Harold Dana Gregg (July 11, 1921 – May 13, 1991) was a starting pitcher 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), ...

who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1943–47), Pittsburgh Pirates (1948–50) and New York Giants (1952). Gregg batted and threw right-handed. He was born in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

. In a nine-season career, Gregg posted a 40–48 record with 401 strikeouts and a 4.54

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in 827 innings pitched. In 1947 Gregg became an unlikely

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

figure. He had pitched very well in relief for Brooklyn, especially in the 4th game when

Bill Bevens Floyd Clifford "Bill" Bevens (October 21, 1916 – October 26, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the New York Yankees from through . Bevens is notable ...

was hurling his 8 innings of no-hit ball only to lose in the 9th. Gregg relieved the starter in the 1st, got out of the jam with no runs, and pitched 7 innings holding the Yankees to 2 runs, working out of some more tough jams and keeping Brooklyn in the game. Since Brooklyn's manager had completely mishandled the pitching staff, continually using starters in relief, there was only Gregg ready to start game 7; Gregg thus joined some of the few but greatest pitchers in history who have started a World Series 7th game. Gregg, on two days' rest, lost, giving up 3 runs in 4 innings. He threw 12 innings in the series with 10 strikeouts including DiMaggio, who seldom struck out. He was a better than average hitting pitcher in his career, compiling a .205

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(54-for-263) with 26 runs, 2 home runs and 15 RBI. Gregg died in

Bishop, California Bishop (formerly Bishop Creek) is a city in California, United States. It is the largest populated place and only incorporated city in Inyo County. Bishop is located near the northern end of the Owens Valley, at an elevation of . The city was ...

, aged 69.

Best season

*: 18 wins, 34 starts, 13 complete games, 139 strikeouts, 254 innings – all career-highs

Highlights

*Was the winning pitcher against the Boston Braves, 5–3, during the historic debut of Jackie Robinson with the Brooklyn Dodgers (April 15, 1947) *Pitched a one-hit, 1–0

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

against the Philadelphia Phillies at

Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five pro ...

(April 22, 1947) *The 1947 World Series. He led all Brooklyn pitchers in innings pitched and strikeouts with a memorable 4th game: 7IP, 4H 1R.

References

External links

Baseball AlmanacHal Gregg Biography at Baseball Biography
: {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregg, Hall National League All-Stars Brooklyn Dodgers players New York Giants (NL) players Pittsburgh Pirates players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Anaheim, California 1921 births 1991 deaths Santa Barbara Saints players Olean Oilers players Washington Red Birds players Montreal Royals players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Indianapolis Indians players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players