Willard Hershberger
Encyclopedia
Willard McKee Hershberger (May 28, 1910 – August 3, 1940) was a catcher
for Major League Baseball's
Cincinnati Reds
from 1938 to 1940.
He has the distinction of being the only major league player to date to commit suicide
during the season.
, California
. His family moved to Fullerton
, California when his father, Claude, got a job working in the city's oil
fields. Hershberger attended Fullerton Union High School
, where he distinguished himself on both the baseball
and football
teams. The yearbook called Hershberger "the boy with the golden toe", referring to his achievements as a placekicker
and "the greatest little catcher to ever put on the Fullerton uniform." The 1926 baseball team won the California Interscholastic Federation
championship. In 2003, he was named to the school's All-Time FUHS baseball team
On November 21, 1928, Claude Hershberger, who was depressed over financial problems, fatally shot himself with a shotgun
in the family home's bathroom. 18-year-old Willard discovered the body.
, but did not make his major league debut until age 27, after eight minor league seasons. He was a member of the Yankees' Newark
Bears
farm team which posted an outstanding 109-43 record in 1937. On December 3, 1937, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for shortstop
Eddie Miller
and $40,000.
During his three-year tenure with the Reds, Willard Hershberger was a backup to regular catcher Ernie Lombardi
. While Hershberger, who was smaller and more athletic than the lumbering Lombardi, lacked power
(he hit no home run
s in his major league career), he was a good hitter for average
, batting .276 in 49 games in his rookie season, and .345 in 63 games in his second season. He was a part of the Reds' 1939 National League
championship team. However, they were swept by Hershberger's former team, the Yankees in the World Series
. It was the Reds' first appearance in the "Fall Classic" since the controversial 1919 World Series
. Hershberger had one basehit
in two at-bats.
team at the Polo Grounds
on July 31, the Reds blew a 4-1 late-game lead and lost the game 5-4. Three days later, the Reds lost both games of a double-header to the even poorer Boston Bees
10-3 and 4-3, respectively.
The sensitive Willard Hershberger, who caught the Giants game and the second game versus the Bees, perceived that some of his teammates might have felt or implied that they might not have lost to such mediocre teams had Lombardi been playing. The Giants and the Bees would ultimately finish in sixth and last place, respectively.
At one point during the Bees game, an upset Willard Hershberger alluded to his father's suicide and said he would do likewise. Concerned, Reds manager Bill McKechnie
spoke to his catcher in private. Hershberger tearfully opened up and took personal blame for the two losses. However, after about an hour, he had calmed down considerably and McKechnie believed he would be fine. The following morning, Reds publicist and traveling secretary Gabe Paul
called Hershberger's room at the Copley Plaza Hotel and relayed a message from Bill McKechnie that he wasn't going to play that afternoon and needn't even put on his uniform
; McKechnie likely wanted to give Hershberger time away from the ballpark to collect himself emotionally, but Hershberger said he would be there. But when he failed to appear for pre-game activities, Gabe Paul became concerned and went to the hotel. The manager unlocked the door to Hershberger's room and admitted him.
Paul saw Willard Hershberger lying dead in a blood
-filled bathtub. He had slashed his throat.
After giving his team the tragic news, Bill McKechnie exhorted the Reds to dedicate themselves to winning the World Series "for Hershie". McKechnie never publicly revealed what Willard Hershberger said to him during their meeting. "It had nothing to do with anybody on the team", he told reporters. "He told it to me in confidence, and I will not utter it to anyone".
The Cincinnati Reds would go on to defeat the American League
champion Detroit Tigers
in seven games to win the World Series
. Reds players decided to share a portion of their championship money, totaling $5,803, to Hershberger's grieving mother, Maude. Willard Hershberger was interred
at Visalia Public cemetery
, in Visalia
, California.
. Bench would become a star and a key player of the Cincinnati Reds' 1975
and 1976
World Series championship teams and be widely regarded as the greatest catcher in Major League Baseball history. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
in 1989.
