Clinton Clarence Hartung (August 10, 1922 – July 8, 2010), nicknamed "The Hondo Hurricane", was a right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

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), ...

who played with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

from 1947 to 1952.

Early years

Clinton Clarence Hartung was born in

Hondo, Texas Hondo is a city in and the county seat of Medina County, Texas, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 8,803. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Original inhabitants of the area, now M ...

, on August 10, 1922. His hometown was the source of his nickname, "the Hondo Hurricane." He stood and weighed . His high school team won a state baseball championship in 1939.

Baseball career

Originally signed for the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

, Hartung played for the Eau Claire

Bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the North ...

of the Northern League for two months in 1942, hitting .358 and

winning Winning may refer to: * Victory Film * ''Winning'' (film), a 1969 movie starring Paul Newman * '' Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman'', a 2015 documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams Music * ''Winning'', an album by Ten Foot Pole, 2022 ...

three games as a pitcher. He was then drafted into the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, where he spent the duration of World War II playing on military teams such as the

Hickam Field Hickam may refer to: ;Surname *Homer Hickam (born 1943), American author, Vietnam veteran, and a former NASA engineer ** October Sky: The Homer Hickam Story, 1999 American biographical film *Horace Meek Hickam (1885–1934), pioneer airpower advoca ...

Bombers; for the latter he went 25–0 as a pitcher and batted .567. A year before his demobilization, the Giants signed him for $35,000, a very high sum, and expectations were proportionally high: Sportswriter

Tom Meany Thomas William Meany (September 21, 1903 – September 11, 1964) was an American sports journalism, sports writer who mostly covered baseball in the New York City area. Biography Meany's love of sports began at St. John's Prep in Brooklyn, wher ...

later said of him, "Rather than stop at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

they should have taken him straight to

Cooperstown Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

." Other reports hailed him as the second coming of

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 ...

; "he could hit a ball 700 feet and had a bazooka for an arm,"

James S. Hirsch James S. Hirsch is an American journalist and author who has written about sports, race, and American culture. He was a reporter for ''The New York Times'' and ''The Wall Street Journal'', and his first book was the best-selling ''Hurricane: The ...

summed up the exaggerations of Hartung's ability. In he finally debuted in the major leagues, but his performance under these conditions quickly proved less stellar. His first season he only managed 9–7 pitching and .306 hitting. In 1948 his stats declined to 8–8 and .179; his pitching never recovered, and was his last year in that job for the Giants, while his hitting did recover somewhat but he never achieved anything like his earlier numbers. As with some other phenoms, he was noted for doing much better in

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

than he would in the regular season. His fielding was never good, and reportedly he was unable to hit

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

s. After 1950, he was relieved of his duties as a pitcher and was switched to the outfield—a very rare position shift in the major leagues. Hartung was the 11th player in history whose first homer in the majors was as a pitcher to later hit a home run as a position player; the previous player to do so was

, but the next was not until

Rick Ankiel Richard Alexander Ankiel (; born July 19, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, Ho ...

repeated the feat in the 2000s. He was at least present, though passively, as the

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

in the 1951 play known as the

Shot Heard 'Round the World "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" is a phrase that refers to the opening shot of the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, which began the American Revolutionary War and led to the creation of the United States of America. It was an ...

. By 1953 he was back in the minor leagues, playing for the AAA

. In 1954 and 1955, he played mostly for the

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

' AAA farm team the

Havana Sugar Kings The Havana Sugar Kings were a Cuban-based minor league baseball team that played from 1946 to 1960. From 1954 until 1960, they belonged in the Class Triple-A (baseball), AAA International League, affiliated with Major League Baseball's 1960 Cinc ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. In 1955, he also briefly played for the

Nashville Volunteers The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. Known only as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they were officially named the Nashville Volunteers (often sh ...

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...

, and the Oakland Oaks of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. He played for the Plymouth (Oil Company) Oilers, a nationally known semi-pro team in Sinton, Texas, for several years after leaving the minor leagues, including the summer of 1956, the same year Don Larsen pitched his perfect World Series game against the Dodgers. The baseball statistical reference by

Bill James George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics. ...

commemorates Hartung with its "Clint Hartung Award", for the most overhyped rookie of each decade (and honors him with one for the 1940s), and baseball-themed musician

Terry Cashman Terry Cashman (born Dennis Minogue, July 5, 1941) is an American record producer and singer-songwriter, best known for his 1981 chart-topper, hit, "Talkin' Baseball". While the song is well recognized today and allowed Cashman the chance to meet ...

wrote a song called "The Hondo Hurricane". Hartung died at his home in

Sinton, Texas Sinton is a city in and the county seat of San Patricio County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,665 at the 2010 census. It was founded in 1886 and was named in honor of David Sinton, a influential business owner and rancher. Geography ...

July 8, 2010.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartung, Clint 1922 births 2010 deaths Baseball players from San Antonio Eau Claire Bears players Havana Sugar Kings players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball right fielders Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Nashville Vols players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Giants (NL) players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players People from Hondo, Texas People from Sinton, Texas United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Military personnel from Texas American expatriate baseball players in Cuba