John Aloysius "Buddy" Hassett (September 5, 1911 – August 23, 1997) was an American
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professiona ...
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the major ...
and
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
. He played in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
(MLB) for the
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californ ...
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...
."Buddy Hassett "Statistics and History" "baseball-reference.com. Retrieved on 2017-05-12.
Hassett started his professional baseball career in 1933 with the Wheeling Stogies and batted .332. In 1934 he played for the
Norfolk Tars The Norfolk Tars were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1906 to 1955. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, they played in the Virginia League from 1906 to 1918 and from 1921 to 1928, in the Eastern League from 1931 to 1932 and in th ...
and hit .360. He also set the league record at the time for stolen bases. In 1935 he played for the
Columbus Redbirds
The Columbus Red Birds were a top-level minor league baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, in the American Association from 1931 through 1954. The Columbus club, a member of the Association continuously since 1902, was previously known as ...
and hit .337 in the American Association and won a starting job in the majors for the next seven seasons. His major league career was cut short by World War II. In 1936 he set the record for fewest strikeouts by a rookie. He struck out just 17 times in 635 at bats. This record still stands.
After serving in the Navy from 1943 to 1945, Hassett played in the minor leagues for a few years. He also managed for the Yankees farm team, the
Newark Bears
The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. ...
in the minors until 1950. Hassett was player coach of a team of players from the US Navy Pre-flight training program in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange, Durham County, North Carolina, Durham and Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 United States Ce ...
that went to New York to play a War Chest benefit against a team of All Stars from the Yankees and
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...
, coached by
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
. The Navy team won the game and included
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 193 ...
Johnny Pesky
John Michael Pesky (born John Michael Paveskovich; February 27, 1919 – August 13, 2012), nicknamed "The Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He was a shortstop and third baseman during a t ...
along with Hassett. Hassett saw action in the Pacific aboard the Carrier the . His brother,
Billy Hassett
William Joseph Hassett (October 21, 1921 – November 15, 1992) was an American professional basketball player.
A 5'11" guard from the University of Notre Dame, where he also lettered in baseball, he was a consensus first team All American sel ...
, was an All American basketball player at
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
and the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
. Billy played professional basketball for the
Chicago Gears
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, the
Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', August 26, 1997. Accessed October 27, 2015. "Hassett, who lived in Hillsdale, N.J., is survived by a daughter, Patricia Gradziel of Davis, California, and three grandchildren."