Uniform number 5 was retired permanently in 1986.
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
for Major League Baseball's
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
from 1938 to 1940.
He has the distinction of being the only major league player to date to commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
during the season.
Life and career
Willard Hershberger was born in Lemon CoveLemon Cove, California
Lemon Cove is a census-designated place in Tulare County, California, United States. The population was 308 at the 2010 census, up from 298 at the 2000 census.-Geography and ecology:...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. His family moved to Fullerton
Fullerton, California
Fullerton is a city located in northern Orange County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 135,161.It was founded in 1887 by George and Edward Amerige and named for George H. Fullerton, who secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway...
, California when his father, Claude, got a job working in the city's oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
fields. Hershberger attended Fullerton Union High School
Fullerton High School, California
Fullerton Union High School is a public high school located in the Orange County, California city of Fullerton, United States operated by the Fullerton Joint Union High School District.-History:...
, where he distinguished himself on both the baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
teams. The yearbook called Hershberger "the boy with the golden toe", referring to his achievements as a placekicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
and "the greatest little catcher to ever put on the Fullerton uniform." The 1926 baseball team won the California Interscholastic Federation
California Interscholastic Federation
The California Interscholastic Federation is the governing body for high school sports in the state of California. It mirrors similar governing bodies in other states; however, it differs from some of the others in that it covers most high schools in the state of California, both public and...
championship. In 2003, he was named to the school's All-Time FUHS baseball team
On November 21, 1928, Claude Hershberger, who was depressed over financial problems, fatally shot himself with a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
in the family home's bathroom. 18-year-old Willard discovered the body.
Professional baseball career
Willard Hershberger signed with the New York YankeesNew York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, but did not make his major league debut until age 27, after eight minor league seasons. He was a member of the Yankees' Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
Bears
Newark Bears
The Newark Bears are an American professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are a member of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 1999 season, the Bears have played their home games at Bears &...
farm team which posted an outstanding 109-43 record in 1937. On December 3, 1937, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
Eddie Miller
Eddie Miller (infielder)
Edward Robert Miller was a former baseball shortstop who played for 14 seasons in the National League from 1936 to 1950. He was a talented fielder and a perennial All-Star during the 1940's....
and $40,000.
During his three-year tenure with the Reds, Willard Hershberger was a backup to regular catcher Ernie Lombardi
Ernie Lombardi
Ernesto Natali "Ernie" Lombardi , was a Major League Baseball catcher for the Brooklyn Robins, the Cincinnati Reds, the Boston Braves and the New York Giants during a Hall of Fame career that spanned 17 years, from 1931 to 1947. He had several nicknames, including "Schnozz", "Lumbago", "Bocci",...
. While Hershberger, who was smaller and more athletic than the lumbering Lombardi, lacked power
Slugging
Slugging, also known as casual carpooling, is the practice of forming ad hoc, informal carpools for purposes of commuting, essentially a variation of ride-share commuting and hitchhiking. While the practice is most common and most publicized in the congested Washington, D.C. area, slugging also...
(he hit no home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s in his major league career), he was a good hitter for average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
, batting .276 in 49 games in his rookie season, and .345 in 63 games in his second season. He was a part of the Reds' 1939 National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
championship team. However, they were swept by Hershberger's former team, the Yankees in the World Series
1939 World Series
The 1939 World Series featured the three-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Cincinnati Reds, who were making their first Series appearance since the scandal-tainted 1919 World Series. The Yankees swept the Series in four games for the second time in a row, winning their record...
. It was the Reds' first appearance in the "Fall Classic" since the controversial 1919 World Series
1919 World Series
The 1919 World Series matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds. Although most World Series have been of the best-of-seven format, the 1919 World Series was a best-of-nine series...
. Hershberger had one basehit
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
in two at-bats.
