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Harry Harlan Mowrey (March 24, 1884 – March 20, 1947) was an American professional baseball
third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
who played in the Major Leagues from 1905 to 1917. He would play for the
Cincinnati Reds,
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
,
Brooklyn Robins, and
Pittsburgh Pirates.
Jacob Mowrey, Harry's father and the town's sheriff, frequently housed tramps in his jail cell overnight. Young Harry became particularly friendly with one tramp, prompting one of his brothers to nickname him "Mike the Hobo."
Mowrey was best known for his unorthodox fielding style—instead of catching a hard smash in his glove, he would knock the ball to the ground and then pick it up to throw out the runner. Defending against the bunt was a corner infielder's primary responsibility during the Deadball Era, and in 1910 Alfred H. Spink called Mowrey "the best fielder of bunts in either league."
Mowrey grew up playing baseball with school and town teams in the Chambersburg area. By the turn of the century he was a third baseman for Chambersburg Academy, playing well enough in 1902 to earn a shot with a team from
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census.
Incorporated in 1682, Chester i ...
, just south of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, in the independent Pennsylvania League. Mowrey returned to central Pennsylvania with Williamsport of the independent Tri-State League in 1904, the same year he married Nannie K. Hammel (the couple remained married until his death 43 years later). In 1905 Mowrey joined the ranks of affiliated baseball with
Savannah of the
South Atlantic League
The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...
. His .285 batting average and flashy defensive play at third base so impressed the
Cincinnati Reds that they purchased his contract.
Mowrey made his first
major league debut on September 24, 1905, playing both games of a doubleheader. He appeared in seven games that season, batting .267 but making seven errors at third base. Mowrey spent most of 1906 with
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
of the
Eastern League, which was owned by Cincinnati manager
Ned Hanlon. The Reds recalled him in August to avoid losing him in the minor-league draft, and Mowrey hit .321 in 21 games.
In 1907, Mowrey was the regular third baseman for Cincinnati, playing in 138 games and hitting .252. He hit an inside-the-park home run against Joe McGinnity on August 14. Mowrey hit only .220 and lost his starting position to
Hans Lobert
John Bernard "Hans" Lobert (October 18, 1881 – September 14, 1968) was an American third baseman, shortstop, coach, manager and scout in Major League Baseball. Lobert was immortalized in the 1966 Lawrence Ritter book ''The Glory of Their Times'' ...
in 1908. He hurt his knee in 1909 and was hitting just .191 when the Reds traded him to
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
on August 22 for infielder
Chappy Charles
Raymond "Chappy" Charles (March 25, 1881 – August 4, 1959) was an infielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinna ...
. Returning to regular duty with the Cardinals in 1910, Mowrey enjoyed the best season of his 13-year career, hitting .282, a career-high 70 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases. He remained the Cardinals' regular third baseman through the end of 1913, collecting at least 400 at-bats each year and hitting between .255 and .268.
The Cardinals sent Mowrey to the
Pittsburgh Pirates on December 12, 1913, in the "famous three-for-five deal." St. Louis traded Mowrey, first-baseman
Ed Konetchy
Edward Joseph Konetchy (September 3, 1885 – May 27, 1947), nicknamed "Big Ed" and "The Candy Kid", was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball for a number of teams, primarily in the National League, from to . He played for the St. L ...
, and pitcher
Bob Harmon to Pittsburgh for infielders
Dots Miller
John Barney "Dots" Miller (September 9, 1886 – September 5, 1923) was an American professional baseball first baseman and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1909 through 1921 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Car ...
and
Art Butler
Arthur Edward "Artie" Butler (December 18, 1887 – October 7, 1984) was an American infielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the Boston Rustlers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an Americ ...
, outfielders
Chief Wilson and
Cozy Dolan
Patrick Henry "Cozy" Dolan (December 3, 1872 – March 29, 1907) was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Beaneaters, Chicago Orphans, Brooklyn Superbas, Chicago White Sox and ...
, and pitcher
Hank Robinson
John Henry (Hank) Robinson (born John Henry Roberson; August 16, 1887 - July 3, 1965) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played from to and again in with three teams. He batted right and threw left-handed.
He was born in Floyd, Arkansas ...
. Hampered by injuries, Mowrey played in only 79 games for the Pirates before drawing his unconditional release. He played with some independent teams to finish out the 1914 season.
In 1915 Mowrey remained in Pittsburgh with the
Federal League
The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...
's
Pittsburgh Rebels, hitting .280 and leading all Federal League third basemen with a .959 fielding percentage. He also established career highs in games (151), hits (146), and stolen bases (40). After the Federal League folded,
Wilbert Robinson
Wilbert Robinson (June 29, 1864 – August 8, 1934), nicknamed "Uncle Robbie", was an American catcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Philadelphia Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals ...
signed Mowrey for his veteran team in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. That year he batted .244 in 144 games and his career-best .965 fielding percentage led
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 ...
third basemen and the Robins won the pennant. Appearing in his first World Series, Mowrey hit only .176 in Brooklyn's losing effort. In 1917 the 33-year-old third baseman held out for more money, not reporting until April 10. Mowrey batted just .214 and the Robins released him in August, ending his major league career.
Mowrey then worked in a steel plant and played ball for Lebanon in the Steel League alongside many other former major league players. In 1920 and 1921, Mowrey played for and managed the
Hagerstown Hubs.
He led Hagerstown to the championship of the
Blue Ridge League
The Blue Ridge League was the name of two minor league baseball organizations that operated in the first half of the twentieth century in the United States.
History
The first league operated for the better part of sixteen years, from 1915 throu ...
in 1920, but the team finished last in 1921. In 1922 and 1923, Mowrey played for his hometown
Chambersburg Maroons in the same league. In 1926, Mowrey managed
Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
in the
International League and Scottdale, Pennsylvania, in the
Middle Atlantic League
The Middle Atlantic League (or Mid-Atlantic League) was a lower-level circuit in United States, American minor league baseball that played during the second quarter of the 20th century.
History
The Middle Atlantic League played from 1925 in base ...
.
Mowrey lived in Chambersburg for the rest of his life. He bought some farmland and supplemented his farm income as a night watchman at
Wilson College. During World War II Mike worked at the
Letterkenny Ordnance Depot and coached its baseball team. He died from heart disease on March 20, 1947. Two months later, over 1,000 people attended a memorial service for Mowrey at
Henninger Field after a Letterkenny game. According to the eulogy, "He was our Grand Old Man of Baseball, who started as a sandlotter and went to the top in baseball to become one of the greatest third basemen the game had known."
External links
Further reading
*Johnson, Lloyd and Wolff, Miles, editors: ''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball.'' Durham, North Carolina Publisher:
Baseball America, 2007. Format: Hardback, 767 pp.
*Savitt, Robert B. ''The Blue Ridge League: Images of Baseball'' Publisher: Arcadia Publishing, 2011. Format: Softcover, 127pp. Language: English.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mowery, Mike
1884 births
1947 deaths
Major League Baseball third basemen
Baseball players from Pennsylvania
Cincinnati Reds players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Brooklyn Robins players
Pittsburgh Rebels players
People from Franklin County, Pennsylvania
Minor league baseball managers
Chester (minor league baseball) players
Williamsport Millionaires players
Savannah Pathfinders players
Baltimore Orioles (IL) players
Des Moines Champs players
Birmingham Barons players
Hagerstown Terriers players
Hagerstown Champs players
Chambersburg Maroons players