Willard Carpenter Hazelton (August 28, 1876 – March 10, 1941) was a

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 majori ...

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 briefly for the St. Louis Cardinals during the season. After his playing career, Hazelton coached college baseball, including seasons at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

, and the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

Early life

Hazelton was born in Strafford, Vermont, the fourth son of Henry Hazelton and Amanda (Carpenter) Hazelton. Hazelton's extended family included US Senator

Justin Smith Morrill Justin Smith Morrill (April 14, 1810December 28, 1898) was an American politician and entrepreneur who represented Vermont in the United States House of Representatives (1855–1867) and United States Senate (1867–1898). He is most widely remem ...

; Henry Hazelton's sister Sylvia was the wife of Morrill's brother Amos. Hazelton was educated in the public schools of Strafford and

Kimball Union Academy Kimball Union Academy is a private boarding school located in New Hampshire. Founded in 1813, it is the 22nd oldest boarding school in the United States. The academy's mission is to "create a deep sense of belonging for every member of our commu ...

Meriden, New Hampshire Meriden is an unincorporated community in the eastern part of the town of Plainfield in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. Meriden is home to Kimball Union Academy, a private boarding school. New Hampshire Route 120 passes through the ...

, from which he graduated in 1894. During the 1894-1895 school year, he was employed as a teacher at Strafford's elementary school. In 1895, Hazelton enrolled at Dean Academy (now

Dean College Dean College is a private college in Franklin, Massachusetts. It offers bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and continuing and professional education and certificates. History Dean College was founded by Dr. Oliver Dean as a co-educatio ...

) in

Franklin, Massachusetts The Town of Franklin is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Franklin is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government but wish to retain "The town of" in their o ...

. The school had a strong baseball program, and its alumni included

Gabby Hartnett Charles Leo "Gabby" Hartnett (December 20, 1900 – December 20, 1972), nicknamed "Old Tomato Face", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played almost his entire career in Major League Baseball as a catcher with the Chic ...

and Heinie Stafford. Hazelton had been playing baseball from his childhood days in Strafford, and was a pitcher on Dean Academy's varsity team. In addition, he was elected president of the school's Class of 1897. Hazelton enrolled at

in 1897. In addition to studying engineering, he organized the school's first baseball team and was chosen to serve as its captain. During the summer months, he played on amateur teams located in towns throughout New England. In August 1899, Hazelton was struck in the head by a pitched ball while at bat during a game at the

Fabyan House Fabyan House was a grand hotel in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, constructed by Sylvester Marsh who also built the Mount Washington Cog Railway. The hotel burned during construction in 1868 and was rebuilt in 1873. It was destroyed by f ...

hotel in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. He continued to play for several innings, then collapsed from the effects of a brain hemorrhage and skull fracture. He was left temporarily paralyzed on his right side and fell into a week-long coma, and doctors had little hope he would recover. After surgery to remove blood clots and pieces of bone from his brain, Hazelton regained consciousness. After a month of hospitalization, he returned home to continue his recovery; doctors attributed Hazelton's survival to the excellent physical condition he maintained as a result of his participation in baseball.

Playing career

Following his recovery, Hazelton resumed playing baseball and studying at Tufts, and he graduated in June, 1901. He then signed a contract to play for the St. Louis Cardinals of

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. Intent on a career as a physician, Hazelton planned to use the money he made playing baseball to finance attendance at medical school; when word of his plan spread, sports writers and teammates nicknamed him "Doc". Hazelton made his Cardinals debut on opening day, April 17, 1902. The Cardinals lost to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

1-0, and Hazelton achieved his first hit, a single off Deacon Phillippe. The following day, the Pirates beat the Cardinals 10-4; Hazelton collected the second hit of his career, another single, and every Cardinal fielder but Hazelton made at least one error. In the third game of the series, Pittsburgh won 10-2; Hazelton went hitless and committed two errors. His hitting slump continued, and the Cardinals released Hazelton after the seventh game of the season. He never returned to the major leagues, and in his one season career, Hazelton posted a .130 batting average (3-for-23). He did not get any

extra-base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire anot ...

s, score a run, or drive in any runs. Following his release from the Cardinals, Hazelton played briefly for the Eastern League team in Rochester, New York, then broke his contract and joined an independent semi-professional team in

Milford, Massachusetts Milford is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 30,379 according to the 2020 census. First settled in 1662 and incorporated in 1780, Milford became a booming industrial and quarrying community in the 19th c ...

. He ended his full time playing career at the completion of the 1902 baseball season. Because he broke his Rochester contract, Hazelton was banned from major league baseball and the organized minor leagues.

Continued career

In 1903, Hazelton became the baseball coach at the

. In addition to coaching the college team, he played in Vermont's semi-professional Northern League during the summer months, first for the team based in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

, and later for the Newport, Vermont team. He continued to play semi-pro baseball during the summer months, and spent time with several teams in New England and New York. At the start of the 1904 season, Hazelton signed a contract to play for the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. He soon changed his mind and returned to Vermont. After leading UVM to an 11-13 record in 1903, in 1904, Hazelton's team posted a record of 14 wins and 5 losses. The team's 1904 success was due in part to Hazelton's success at recruiting pitcher Ed Reulbach; Ruelbach had previously played for the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, but agreed to play for UVM after marrying a woman from

Montpelier, Vermont Montpelier () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Washington County. The site of Vermont's state government, it is the least populous state capital in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population w ...

. After coaching UVM through the 1905 season, Hazelton began 1906 playing for the Johnstown, Pennsylvania team of the Tri-State League; he returned to Vermont in June, and rejoined the Burlington team of the Northern League. In 1907, he applied for reinstatement to major league baseball, but was denied. He continued to play for semi-professional teams and returned to UVM as coach for the 1910 and 1911 seasons. In 1912, he was appointed coach of the baseball team at

. In 1915, he was named coach of the

baseball team, and led the team to a record of 12 wins and 9 losses. Hazelton coached at UVM in 1916 and 1917, after which he ended his involvement in organized baseball.

Later life

After leaving baseball, Hazelton was employed at a wool brokerage in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He retired in 1937, and his wife and he resided at the Hotel Vermont in Burlington. In 1941, Hazelton was diagnosed with cancer. He died at a Burlington hospital on March 10, 1941. He was buried at

Lakeview Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a Private property, privately owned, Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Rural cemetery, garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, Ohio, East Cleveland ...

in Burlington.

Family

In 1912, Hazelton married Emma Louise Beech. They were the parents of daughter Cora (1913-1924).

References

External links

*
Baseball AlmanacBaseball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazleton, Doc 1876 births 1941 deaths Major League Baseball first basemen St. Louis Cardinals players Minor league baseball managers Brockton Shoemakers players Amsterdam-Gloversville-Johnstown Jags players Amsterdam-Gloversville-Johnstown Hyphens players Toledo Mud Hens players Johnstown Johnnies players Dartmouth Big Green baseball coaches Tufts University School of Engineering alumni People from Strafford, Vermont Baseball players from Burlington, Vermont Burials at Lakeview Cemetery (Burlington, Vermont)