Suicide
In July, Ernie Lombardi suffered an injured finger. Willard Hershberger filled in for him well. He played in 48 games and hit .309. However, in a game against a poor New York GiantsSan Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
team at the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
on July 31, the Reds blew a 4-1 late-game lead and lost the game 5-4. Three days later, the Reds lost both games of a double-header to the even poorer Boston Bees
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
10-3 and 4-3, respectively.
The sensitive Willard Hershberger, who caught the Giants game and the second game versus the Bees, perceived that some of his teammates might have felt or implied that they might not have lost to such mediocre teams had Lombardi been playing. The Giants and the Bees would ultimately finish in sixth and last place, respectively.
At one point during the Bees game, an upset Willard Hershberger alluded to his father's suicide and said he would do likewise. Concerned, Reds manager Bill McKechnie
Bill McKechnie
William Boyd McKechnie was an American third baseman, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. He was the first manager to win World Series titles with two different teams , and remains one of only two managers to win pennants with three teams, also capturing the National League title in 1928...
spoke to his catcher in private. Hershberger tearfully opened up and took personal blame for the two losses. However, after about an hour, he had calmed down considerably and McKechnie believed he would be fine. The following morning, Reds publicist and traveling secretary Gabe Paul
Gabe Paul
Gabriel Howard Paul was an American executive in Major League Baseball who served as general manager of three teams and, perhaps most famously, as president of the New York Yankees under George Steinbrenner during the 1970s....
called Hershberger's room at the Copley Plaza Hotel and relayed a message from Bill McKechnie that he wasn't going to play that afternoon and needn't even put on his uniform
Baseball uniform
A baseball uniform is a type of uniform worn by baseball players. Most baseball uniforms have the names and uniform numbers of players who wear them, usually on the backs of the uniforms to distinguish players from one other. Baseball shirts , pants, shoes, socks, caps, and glove are parts of...
; McKechnie likely wanted to give Hershberger time away from the ballpark to collect himself emotionally, but Hershberger said he would be there. But when he failed to appear for pre-game activities, Gabe Paul became concerned and went to the hotel. The manager unlocked the door to Hershberger's room and admitted him.
Paul saw Willard Hershberger lying dead in a blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
-filled bathtub. He had slashed his throat.
After giving his team the tragic news, Bill McKechnie exhorted the Reds to dedicate themselves to winning the World Series "for Hershie". McKechnie never publicly revealed what Willard Hershberger said to him during their meeting. "It had nothing to do with anybody on the team", he told reporters. "He told it to me in confidence, and I will not utter it to anyone".
The Cincinnati Reds would go on to defeat the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
champion Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
in seven games to win the World Series
1940 World Series
The 1940 World Series matched the Cincinnati Reds against the Detroit Tigers, with the Reds winning the Series in seven games for their second championship, their first since the scandal-tainted victory in...
. Reds players decided to share a portion of their championship money, totaling $5,803, to Hershberger's grieving mother, Maude. Willard Hershberger was interred
Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
at Visalia Public cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
, in Visalia
Visalia, California
Visalia is a Central California city situated in the heart of California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley, approximately southeast of San Francisco and north of Los Angeles...
, California.
Number 5
The Cincinnati Reds temporarily retired Willard Hershberger's uniform number 5. However, it was reactivated in 1942. In 1967, it was assigned to another catcher: Johnny BenchJohnny Bench
Johnny Lee Bench is a former professional baseball catcher who played in the Major Leagues for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983 and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame...
. Bench would become a star and a key player of the Cincinnati Reds' 1975
1975 World Series
The 1975 World Series was played between the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds . It has been ranked by ESPN as the second-greatest World Series ever played...
and 1976
1976 World Series
The 1976 World Series matched the defending champion Cincinnati Reds of the National League against the New York Yankees of the American League, with the Reds sweeping the Series to repeat. The Reds became the only team to sweep an entire multi-tier postseason. The Reds are also the last National...
World Series championship teams and be widely regarded as the greatest catcher in Major League Baseball history. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
in 1989.
Uniform number 5 was retired permanently in 1986.