Augie Galan

Augie Galan
Outfielder
Born: (1912-05-23)May 23, 1912
Berkeley, California
Died: December 28, 1993(1993-12-28) (aged 81)
Fairfield, California
Batted: Switch Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 29, 1934, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
September 26, 1949, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average .287
Home runs 100
Runs batted in 830
Teams
Career highlights and awards

August John "Augie" Galan (May 23, 1912 – December 28, 1993) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1934 to 1949 for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants, and Philadelphia Athletics. Galan threw right-handed and began his career as a switch hitter, but, starting in the latter part of 1943, he became strictly a left-handed hitter until the end of his career.

Early life

One of eight children, Galan’s parents had emigrated from France in the late 19th century, and his father operated a French hand laundry on Berkeley’s University Avenue.[1] At age 11 he broke his right elbow playing sandlot ball. He concealed the injury from his parents, fearful of being barred from further play. The arm was never set, healed improperly, and it was never fully healthy throughout Galan's professional career.[2] He graduated from Berkeley High School.[3]

Minor leagues

Galan started in the Texas League and graduated to the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in 1932. In 1933 he was PCL Most Valuable Player, and in 1934 was purchased by the Cubs.[4]

Major Leagues

In a 16-season big-league career, Galan posted a .287 batting average with 1,706 hits, 100 home runs and 830 run batted in in 1,742 games played. In 1937, Galan was the first player in the Majors to hit switch-hit home runs in a game.[5] Galan was selected to three National League All-Star teams and homered in the 1936 contest off Schoolboy Rowe to help power the Senior Circuit to a 4–3 victory. He also played in three World Series (1935 and 1938 with the Cubs, and 1941 with the Dodgers), but his teams never won. Galan collected four Fall Classic hits in 29 total at bats (.138).

In 1935, he became the first full-time player to make 649 plate appearances and not hit into a double play,[6] though he did hit into a triple play. Often injured (he broke his knee in 1940), Galan had a deformed arm from a childhood injury. A knee injury forced him to give up batting from the right side of the plate.

Later life

After leaving the Major Leagues in 1949, Galan returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and played two more seasons with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League, then managed the club to a 77–103 record (seventh place) in 1953. He joined the Philadelphia Athletics' coaching staff in 1954, their last year in that city, and went on to spend 17 years as a minor league coach and manager in the Athletics' organization.[7]

Augie Galan died in 1993 in Fairfield, California at 81 years of age. He was survived by his wife of 40 years, Shirley, and four children, Karen Dumont of Redding, Calif., Adrianne Hain of Napa, Calif, Augie Jr. of Portland, Ore. and Darcy Rafferty of Newark, N.J.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/10f4ef3f
  2. ↑ http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2007/1/6/112323/9305
  3. ↑ http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/10f4ef3f
  4. ↑ http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2007/1/6/112323/9305
  5. ↑ Solomon, Abbot Neil, "Baseball Records Illustrated", Quintet Publishing, London, 1988
  6. ↑ "Single Season Grounding Into Double Play Records" Check |url= value (help). baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  7. ↑ http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Augie_Galan
  8. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/30/obituaries/augie-galan-baseball-player-81.html
Preceded by
Mel Ott		 Oakland Oaks manager
1953 		Succeeded by
Chuck Dressen
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