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Charles Leo "Gabby" Hartnett

The Catcher who became a legend

Charles Leo “Gabby” Harnett was born on December 20, 1900, in Woonsocket. At 14 he finished the eighth grade and took a job as a laborer at a rubber shop. As soon as he was able, he began playing baseball and gravitated toward the role of catcher, just as his father had. 

In 1921, Hartnett played his first professional season with the Worcester team of the Eastern League. The following season he was signed by the Chicago Cubs of the National League and remained with that club until 1940. He is the unquestioned greatest catcher in Chicago Cubs baseball history. Harnett spent 19 years with the organization, playing more than 1,900 games and catching over 15,000 innings from 1922-1940. He racked up 55.0 WAR with the Cubs in that time and finished his career with a .297 average, .370 on-base percentage and .858 OPS.

Hartnett was a leader for the Cubs both on and off the field, but he was quiet and didn’t speak to newspaper reporters. In view of his shyness, his teammates and the press dubbed him “Gabby”, an ironic nickname at the time.
Gabby Hartnett signs auotographs in 1938 (Photo courtesy Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection)
In 1930, Hartnett hit 37 home runs and drove in 122 — both career highs. However, his MVP season came a half-decade later when he posted a .344 batting average with 13 homers and 91 RBI in 1935. In total, Hartnett collected 1,867 hits, 236 homers and 1,179 RBI as a Cub.

He ranks 6th all time in Cubs history in RBI and 8th in games played. He also pulled off the incredible feat of walking (691) more than he struck out (683) over his two decades in Chicago.

The 6-time All-Star was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955. He died on his birthday, December 20, 1972, in Park Ridge Illinois.

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