Don Lenhardt
From BR Bullpen
Donald Eugene Lenhardt (Footsie)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 3", Weight 190 lb.
- School University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Washington University in Saint Louis
- Debut April 18, 1950
- Final Game September 25, 1954
- Born October 4, 1922 in Alton, IL USA
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[edit] Biographical Information
Don Lenhardt broke into the Majors with a bang at age 27 with the sad-sack Browns in 1950 when he hit 22 homers with 81 RBI with a nearly 40 percent OBP. It would prove to be by far his most productive M.L. season.
He was an outfielder/first baseman for 13 years, two in college (1941;1946), five in the Major Leagues (1950-54) and six in the minors (1946-1949;1955-1956), losing four years to the military. He served in the U. S. Navy for four years during World War II (1942-1945) (GB). He played with the St. Louis Browns (1950-1951;1952-1953); Chicago White Sox (1951); Boston Red Sox (1952;1954); Detroit Tigers (1952); and Baltimore Orioles (1954).
Lenhardt was born on Wednesday, 4 October 1922, in Alton, IL. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1941 and Washington University in Saint Louis in St. Louis in 1946. He was signed by the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent in 1946, scouted by Lou Maguolo and Bill DeWitt.
Nicknamed "Footsie" because of his narrow shoe size and difficulty finding shoes to fit, Lenhardt was a rangy power hitter whose slow drawl matched his running speed. He was dealt five times in five years, including the nine-player swap that sent George Kell to the Red Sox. A broken leg in 1954 ended his MLB career. (BC)
After his playing career, he was a scout and broadcaster. He coached for the Red Sox (1970-1973). Scouting for the Red Sox (1957-1969, 1974-1991), his discoveries include Dick Mills, Al Nipper, Scott Cooper and Cory Bailey.
[edit] Chronology
- (Before 1946 Season: Signed by the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent.
- 1951: On June 4 he was traded by the Browns to the White Sox for Paul Lehner, Kermit Wahl and cash. On November 13 he was traded by the White Sox with Randy Gumpert to the Red Sox for Mel Hoderlein and Chuck Stobbs.
- 1952: On May 3 the Red Sox beat the Browns 5–2 in Fenway though odd occurrences interrupt the game. In the bottom of the first, two fraternity boys dressed in baseball uniforms run onto the field and start throwing a rubber ball around. Two innings later a one-legged man on crutches jumps onto the field to talk to Browns shortstop Marty Marion and pitcher Earl Harrist. He then shakes hands with Red Sox base runner Lenhardt before being hurried off the field. On May 4 Boston first baseman Faye Throneberry hits his second grand slam of the season off Early Wynn of the Cleveland Indians, but the Tribe wins, 9–6. The Red Sox have accounted for all four of the American League's grand slams thus far, as the infielder joins teammates Walt Dropo and Lenhardt. On June 2, he hit a 10th inning grand slam to help beat the White Sox 6-2. On June 3 he is traded by Boston with Dropo, Fred Hatfield, Johnny Pesky, and Bill Wight to the Tigers for Dizzy Trout, George Kell, Johnny Lipon and Hoot Evers. On June 9, he hit another grand slam, this time for the Tigers, versus his recent mates, the Red Sox, but Boston wins the game, 9-8. On August 14 he is traded by the Tigers with Dick Littlefield, Marlin Stuart and Vic Wertz back to the Browns for Jim Delsing, Ned Garver, Dave Madison, and Bud Black.
- 1953: On May 21 at Fenway Park, Bosox catcher Del Wilber hits his third pinch homer of the year, this one a 14th inning solo homer to beat the reliever Don Larsen and the Browns, 3–2. Former Red Sox Lenhardt takes Hal Brown downtown with a center field shot just left of the flag pole and the last upright of the screen.
- 1954: On May 12 he is purchased by the Red Sox from the Orioles.
[edit] Sources
Principal sources for Don Lenhardt include newspaper obituaries (OB), government records (VA,CM,CW), Sporting Life (SL), Baseball Digest, The Sporting News (TSN), The Sports Encyclopedia:Baseball 2006 by David Neft & Richard Cohen (N&C), old Who's Who in Baseballs (1952-1955) (WW), old Baseball Registers (1951-1954) (BR), TSN's Daguerreotypes (none) (DAG), The Historical Register, The Baseball Necrology by Bill Lee (BN), Pat Doyle's Professional Ballplayer DataBase(PD), The Baseball Library (BL); various Encyclopediae including The Official Encyclopedia of Baseball by Turkin & Thompson (T&T), MacMillan Baseball Encyclopedia (Mac), Total Baseball (TB), The Bill James Historical Abstract (BJ) and The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (LJ); Retrosheet (RS), The Baseball Chronology (BC), Baseball Page (BP), The Baseball Almanac (BA), Baseball Cube (B3) and obituaries at deadballera.com (DBE) as well as research by Reed Howard (RH), Pat Doyle (PD) and Frank Hamilton (FH).
