Roy Allen Hartzell (July 6, 1881 – November 6, 1961) was an American professional baseball player who played 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 ...

(MLB) from 1906 to 1916. Hartzell started his career with the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

(now known as the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

), and was later traded to the New York Highlanders (also now known the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

) for two other players,

Jimmy Austin James Phillip Austin (December 8, 1879 – March 6, 1965) was a Welsh professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman for the New York Highlanders and St. Louis Browns from 1909 through 1923, 1925 ...

and Frank LaPorte.

Early life

Hartzell was born on July 6, 1881, in Golden, Colorado. His parents were James and Nellie Hartzell, who were both from Illinois. James G. Hartzell was an

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

veteran who died and was buried in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He had two brothers, Lester and Harry. Hartzell played baseball and football in the

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

area. He worked in the smelters in Montana before signing with the pros. He later married Ella Stebbins in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in April 1911.

Major Leagues

Hartzell was 24 years old when he played his first game in the big leagues on April 17, 1906, with the St. Louis Browns. He played many positions including at

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 ...

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

, and in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In bat and ball games ...

in each of his 11 seasons of baseball. Hartzell played in 1,290 games with a lifetime

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 ...

of .252. His last MLB game was on July 25, 1916. He signed on to play for the 1917 Toledo Iron Men of the American Association.

Accomplishments

On July 12, 1911 when Hartzell was the cleanup hitter, he hit a 3-run double and another double in the same inning, then added a sacrifice fly and a grand slam, driving in a total of 8 runs. It was a Major League Baseball record until

Jimmie Foxx James Emory Foxx (October 22, 1907 – July 21, 1967), nicknamed "Double X" and "the Beast", was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red ...

hit 9 runs batted in during a game in 1933. Hartzell's 595 at-bats for the Browns led 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 1909, and his 91 RBI for New York in 1911 were the most by a player in the Yankees' first 13 years.

Later years

Hartzell died on November 6, 1961, in

Golden, Colorado Golden is a home rule city that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,399 at the 2020 United States census. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Moun ...

References

External links