There Are Errors…AND THEN THERE ARE ERRORS! Hank Gowdy and the 1924 World Series

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THERE ARE ERRORS…AND THEN THERE ARE ERRORS!

Hank Gowdy and the 1924 World Series

 

“The mask held me like a bear claw,” –Hank Gowdy, recalling his unfortunate incident in the 1924 World Series which led to Washington’s winning run.

“That was one of the strangest games I’ve ever played in. It was a hell’va way to lose.” –Giants’ pitcher Jack Bentley, speaking of the 1924 World Series.

Hank Gowdy had a fine 17-year major league baseball career in which he hit .270, with 21 home runs and 322 RBIs. He was considered an outstanding defensive catcher, one of the best in the business with a career .975 career fielding percentage. That is, until the events of the 1924 World Series rudely intruded and tarnished his reputation in a big way. 

Hank Gowdy twice led the National League in caught-stealing percentage. His 52.58% career caught-stealing percentage ranks him sixth in major league history. His reputation as a defensive stand out is enhanced because of the era in which he played. In the Deadball Era, catchers played a huge defensive role, given the large number of bunts and stolen base attempts, as well as the difficulty of handling the spitball pitchers who dominated pitching staffs.

Hank had played a major role in the 1914 “Miracle Braves” pennant and World Series championship, hitting .545 in the Series and the only home run of the series. Years later, he helped the Giants win the 1923 and 1924 pennants.

Hank was also a true American patriot, being the first ballplayer to enlist in the army in World War I. A few months later, he found himself in the trenches in France. Later he was back in the army during World War II, possibly the only player to serve in both wars.

The 1924 World Series was won by the Washington Nationals four-games-to-three over John McGraw’s New York Giants, who were making their fourth straight World Series appearance. Game Seven, played on October 10, 1924, went 12 innings and is considered by many to be the most exciting Game Seven ever. It holds the record as the longest Game Seven (by innings) in World Series history. Fortunately for Gowdy, his critical Game Seven miscue is largely overshadowed by the travails of teammate Freddie Lindstrom; and the game has gone down in baseball lore as the “Freddie Lindstrom Pebbles Game.” Hank rarely gets a mention. Here’s what happened:

The Giants were leading 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth when Washington loaded the bases with two out. Washington player-manager Bucky Harris hit a sharp but routine ground ball toward the Giants 18-year old rookie third baseman Freddie Lindstrom. It took a high hop over Lindstrom’s head and sailed into left field. Two Nationals scored to tie the game at 3-apiece.

The great Walter Johnson was brought in to pitch the ninth and stayed in through the extra innings. Johnson was exhausted, having started and lost Games One and Five. He allowed runners in every inning from the ninth through the 12th, but he kept the Giants from scoring, so it was still 3-3 when Washington came up in the fateful bottom of the 12th.

Hank Gowdy had caught every inning of every game in this Series and was still behind the plate as the game moved into the 12th. With one out, Washington catcher Muddy Ruel, a dreadful 1-for-19 in the Series, hit a high foul popup right behind the plate. Gowdy tracked the ball – as a catcher does a thousand times over his career – and tossed his mask aside. But he didn’t toss it far enough, and; as luck would have it, he stepped on the mask, trapping his foot. He struggled under the ball attempting to make the catch, but, unfortunately, he dropped it for what would soon prove to be a very costly error.

As so often happens when a major leaguer  is given a reprieve, Ruel then drove a double down the left-field line. McGraw must have been thinking “It’s deja Vu all over again!” recalling the 1912 World Series. That time the great Tris Speaker came through with a critical hit after a Giant misplay, also on a foul ball, gave him a second chance.

Johnson then reached on another error, Ruel holding at second. Next up, center fielder Earl McNeely drove an identical grounder straight at Lindstrom who was visualizing an inning-ending double play. But instead, this ball, too, hopped over his head into left field.

Ruel, one of the slowest runners in the game, chugged around third while Giants’ left fielder Irish Meusel fielded the ball; and then, for some unexplained reason, decided he had no play. Instead of throwing home in an attempt to prevent the Series-winning run from scoring, Meusel tucked the ball away and trotted to the dugout. Ruel crossed home plate with the run that gave the Washington franchise its only World Series championship during its time in Washington.

Newspaper accounts the next day focused on the bizarre coincidence of two ground balls hopping over Lindstrom’s head. A day later, though, the focus changed, as the Daily News now observed, “Gowdy’s failure to catch an easy foul prolonged Ruel’s time at bat and gave him a chance to hit the double that subsequently blossomed into the run that won the Series.” Sports history picked up the line and that became the series narrative, although in recent decades it’s rarely mentioned. 

Hank Gowdy’s error was costly indeed, proving that errors made in the World Series can be greatly magnified. They are hard to overcome, and can tarnish the reputation of a good ball player. Just ask Mickey Owen and Bill Buckner!

Anyone else you’d care to add to the list?

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Information: Excerpts edited from The New York Daily New, June 1, 2003: http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/catcher-mask-hank-gowdy-bad-dat-1924-chapter-84-article-1.675350; and the 1924 World Series Wikipedia page.

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