Hank Helf
| Hank Helf | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Catcher | |||
|
Born: August 26, 1913 Austin, Texas | |||
|
Died: October 27, 1984 (aged 71) Austin, Texas | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| May 5, 1938, for the Cleveland Indians | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 29, 1946, for the St. Louis Browns | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .184 | ||
| Hits | 35 | ||
| Runs batted in | 22 | ||
| Teams | |||
Henry Hartz Helf (August 26, 1913 – October 27, 1984) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians in 1938 and 1940 and the St. Louis Browns in 1946.[1] From 1944 to 1945, Helf served in the military during World War II.[2]
On August 20, 1938, as part of a publicity stunt by the Come to Cleveland Committee, Helf, along with Indians' catcher, Frankie Pytlak, caught baseballs dropped from Cleveland's 708-foot-tall (216 m) Terminal Tower by Indians' third baseman Ken Keltner.[3] The 708-foot (216 m) drop broke the 555-foot, 30-year-old record set by Washington Senator catcher Gabby Street at the Washington Monument.[4] The baseballs were estimated to have been traveling at 138 miles per hour when caught.[3]
References
- ↑ "Hank Helf at Baseball Reference". Baseball Reference. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ↑ The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia. Sterling Publishing. 2007. p. 568. ISBN 978-1-4027-4771-7.
- 1 2 Anderson, Bruce (March 11, 1985). "When Baseballs Fell From On High, Henry Helf Rose To The Occasion". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
- ↑ Nitz, Jim. "The Baseball Biography Project: Ken Keltner". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference