Early life Hartnett was born in
Woonsocket, Rhode Island, as the eldest of 14 children. New York Giants manager
John McGraw sent scout
Jesse Burkett to appraise Hartnett's talent as a player. Burkett reported back to McGraw that Hartnett's hands were too small for a major league catcher. On July 22, O'Farrell suffered a fractured skull during a game against the Boston Braves and Hartnett took over as the Cubs starting catcher, posting a .299
batting average along with 16 home runs and 67
runs batted in. After the retirement of catcher
Bill Killefer, Hartnett became the favorite catcher of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher
Grover Cleveland Alexander and caught Alexander's 300th career win on September 20, 1924. Hartnett played well enough during O'Farrell's absence the Cubs decided to keep him as their starting catcher, trading O'Farrell to the St. Louis Cardinals in May 1925.
Rise to stardom Hartnett hit 24 home runs in 1925, breaking the single-season home run record for catchers set by
Jack Clements in 1893. He finished second overall in the National League behind the 39 home runs hit by
Rogers Hornsby. Although Hartnett led National League catchers in
errors, he also led in
range factor and in
putouts, while his strong throwing arm helped him lead the league in
assists and
caught stealing percentage.
Leo Durocher, who played against Hartnett and was a National League manager during Johnny Bench's career, stated that the two catchers had similarly strong throwing arms. During the major league baseball winter meetings in December 1925, it was rumored Hartnett might be traded to the New York Giants for catcher
Frank Snyder and outfielder
Irish Meusel; however, Cubs president
Bill Veeck Sr., squelched the rumors saying Hartnett would not be traded for anybody. The young catcher had a disappointing year in
1926 as his batting average dropped to .275 with only 41 runs batted in. Hartnett's offensive statistics rebounded in
1927, producing a .294 batting average with 10 home runs and 80 runs batted in. Although he led the league's catchers in putouts, assists and in baserunners caught stealing, his inexperience showed as he also led the league in errors and in passed balls. He finished tenth in the balloting for the 1927 National League
Most Valuable Player Award.
Career prime In
1928, Hartnett hit above .300 for the first time, posting a .302 batting average with 14 home runs. As he matured as a player, he became more disciplined on the field and committed fewer errors. Hartnett struck out in all three of his
at bats in the
1929 World Series against the
Philadelphia Athletics. He rebounded with his best season in
1930, hitting for a .339 batting average with career highs of 122 runs batted in, a .630
slugging percentage and 37 home runs, breaking his own single-season home run record for catchers. His single-season home run record for catchers stood for 23 years, until
Roy Campanella hit 40 home runs in 1953. In a stunt on April 1, 1930, in Los Angeles, he caught a baseball dropped either from a
Goodyear blimp. If dropped from 800 feet, it would have been traveling at the time it was caught. During an exhibition game against the
Chicago White Sox on September 9, 1931, Hartnett was photographed while signing an autograph for gangster
Al Capone. After the photograph was published in newspapers across the United States, Hartnett received a telegram from Baseball Commissioner
Kenesaw Mountain Landis instructing him not to have his photograph taken with Capone in the future. Hartnett was the Cubs' catcher on October 1, in Game 3 of the
1932 World Series against the
New York Yankees when
Babe Ruth hit his debated "called shot." In
1933, Hartnett was selected to be a reserve catcher for the National League team in the inaugural
Major League Baseball All-Star Game held on July 6,
1933. It was the first of six consecutive All-Star game selections for Hartnett. Hartnett was calling the pitches for Carl Hubbell in the 1934 All-Star Game when the Giants pitcher set a record by
striking out future Hall of Fame members
Babe Ruth,
Lou Gehrig,
Jimmie Foxx,
Al Simmons, and
Joe Cronin in succession. Hartnett had another impressive season in
1935 when he produced a .344 batting average, third-highest in the league and led the league's catchers in assists,
double plays, and fielding percentage. He also led the Cubs pitching staff to the lowest earned run average in the league as they won the National League pennant by 4 games over the
St. Louis Cardinals. For his performance, Hartnett was named the recipient of the 1935 National League Most Valuable Player Award. The Cubs lost to the
Detroit Tigers led by
Mickey Cochrane in the
1935 World Series. The Cubs fell to third place in
1936, as Hartnett had a sub-standard year for him, hitting only 7 home runs with 64 runs batted in, although he still hit above .300 with a .307 average, and earned his fourth consecutive All-Star selection. Defensively, he led the league's catchers in fielding percentage, and his pitch-calling skills helped the Cubs pitching staff lead the league with 18
shutouts. In the
1937 All-Star Game, pitcher
Dizzy Dean kept shaking off Hartnett's signs for a
curve ball resulting in a
hit by
Joe DiMaggio, a home run by
Lou Gehrig and finally, a
line drive off the bat of
Earl Averill that struck Dean on his toe. Dean had been one of the preeminent pitchers in the National League until the injury to his toe eventually led to the end of his baseball playing career. His .354 batting average in 1937 was the highest batting average by a major league catcher for 60 years until 1997, when
Mike Piazza posted a .362 average.
Homer in the Gloamin' On July 20,
1938, Cubs owner
Philip K. Wrigley named the 37-year-old Hartnett as the team's
player-manager, replacing
Charlie Grimm. When Hartnett took over as manager, the Cubs had been in third place, six games behind the first place
Pittsburgh Pirates led by
Pie Traynor. By September 27, with one week left in the season, the Cubs had battled back to within a game and a half game of the Pirates in the National League standings as the two teams met for a crucial three-game series. On September 28, 1938, the two teams met for the second game of the series, where Hartnett experienced the highlight of his career. With darkness descending on the lightless Wrigley Field and the score tied at 5 runs apiece, the umpires ruled that the ninth
inning would be the last to be played. The entire game would have to be replayed the following day if the score remained tied. Hartnett came to bat with two
out in the bottom of the ninth inning. With a count of 0 balls and 2 strikes, Hartnett connected on a
Mace Brown pitch, launching the ball into the darkness, before it eventually landed in the left-center field
bleachers. The stadium erupted into pandemonium as players and fans stormed the field to escort Hartnett around the bases. Hartnett's
walk-off home run became immortalized as the "
Homer in the Gloamin'". However, the Cubs were swept in the
1938 World Series by the
New York Yankees, their fourth Series loss in ten years.
Later career Hartnett felt the strain of managing a team during the
1939 season as he faced player discontent over the pampering of Dizzy Dean while pitcher
Larry French went over his head to complain to owner Philip Wrigley about his lack of pitching assignments. French felt he was being punished for requesting to have
Gus Mancuso as his catcher. His record for longevity was surpassed by
Al López during the 1945 season. After two disappointing seasons, Hartnett was dismissed by the Cubs on November 13,
1940, after 19 years with the club. On December 3, he signed a contract with the
New York Giants to be a player-coach. Hartnett hit for a .300 average in 64 games as a backup catcher to
Harry Danning in the
1941 season. Hartnett played his final game on September 24, 1941, retiring as a player at the age of 40. ==Career statistics==