Hank Greenberg: Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 1956

Born: January 1, 1911

1929: Turned down Yankees because they had Lou Gehrig. He attended New York University instead.

1930: Signed by Detroit Tigers

Debut: September 14, 1930 (Tigers)

1930-2: Minor Leagues

1933: Rejoined the Tigers

1934: A rabbi convinced Greenberg to play on Rosh Hashanah, but he refused to play on Yom Kippur.

1934: Tigers lost World Series

1935: AL MVP

1935: 103 RBI at All Star Break (still the record)

1935: Tigers win World Series

1936: Broke his wrist

1937: Hit first homer to Yankee Stadium bleachers

1937: 183 RBI

1938: Challenged Babe Ruth. Finished with 58 home runs & set the non-steroid record of 11 multi-homer games.

1940: Switched to outfield & Won MVP

1940: Tigers lose World Series

1940: Drafted

1941: Released from military, re-enlisted after Pearl Harbor

1941-45: World War II

1945: Returns from war, hits pennant winning 9^th inning grand slam

1945: Tigers win World Series

1947: Traded to Pirates after salary dispute with Tigers

1947: One of the few players to embrace Jackie Robinson

1947: Retired & moved to Indians’ front office

1956: First Jewish player in Hall of Fame

1959: Joined Bill Veeck and bought White Sox

1959: Sox win pennant

1961: Greenberg stepped down as Sox GM

After baseball, he became an investment banker.

1975: Rejoined Veeck & became minority owner of Sox again

1983: Tigers retired his #5

1986: Died

1999: All Century Team finalist

Accomplishments:

2x World Champion

2x AL MVP

5x All Star

.313 Average

Hit .300: 7x

1051 runs

100 runs: 6x

Led league 144 runs (1938)

1628 hits

200+ hits: 3x

30+ doubles: 6x

40+ doubles: 5x

50+ doubles: 2x

63 doubles (led league): 1934

Led league in doubles: 2x

10+ triples: 2x

331 home runs

Led league in HR: 4x

30+ HR: 6x

40+ HR: 5x

58 HR (1938)

1276 RBI

Led league in RBI: 4x

100+ RBI: 7x

150+ RBI: 3x

183 RBI (1937)

852 walks-844 strikeouts

Led league in walks: 2x

100+ Walks: 3x

.412 OBP

.400+ OBP: 7x

.605 slugging

.600+ slugging: 7x

Led league .670 slugging (1940)

1.017 OPS

1.000+ OPS: 6x

Led league 1.103 OPS (1940)

3142 total bases

300+ TB: 7x

Led league in TB: 2x

Postseason: .318, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 1.044 OPS (4 World Series)