Gail Curtice Henley (born October 15, 1928) is a retired 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. Although his playing career lasted for 14 seasons (1948–61), he appeared in only 14

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

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), ...

as a

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 ...

and

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

, all during the opening weeks of , for 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 ...

. He batted

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

, threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

, and stood tall and weighed .

Playing career

Born in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

, Henley grew up in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where he graduated from Inglewood High School and attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

, he starred for the 1948 national-champion

USC Trojans baseball The USC Trojans baseball program represents the University of Southern California in college baseball. Established in 1888 in baseball, 1888, the team is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Pac-12 Conference. USC’s ...

team,

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

.400.Taylor, Dan, ''Gail Henley.''

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

Biography Project He then signed a professional contract 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. ...

. Henley would never play for the Giants, however; after five years in their

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, he was acquired by the Pirates via 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 ...

in October 1952 in a transaction that brought four-time

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 ...

All-Star

Gus Bell David Russell "Gus" Bell Jr. (November 15, 1928 – May 7, 1995) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1950 through 1964, who played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets and Milwaukee Braves. He batted ...

to Cincinnati. Henley made the 1954 Pirates out of

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 ...

and appeared in 14 of the Bucs' first 22 games. After going hitless in his first four major league

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

, Henley broke through on April 19 with a first-inning

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

against his old team, the Giants, a key blow in a 7–5 Pirate victory. But Henley was hurt when he ran into a wall during a game against

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, then ran afoul of

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

when he went dancing at a nightclub as he was recovering from the head injury. When the rosters were cut from 28 to 25 men in May, he was sent to Double-A

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and never returned to the majors. His nine MLB hits also included a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

, and he drove in two runs, both RBI coming from his April 19 homer.

Minor league manager and scout

Henley remained in baseball for another 50 years as a player, manager and scout. He ran teams in the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

' minor league systemRobert A. Russell and Janny M. Y. Leung, evising a Cost Effective Schedule for a Baseball League" ''INFORMS'', 1994. 2011/03/19. from 1961–66. Then he joined the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

as a scout based in Southern California, in addition to handling Rookie-level Dodger farm clubs for six seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He later scouted for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

and

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...

Teams managed

Montgomery Rebels The Montgomery Rebels was the name of several American minor league baseball franchises representing Montgomery, Alabama, playing in various leagues between and . ''Rebels'' was the predominant nickname of the Montgomery teams, but it was not the ...

(1961) *

Thomasville Tigers Thomasville may refer to: *Thomasville, Alabama *Thomasville, Georgia *Thomasville, Iowa *Thomasville, Missouri *Thomasville, North Carolina *Thomasville, Pennsylvania Other uses *Thomasville Furniture Industries, a company named after Thomasville ...

(1962) *

Lakeland Tigers Lakeland is primarily a toponym. It may refer to: Places Australia *Lakeland, Queensland Canada *Lakeland (electoral district), a federal electoral district in Alberta *Lakeland County, a former municipal district in Alberta * District of La ...

(1963) *

Duluth–Superior Dukes The Duluth–Superior Dukes were a professional baseball team based in Duluth, Minnesota. The Dukes were a charter member of the modern Northern League, which started play in 1993. The Dukes played their home games at Wade Stadium. After the 20 ...

(1964) *

Jamestown Tigers Jamestown often refers to: *Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas Jamestown may also refer to Places Australia *Jamestown, South Australia Barbados * Holetown, Saint James, Barbados; sometimes called its f ...

(1965) *

Daytona Beach Islanders Daytona Beach Islanders was a name for various minor league baseball teams that have all played in the Florida State League from 1920–1966 and in 1977 and again from 1985–1986. In 1968 through 1973, the team became the Daytona Beach Dodgers, d ...

(1966) *

Ogden Dodgers The Ogden Dodgers were a Minor League Baseball team based in Ogden, Utah. The Ogden Dodgers played as members of the Pioneer Baseball League from 1966 to 1973. The Ogden Dodgers were an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers (1966–1973). Futur ...

(1972–1973) *

Lethbridge Dodgers __NOTOC__ The Lethbridge Dodgers were a team in Minor League Baseball based in Lethbridge, Alberta, that competed from 1975 to 1983. After the 1983 season, the team relocated to Idaho and became the Pocatello Gems. History The Dodgers arrived in ...

(1977, 1979–1980, 1983)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henley, Gail 1928 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in Panama Baseball players from Wichita, Kansas Birmingham Barons players Columbus Jets players Hollywood Stars players Inglewood High School (California) alumni Jersey City Giants players Kansas City Royals scouts Lakeland Flying Tigers managers Los Angeles Dodgers scouts Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Montgomery Rebels players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Pittsburgh Pirates players San Diego Padres scouts Sioux City Soos players Baseball players from Los Angeles Baseball players from Inglewood, California Tampa Bay Rays scouts Tigres del México players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players USC Trojans baseball players

Playing career

Minor league manager and scout

Teams managed

References

Further reading

Articles

Books

External links