Joseph Harris (May 20, 1891 – December 10, 1959), nicknamed "Moon", was an 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played for ten seasons 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), ...

(MLB) between 1914 and 1928 for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

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 Fi ...

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 eigh ...

, Washington Senators, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Brooklyn Robins."Joe Harris Statistics and History"
Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2017.

Life

Harris was born in

Coulter, Pennsylvania Coulter (also known as Coulters, formerly also Coulterville or Coultersville) is an unincorporated community in South Versailles Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located along the Youghiogheny River, sout ...

. In 1918, Harris was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. He served during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was in a truck accident while serving. Harris suffered two broken legs, three broken ribs and a fractured skull, thus creating the 'lump' under his eye. He did need plastic surgery to help fix his facial injury. In 1919, Harris was discharged due to injury from the army and returned to the

for part of the season. At season's end, he played for an industrial team, which offered him money and a business. Harris played with the team for the 1920 and 1921 seasons. By violating the reserve clause in his 1919 contract, Harris automatically was placed on organized baseball's ineligible list. Prior to the 1922 season, Harris applied for and was granted reinstatement by baseball commissioner

Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his ...

, in part due to Harris' war service. In 1923, he led the Red Sox with a .335 batting average, ninth-best in the American League. His .520 slugging percentage was the league's fifth-highest. Harris was traded to the Washington Senators early in the 1925 season and helped them win the American League pennant, hitting .323 with a 1.003 OPS in 100 games. In the

1925 World Series The 1925 World Series was the championship series of the 1925 Major League Baseball season. A best-of-seven playoff, it was played between the National League (NL) pennant winner Pittsburgh Pirates and the Washington Senators. The Pirates defe ...

, Harris went 11-for-25 with three home runs, though the Pirates would come back from a 3–1 deficit to win the series in seven games. After batting .307 in only 92 games in 1926, Harris was selected off waivers by the Pirates before the 1927 season. Harris had another good year, batting .326 with 73 RBIs in 129 games as the Pirates won the National League pennant. In the

1927 World Series The 1927 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1927 season. The 24th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion New York Yankees against the National League champion Pittsburgh Pirat ...

, Harris went 3-for-15 with just one RBI as the Pirates lost to the Yankees in a four-game sweep. Harris died at age 68 in

Plum, Pennsylvania Plum is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 27,144 at the 2020 census. A suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, it is located northeast of the city in what is commonly referred to as the East Hills s ...

Career statistics

In 970 games played over 10 seasons, Harris hit .317 (963-for-3035) with 461 runs scored, 201 doubles, 64 triples, 47 home runs, 516 RBI, 413 walks, a .404 on-base percentage and .472 slugging percentage. Defensively, he finished his career with an overall .987 fielding percentage. Harris played for the Bay City (MI) Beavers in the Southern Michigan league in 1913-1914

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Joe 1891 births 1959 deaths People from South Versailles Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania New York Yankees players Cleveland Indians players Boston Red Sox players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Pittsburgh Pirates players Brooklyn Robins players Major League Baseball first basemen Baseball players from Pennsylvania United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War I McKeesport Tubers players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Bay City Beavers players Jersey City Skeeters players Chattanooga Lookouts players Sacramento Senators players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players