Herbert Howard Hash (February 13, 1911 – May 20, 2008) was an American right-handed

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 ...

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 from 1940 to 1941 for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. He was born in

Woolwine, Virginia Woolwine is an unincorporated community in northern Patrick County, Virginia, United States. The western terminus of State Route 40 is here, at State Route 8. The community lies in the Rocky Knob American Viticultural Area. Two covered bridges a ...

Early life

Hash was born near the location of the present day Woolwine Elementary School. He attended the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

and is a member of the University's Hall of Fame.

Professional baseball career

Hash made his debut for the Red Sox on April 19, 1940. Hash was used extensively during the 1940 season, making his first start on May 26 at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

. He was knocked out of the game in the sixth inning but came back four days later to pitch the first

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

of his career at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

before a capacity crowd of 82,437. It was customary to play doubleheaders in this era on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

, and he started the second game of the twin bill. He scattered six

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in an 11–4 victory. He pitched his first career

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 ...

on June 23 at Municipal Stadium against the

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 ...

as the Red Sox won 2–0. The 1941 season proved to be his last stint in the major leagues, with his final appearance occurring on April 30, 1941. A string of injuries and illnesses cut short what looked to be a very promising baseball career, as Hash had a very serious back injury which required a spinal fusion and 145 stitches in his back. He continued to pitch in the minor leagues, with his latest documented minor league stint coming in 1946. His lifetime major league stats are 38 games with a record of 8–7, a 4.98

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 ...

, 3 complete games, 1 shutout and 4 saves in 128⅓

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

, with a lifetime

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 ...

of .167.

Personal life

Hash also served in the educational field during his baseball career. After his baseball career ended, he served as a teacher or principal for thirty three years.

Death and legacy

Herb Hash died of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

on May 20, 2008 in

Culpeper, Virginia Culpeper (formerly Culpeper Courthouse, earlier Fairfax) is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 20,062 at the 2020 census, up from 16,379 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper Coun ...

, with his death announced by Red Sox commentators

Jerry Remy Gerald Peter Remy (November 8, 1952 – October 30, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and sports broadcaster. Remy played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for ten seasons—three with the California Angels (197 ...

and

Don Orsillo Don Orsillo (born December 16, 1968) is the play-by-play announcer for the San Diego Padres on Bally Sports San Diego and for the MLB on TBS. Orsillo was the television voice of the Boston Red Sox on NESN from 2001 to 2015. He was then hired by t ...

during play versus 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 ...

. At the time of his death, at the age of 97, Hash had been recognized as the fourth-oldest living former major league ballplayer, and the second oldest former Red Sox player.

References

External links

MLB
historical player statistics
Herb Hash
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Hash, Herb Major League Baseball pitchers Boston Red Sox players Canton Terriers players Rocky Mount Red Sox players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Danville Leafs players Richmond Spiders baseball players Baseball players from Virginia 1911 births 2008 deaths People from Patrick County, Virginia