death are still a mystery.

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1890 births 1934 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War I Baseball players from Indiana Birmingham Barons players Boston Doves players Brooklyn Robins players Chicago Cubs players Columbus Senators players Major League Baseball catchers Nashville Vols players Newark Bears (International League) players Oakland Oaks (baseball) managers Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Sportspeople from Kokomo, Indiana Pittsfield Hillies players Portland Beavers players Providence Grays (minor league) players Sacramento Senators players Shreveport Sports players Springfield Senators players Toledo Mud Hens players Venice Tigers players Kewanee Boilermakers players Charleston Broom Corn Cutters players Accidental deaths from falls Salisbury Colonials players Burials at San Francisco National Cemetery 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-catcher-1890s-stub