Chuck Harmon
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Charles Byron (Chuck) Harmon (born April 23, 1924 in Washington, Indiana) is a former utility player in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Redlegs (1954-1956[start]), St. Louis Cardinals (1956[end]-1957[start]) and Philadelphia Phillies (1957[end]). He batted and threw right handed.
Harmon was a College All-American in basketball at the University of Toledo. On April 17, 1954, he became the the first Black American to play with Cincinnati. In the same game he followed another Cincinnati black rookie, Puerto Rican born Nino Escalera. Harmon hit over .300 during five consecutive minor league seasons but never approached such numbers in the majors. He also played for the Cardinals and Phillies, and in Puerto Rico winter baseball for four years.
In a four-season major league career, Harmon was a .238 hitter with seven home runs and 59 RBI in 289 games played.
Following his playing career, Harmon worked as a scout with the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves in baseball, and the Indiana Pacers in basketball. Later he worked as an administrative assistant for the Hamilton County Court System in Cincinnati, Ohio. He remains active in SWAP (Seniors With A Purpose) and other youth related services.
Harmon was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995.
On April 20, 2004 (the 50th anniversary of Harmon's debut as the Reds' first African-American player), the Cincinnati Reds honored him during Chuck Harmon Recognition Night at Great American Ball Park. The pregame ceremonies included the unveiling of a special historic plaque, which now hangs near the entrance of the ballpark.
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[edit] Trivia
- When Harmon stole 9 bases in 1955, it tied him for tenth in the National League. He was in some pretty good company...Gene Baker, Ernie Banks, Don Hoak, and Duke Snider. It took Harmon only 96 games to get 9 stolen bases. By contrast, it took the other four players an average of 138 games to steal the same number of bases.
