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Henry Benjamin "Hank" Greenburg...
Henry Benjamin "Hank" Greenburg...
Item # 568126
January 19, 1947
THE NEW YORK TIMES, New York, January 19, 1947
* Henry Benjamin 'Hank' Greenburg
* Detroit Tigers - Pittsburgh Pirates
This 70+ page newspaper has one column headlines on the first page of the sport's section (near the back, section 5): "GREENBURG IS SOLD FOR 'SIZABLE SUM' TO THE PIRATES" "Detroit Parts With Home Run King When Others in League Decline to Claim Him" "Salary May Be Problem" and more with photo of Greenburg. Other news of the day throughout this very lengthy Sunday issue.
Rag edition in great condition.
wikipedia notes: In 1947, Greenberg and the Tigers had a lengthy salary dispute. When Greenberg decided to retire rather than play for less, Detroit sold his contract to the Pittsburgh Pirates. To persuade him not to retire, Pittsburgh made Greenberg the first baseball player to earn over $80,000 in a season as pure salary (though the exact amount is a matter of some dispute). Team co-owner Bing Crosby recorded a song, "Goodbye, Mr. Ball, Goodbye" with Groucho Marx and Greenberg, to celebrate Greenberg's arrival. The Pirates also reduced the size of Forbes Field's cavernous left field, renaming the section "Greenberg's Gardens," to accommodate Greenberg's pull-hitting style. Greenberg played first base for the Pirates for 1947, and was one of the few opposing players to publicly welcome Jackie Robinson to the majors.
That year he tied for the league lead in walks, with 104. He had a .408 on base percentage, and was also 8th in the league in home runs and 10th in slugging percentage. Greenberg became the first major league player to hit 25 or more home runs in a season in each league (Johnny Mize became the second, in 1950). Nevertheless, he retired as a player to take a front-office post with the Cleveland Indians. No player had ever retired after a final season in which they hit that many home runs. Since then, only Ted Williams (1960, 29), Dave Kingman (1986; 35), Mark McGwire (2001; 29), and Barry Bonds (2007; 28) have hit as many or more homers in their final season.
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Category: The 20th Century
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