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 ...
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), ...
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