Harry Feldman (November 10, 1919 – March 16, 1962) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Giants from 1941 to 1946.
| Harry Feldman | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | |
| Born: November 10, 1919 New York, New York, U.S. | |
| Died: March 16, 1962 (age 42) Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 10, 1941, for the New York Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 25, 1946, for the New York Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 35–35 |
| Earned run average | 3.80 |
| Strikeouts | 254 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Early and personal life
editFeldman was born and grew up in the Bronx, and was Jewish, the son of a Romanian Jewish father and a Polish Jewish mother.[1][2][3][4] Feldman attended Clark Junior High School in the Bronx.
Feldman was a 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), 175 lb (79 kg) right-hander.
Minor league career
editFeldman pitched for the Blytheville Giants of the Northeast Arkansas League in 1938. He had a 13–1 record and 2.02 ERA, both the best in the league that year. He was moved to the Fort Smith Giants of the Western Association, where he was 7–7 with a 3.98 ERA in 1938. In 1939 his record was 25–9.[citation needed] With the Jersey City Giants in 1940, Feldman was 5–13 with a 3.64 ERA. In 1941 he went 14–16 with a 3.42 ERA.[citation needed]
Major league career
editFeldman won his first major league game in his second start, a 4–0 shutout over the Boston Braves in the second game of a doubleheader at the Polo Grounds (September 21, 1941). With All-Star Giants catcher Harry Danning behind the plate, that appearance may have been the first all-Jewish battery in MLB history.[5]
In 1944 Feldman was 9th in the NL with 40 games pitched.[1] In 1945 Feldman was 6th in the NL in games started (30) and shutouts (3), and 9th in innings (217.7) and batters faced (933).[1] He was 12–13, with a 3.27 ERA.[1]
His career totals include a 35–35 record, 143 games pitched, 78 starts, 22 complete games, 6 shutouts, 28 games finished, and 3 saves.[1] In 666 innings pitched Feldman struck out 254, walked 300, and had an earned run average of 3.80.[1]
In 1946, Feldman joined what became a total of 27 major league players, including Max Lanier, Mickey Owens, Vern Stephens and George Hausmann, in jumping to the "outlaw" Mexican League. Feldman signed with the Azules de Veracruz.[5] The following year he played in Havana, Cuba. In 1949 he pitched for a while in the Provincial League for Sherbrooke, Quebec, and then moved to San Francisco where he pitched his last two seasons with the San Francisco Seals, going 6–9 with a 4.31 ERA in 1949 and 11–16 with a 4.38 ERA in 1950. He retired at the end of that season.[citation needed]
Feldman was 8th lifetime in ERA of all Jewish major league pitchers through 2010, behind among others Sandy Koufax and Ken Holtzman.[6]
After baseball
editFeldman was very active in the local semi-pro league.
On March 16, 1962, at age 42, Feldman died of a massive heart attack while tending his boat at Lake Tenkiller in nearby Oklahoma. He is buried at Rose Lawn Cemetery, Fort Smith, Arkansas.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Harry Feldman Stats". baseball-reference.com. sports-reference.com. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
- ^ Boxerman, Burton A.; Boxerman, Benita W. (December 2006). Jews And Baseball: Volume I: Entering the American Mainstream, 1871–1948. McFarland & Company. p. 167. ISBN 0-7864-2828-7.
- ^ "Jewish Post 4 May 1945 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program". newspapers.library.in.gov. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
- ^ Horvitz, Peter S.; Horvitz, Joachim (November 24, 2018). The Big Book of Jewish Baseball. SP Books. ISBN 9781561719730. Retrieved November 24, 2018 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b McKelvey, G. Richard (2006). "Ace Adams and Harry Feldman". Mexican Raiders in the Major Leagues: The Pasquel Brothers Vs. Organized Baseball, 1946. McFarland. ISBN 9780786425631.
- ^ "Career Pitching Leaders". Career Leaders. Jewish Major Leaguers. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Harry Feldman at Find a Grave