Harry Lee "Peanuts" Lowrey (August 27, 1917 – July 2, 1986) was an American

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

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 for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(1942–43; 1945–49),

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(1949–50),

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 ...

(1950–54) and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(1955). He was born in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

and attended Alexander Hamilton High School in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He was nicknamed as a child by an uncle who, remarking on Lowrey's small size, said, "Why, he's no bigger than a peanut." While Lowrey was growing up in Greater Los Angeles, he worked as a child actor on the

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

comedies. As a 35-year-old, he was credited for his screen role as a ballplayer, nicknamed "Peanuts," in ''

The Winning Team ''The Winning Team'' is a 1952 biographical film directed by Lewis Seiler. It is a fictionalized biography of the life of major league pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander (1887–1950) starring Ronald Reagan as Alexander, Doris Day as his wife ...

'', a 1952 biography of

Grover Cleveland Alexander Grover Cleveland Alexander (February 26, 1887 – November 4, 1950), nicknamed "Old Pete", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. He ...

that starred

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

in the title role. Lowrey the ballplayer stood 5 feet, inches (1.74 m) tall, weighed and threw and batted right-handed. In a 13-season career, Lowrey posted a .273

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 ...

with 1,177 hits, 37

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 479 RBI in 1,401

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. In his late career, he became known as one of the top

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

s in the Major Leagues. He set an MLB record with seven consecutive pinch hits in , and the following season made 21 pinch hits to fall one shy of the then-MLB all-time record. He missed the 1944 season while serving in the Army with the Military Police unit. Lowrey was discharged after six months and rejoined the Chicago Cubs in 1945. Lowrey was the last Cub to have scored a run in the World Series (game 7, 1945) until Kris Bryant scored a run in game 2, 2016. After a brief

managing Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

career in minor league baseball, Lowrey returned to the Major Leagues as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

with the Phillies (1960–66),

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

(1967–68),

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

(1969), Cubs (1970–71; 1977–81) and

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

(1972). Lowrey died in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

, at the age of 68 and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.

References

External links

Peanuts Lowrey
- Baseballbiography.com *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowrey, Peanuts 1917 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male child actors Austin Senators players Baseball players from Los Angeles Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City California Angels coaches Chicago Cubs coaches Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball third base coaches Major League Baseball third basemen Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Moline Plowboys players Montreal Expos coaches National League All-Stars New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Philadelphia Phillies coaches Philadelphia Phillies players Ponca City Angels players St. Joseph Angels players St. Louis Cardinals players San Francisco Giants coaches Seattle Rainiers players Alexander Hamilton High School (Los Angeles) alumni Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players People from Culver City, California