John Ganzel
John Henry Ganzel
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0½", Weight 195 lb.
- Debut April 21, 1898
- Final Game September 30, 1908
- Born April 7, 1874 in Kalamazoo, MI USA
- Died January 14, 1959 in Orlando, FL USA
Biographical Information[edit]
John Ganzel was the brother of Charlie Ganzel and uncle of Babe Ganzel. A first baseman, he played seven seasons in the majors and at least 14 in the minors. He also managed a couple seasons in the majors and 16 in the minors.
Ganzel was born in Kalamazoo, MI. He had a cup of coffee with the 1898 Pirates and then came to the 1900 Orphans for 78 games (and was with Detroit in the minors for 22 games). He was with the 1901 New York Giants and then spent 1902 in the minors with Louisville. In 1903-04 he played for the New York Highlanders and then in 1905-06 he was with Grand Rapids. He came back to the majors one last time in 1907-08 with the Cincinnati Reds. After his time with the Reds he played a few seasons with Rochester.
John had begun managing in 1905-06 with Grand Rapids and then managed the 1908 Cincinnati Reds to a fifth place finish while serving as the regular first baseman. Thereafter, he managed at Rochester from 1909-15, sometimes also playing, before coming back to the majors to manage in the 1915 Federal League for part of the season with the 1915 Brooklyn Tip-Tops.
He later managed Kansas City in the minors for three years, and many years later managed at Laurel and at Orlando.
There were five Ganzel brothers, and the family was called the "First Family" of Michigan baseball. John and Charlie were in the majors, while Fred Ganzel played independent ball, Joe Ganzel played independent ball and in the minors, and George Ganzel played independent ball and in the minors. Source: Ganzel Brothers. The article also notes that at one point, John was the highest-paid minor league manager in the country.
| Preceded by Ned Hanlon |
Cincinnati Reds Manager 1908 |
Succeeded by Clark Griffith |
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