Henry John Gruber (December 14, 1863 – September 26, 1932) was an American professional baseball

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 ...

who played from 1885 through 1895. A right-hander, he played five years 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), ...

with the

Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the pre ...

(1887–88) and

Spiders Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species dive ...

(1889, 1891) of the

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 ...

and the

Cleveland Infants The Cleveland Infants were a one-year baseball team in the Players' League, a short-lived Major League that existed only for the 1890 season. Owned by Al Johnson, the Infants finished , their lone season, with 55 wins and 75 losses. Their home g ...

(1890) of the

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

. He won 61 games and lost 78 in his career, and had a 3.67

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). He was also the first professional coach hired by the

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

baseball team, holding that position in 1892.

Hartford

Gruber was born in

Hamden, Connecticut Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant". The population was 61,169 at the 2020 census. History The peaceful tribe of Quinnipiacs were the first residents of the ...

, in December 1863. He began his professional baseball career at age 21, playing for the

Hartford Babies Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

of the Southern New England League. He compiled a 16-11 record and a remarkable 1.27 ERA in 241 innings pitched for the Babies. No records exist indicating where or whether Gruber pitched during the 1886 season. Gruber spent most of the 1887 season with the

Hartford Dark Blues The Hartfords (more commonly called the Hartford Dark Blues because of their uniform color) were a 19th-century baseball team. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut. History In 1874, baseball in Hartford, CT was being played in a fever pit ...

of the Eastern League. He compiled a 21-7 record and 1.48 ERA in 255 innings for the Dark Blues.

Detroit

After a second impressive season in the minors, Gruber was deemed ready for the major leagues. He made his major league debut on July 28, 1887, for the

of the

. He appeared in seven games for the 1887 Detroit Wolverines, compiling a 4-3 record. His 2.74 ERA was the lowest on a team that won the National League pennant and went on to defeat the St. Louis Browns in the

1887 World Series The 1887 World Series was won by the Detroit Wolverines of the National League, over the St. Louis Browns of the American Association, 10 games to 5. It was played between October 10 and 26, and played in numerous neutral cities, as well as in De ...

. Gruber did not appear in any World Series games. In 1888, Gruber remained with the Wolverines. The team had finished in first place with a 79-45 record in 1887, but dropped in 1888 to fifth place and a 68-63 record. Gruber improved his ERA from 2.74 in 1887 to 2.29 in 1888, ranking as the ninth lowest ERA in the National League during the 1888 season. However, as the team's fortunes declined, Gruber compiled a losing record of 11-14 in 1888.

Cleveland

After the 1888 season ended, the Detroit Wolverines franchise was disbanded, and its players sold to other teams. In December 1888, the

Cleveland Spiders The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followed ...

purchased Gruber, Ed Beatin,

Sy Sutcliffe Elmer Ellsworth "Sy" Sutcliffe (April 15, 1862 – February 13, 1893), also known as "Cy" or "Old Cy," was an American baseball player. He played eight seasons of Major League Baseball, principally as a catcher but also as a first baseman, outfie ...

and

Larry Twitchell Lawrence Grant Twitchell (February 18, 1864 – April 23, 1930) was a professional baseball player from 1886 to 1896. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as an outfielder but occasionally as a pitcher, with seven different ...

from the Wolverines. During the 1889 season, Gruber compiled a 7-16 record and 3.64 ERA in 25 games for the Spiders. In 1890, Gruber jumped to the

in the newly formed

. The Spiders in February 1890 attempted, unsuccessfully, to induce Gruber to disregard his contract with the Players' League and return to the Spiders, as reflected in this report from ''Sporting Life'':

"A dispatch from New Haven, Conn., states that Secretary Hawley, of the Players, has recently been in that city to induce pitcher Henry Gruber, who has signed with the Cleveland Players' League, to throw up his contract with the Brotherhood. Gruber refuses to do this and will stand by the Brotherhood, although he is dissatisfied with the contract he has signed with them, owing to the clause which provides that a player's salary shall not be paid unless the gate receipts are enough to meet the expenses. He has notified the manager that his salary must be sure and unhampered by condition."

Gruber appeared in a career high 48 games and pitched a career high 383 innings for the Infants in 1890. However, Gruber's control of the strike zone declined markedly in 1890. After walking only 94 batters in 1889, Gruber walked 204 batters in 1890—the third highest total in the Players' League. He also led the league with 36 wild pitches. In his Players' League debut, Gruber walked 16 batters in a 23-2 loss to the Buffalo Bisons. Gruber finished the 1890 season as a 20-game winner, but had even more losses with a 22-23 record. The Players' League lasted only one season, and Gruber returned to the Cleveland Spiders in 1891. He compiled a 17-22 record and 4.27 ERA for the 1891 Spiders.

Coaching and minor leagues

In 1892, while still under contract with Cleveland, Gruber was hired as the first professional coach of the

baseball team. Gruber lived in New Haven and was hired for the position by team captain William H. Murphy. Shortly after he was hired, in late March 1892, Gruber was hit in the ankle by a batted ball while training the players in Yale's gymnasium. He reportedly limped to the street and took a horse car home. Though no bones were broken, the foot became swollen, and he was unable to pitch for some time. Gruber did not return to the major leagues after the ankle injury, his last major league game having been pitched on October 2, 1891. He did continue to play in the minor leagues for another four years. He compiled a 22-17 record for the

Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the NCAA's Division I-A in 2001, became a football only member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, and joined that conference for all other sports in 2005. Troy Univer ...

in 1893, and an 18-15 record for the Springfield Maroons in 1895.

Later years

In January 1896, shortly after his playing career ended, ''Sporting Life'' published the following update on Gruber: "Henry Gruber is looking like a lord nowadays when promenading on Chapel street n New Haven There is a certain dark-eyed young lady who seems much smitten with Henry, and there is no doubt but what her affections are reciprocated." From 1897 to 1899, Gruber worked as an umpire in the Eastern League and the

Connecticut League The Connecticut League, also known as the Connecticut State League, was a professional baseball association of teams in the state of Connecticut. The league began as offshoot of the original Connecticut State League, which dates back as far as 1884 ...

. In 1905, he became an umpire in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

. Gruber died in 1932 at age 68 in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruber, Henry 1863 births 1932 deaths 19th-century baseball players Baseball players from Connecticut Cleveland Infants players Cleveland Spiders players Detroit Wolverines players Major League Baseball pitchers Hartford (minor league baseball) players Waterbury (minor league baseball) players Hartford Babies players Lynn (minor league baseball) players Newburyport Clamdiggers players Hartford Dark Blues (minor league) players New Haven Nutmegs players Troy Trojans (minor league) players Springfield Ponies players Springfield Maroons players Troy Washerwomen players Scranton Indians players New Haven Edgewoods players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players People from Hamden, Connecticut