Harry Gumbert

Harry Gumbert
Pitcher
Born: (1909-11-05)November 5, 1909 Elizabeth, Pennsylvania
Died: January 4, 1995(1995-01-04) (aged 85) Wimberley, Texas
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 12, 1935, for the New York Giants
Last MLB appearance
April 29, 1950, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	143–113
Earned run average	3.68
Strikeouts	709
Teams
New York Giants (1935–1941) St. Louis Cardinals (1941–1944) Cincinnati Reds (1944, 1946–1949) Pittsburgh Pirates (1949–1950)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1942)

Harry Edwards Gumbert (November 5, 1909 – January 4, 1995), nicknamed "Gunboat", was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball whose career extended for 21 professional seasons, including 15 years and 508 games pitched in the big leagues. Born in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, he threw right-handed and was listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and 185 pounds (84 kg).

Pitching career

Gumbert's career began in 1930 in minor league baseball, and after winning 19 games for the International League edition of the Baltimore Orioles in 1935, Gumbert was acquired by the New York Giants late in that season.

Gumbert was a member of the Giants' 1936–37 National League champions, as both a starting pitcher and reliever. He worked in relief in both the 1936 World Series and the 1937 Fall Classic, and was treated harshly by the victorious New York Yankees, allowing 12 hits and 12 earned runs in four total games pitched and 3⅓ innings. Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in May 1941, he worked for two more pennant winners and compiled a stellar .667 winning percentage (34–17) and earned run average (2.91) as a Redbird. He also made a brief appearance (two-thirds of an inning pitched, and no earned runs allowed) in the 1942 World Series, in which the Cardinals defeated the Yankees in five games. Gumbert spent his final five seasons in MLB with the second division Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates. As a reliever with Cincinnati, he led the NL in games pitched (61), games finished (46) and saves (17) in 1948. He missed the 1945 season while serving in the United States Army.

In his 15-season big league career, Gumbert compiled a 143–113 win–loss record, allowing 2,186 hits and 721 bases on balls in 2,156 innings pitched. He struck out 709, and registered 96 complete games, 13 shut outs and 46 career saves. Gumbert was known as one of the best fielding pitchers of his time. In 1938 he set a National League record for assists by a pitcher, recording 10 on May 23. Two of his great uncles, Ad Gumbert and Billy Gumbert, were also Major League Baseball pitchers.

See also

Gumbert in 1949

• List of Major League Baseball saves champions
• List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
• Harry Gumbert at Find a Grave
• The Editors of Total Baseball (2000). Baseball:The Biographical Encyclopedia. pp. 451–452. ISBN 1-892129-34-5. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help); |work= ignored (help)

Further reading

• Van Blair, Rick (1994). Dugout to Foxhole: Interviews with Baseball Players Whose Careers Were Affected by World War II. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company Publishers.