Joe Cronin
| Joe Cronin | |||
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Cronin with the Boston Red Sox in 1937
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| Shortstop / Manager | |||
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Born: October 12, 1906 San Francisco, California |
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Died: September 7, 1984 (aged 77) Osterville, Massachusetts |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 29, 1926, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| April 19, 1945, for the Boston Red Sox | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .301 | ||
| Hits | 2,285 | ||
| Home runs | 170 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1,424 | ||
| Managerial record | 1,236–1,055 | ||
| Winning % | .540 | ||
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As player As manager |
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
| Member of the National | |||
 Baseball Hall of Fame
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| Inducted | 1956 | ||
| Vote | 78.76% (tenth ballot) | ||
As player
As manager
Joseph Edward Cronin (October 12, 1906 – September 7, 1984) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) shortstop, manager and general manager. He also served as president of the American League (AL) for 14 years.
During a 20-year playing career, he played from 1926–45 for three different teams, primarily for the Boston Red Sox. Cronin was a major league manager from 1933–47. A seven-time All-Star, Cronin was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1956. Cronin became the first AL player to become an All-Star with two teams.
Cronin was born in Excelsior District of San Francisco, California. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake had cost his Irish Catholic parents almost all of their possessions. Cronin attended Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory. He played several sports as a child and he won a city tennis championship for his age group when he was 14. As he was not greatly interested in school, Cronin's grades improved only when the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League began giving away tickets to students with good conduct and attendance. At the time, the nearest MLB team was nearly 2,000 miles from San Francisco.
Baseball promoter Joe Engel, who scouted for the Senators and managed the Chattanooga Lookouts at Engel Stadium, originally signed Cronin. Engel first spotted Cronin playing in Kansas City. "I knew I was watching a great player", Engel said. "I bought Cronin at a time he was hitting .221. When I told Clark Griffith what I had done, he screamed, 'You paid $7,500 for that bum? Well, you didn't buy him for me. You bought him for yourself. He's not my ballplayer – he's yours. You keep him and don't either you or Cronin show up at the ballpark.'"
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Wikipedia