Harry Eisenstat (October 10, 1915 – March 21, 2003) was a

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) player who played from 1935 to 1942.

Early life

Eisenstat was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was Jewish. He attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn, New York, where, in 2008, he was inducted into its prestigious Wall of Distinction.

Career

He pitched for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which 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 ...

, 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 F ...

. Eisenstat was 19 years old when he broke into the big leagues on May 19, 1935, with the Brooklyn Dodgers, the third-youngest player in the National League. In his Major League debut, he gave up 5 runs over 2 innings in a 9–6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. On October 4, 1937, he was granted

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

and signed with the Detroit Tigers. Eisenstat is best known for, while pitching for the Detroit Tigers in the first game of a doubleheader on the last day of the 1938 season, beating

Bob Feller Robert William Andrew Feller (November 3, 1918 – December 15, 2010), nicknamed "the Heater from Van Meter", "Bullet Bob", and "Rapid Robert", was an American baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Clevel ...

of the Cleveland Indians 4–1 despite Feller setting the Major League record for most strikeouts in a game (18). Earlier that season, he won both ends of a doubleheader in relief against the Philadelphia Athletics while teammate

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (born Hyman Greenberg; January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", or "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major Leagu ...

hit two home runs, causing their Tigers Manager,

Mickey Cochrane Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane (April 6, 1903 – June 28, 1962), nicknamed "Black Mike", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detro ...

, to warn the two of them to stay in their rooms that night because "the Jews in Detroit are going crazy." In 1938 his four saves were sixth-most in the National League. The next season, Eisenstat was traded to the Cleveland Indians for future Hall-of-Famer outfielder

Earl Averill Howard Earl Averill (May 21, 1902 – August 16, 1983) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1929 to 1941, including 11 seasons for the Cleveland Indians. He was a six-ti ...

. In 1938 his four saves were eighth-most in the National League. He finished his professional baseball career with the Indians. Due to World War II, Eisenstat enlisted in the Army in 1942, ending his career in the MLB. Through 2010, he was 9th all-time in career ERA (3.80; directly behind

Harry Feldman Harry Feldman (November 10, 1919 – March 16, 1962) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Giants from 1941 to 1946. Early and personal life Feldman was born and grew up in the Bronx, and was Jewish, the son o ...

) among Jewish MLB players. After the war, Eisenstat moved to

Shaker Heights, Ohio Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 29,439. Shaker Heights is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland, abutting the eastern edge of the city's limits. In July 1911, ...

, and opened a hardware store. In 1993, Eisenstat was inducted into the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. After his death in 2003, his papers were donated to the

Western Reserve Historical Society The Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS) is a historical society in Cleveland, Ohio. The society operates the Cleveland History Center, a collection of museums in University Circle. The society was founded in 1867, making it the oldest cul ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, where they are available to the serious scholar.

References

External links

Harry Eisenstat
at

SABR 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 ...

(Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Eisenstat, Harry 1915 births 2003 deaths Allentown Brooks players Brooklyn Dodgers players Cleveland Indians players Dayton Ducks players Detroit Tigers players Jewish American baseball players Jewish Major League Baseball players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Brooklyn Baseball players from New York City James Madison High School (Brooklyn) alumni United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews

Early life

Career

See also

References

External links