Larry Gardner

Larry Gardner
Third baseman
Born: May 13, 1886
Enosburg Falls, Vermont
Died: March 11, 1976(1976-03-11) (aged 89)
St. George, Vermont
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 25, 1908, for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
September 6, 1924, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
Batting average .289
Hits 1,931
Runs batted in 934
Stolen bases 165
Teams

William Lawrence "Larry" Gardner (May 13, 1886 – March 11, 1976) was a third baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1908 through 1924, Gardner played for the Boston Red Sox (1908–17), Philadelphia Athletics, and Cleveland Indians (1919–24).

Biography

Gardner was born in Enosburg, Vermont and attended Enosburg High School. He began playing baseball in the Franklin County League and attended the University of Vermont where he played baseball for three years.[1] He was the first player out of the University of Vermont to play in the American League. Gardner was signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1908, and played his first professional game on June 25, 1908.[2]

He played most of his prime in the dead-ball era, as the third baseman on several successful Red Sox teams. While he was with the Red Sox, he played in the 1912, 1915, and 1916 World Series. Gardner homered in consecutive games of the '16 Series, including a three-run inside-the-park homer in Game 4.

He played in another World Series for the Indians in 1920. In the famous 10th inning of the final game of 1912 World Series, the same inning that included Fred Snodgrass and Chief Meyers making critical fielding mistakes and giving the Red Sox two extra outs to work with, it was Gardner who drove in Steve Yerkes with the winning run of the series.[3]

Gardner batted left-handed and threw right-handed. In his 17-season career, Larry Gardner posted a .289 batting average with 27 home runs and 929 RBI in 1922 games.

Gardner was inducted into Vermont's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1969.[4] After his retirement, he returned to the University of Vermont as a baseball coach and athletic director from 1929 to 1951.[5]

Death and legacy

Gardner died on March 11, 1976 in St. George, Vermont. He was cremated and the location of his ashes are unknown.[6]

In its December 27, 1989 issue commemorating the millennium, Sports Illustrated named Gardner as one of the Top 50 Vermont athletes of the 20th Century.[7] Gardner was inducted to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2000.[8] In 2012 Gardner was inducted into the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Larry Gardner Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Larry Gardner". Baseball-Reference.Com. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Hall of Fame". University of Vermont Ahletics. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Hall of Fame". University of Vermont Ahletics. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Hall of Fame". University of Vermont Ahletics. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  6. ↑ "William Lawrence "Larry" Gardner". Find a Grave. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  7. ↑ "The 50 Greatest Vermont Sports Figures". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Red Sox Hall of Fame". Boston Red Sox. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
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