Not to be confused with Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg.
Baseball player
Hank Greenberg
Greenberg in 1946
First baseman
Born:(1911-01-01)January 1, 1911 Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Died: September 4, 1986(1986-09-04) (aged 75) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 14, 1930, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
September 18, 1947, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
Batting average
.313
Home runs
331
Runs batted in
1,276
Teams
Detroit Tigers (1930, 1933–1941, 1945–1946)
Pittsburgh Pirates (1947)
Career highlights and awards
5× All-Star (1937–1940, 1945)
2× World Series champion (1935, 1945)
2× AL MVP (1935, 1940)
4× AL home run leader (1935, 1938, 1940, 1946)
4× AL RBI leader (1935, 1937, 1940, 1946)
Detroit Tigers No. 5 retired
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction
1956
Vote
85.0% (ninth ballot)
Military career
Allegiance
United States
Service/branch
United States Army United States Army Air Forces
Years of service
1940–1941 1942–1944
Rank
Captain
Unit
XX Bomber Command
Battles/wars
World War II
China-Burma-India Theater
Henry Benjamin Greenberg (January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", and "the Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Detroit Tigers as a first baseman in the 1930s and 1940s. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and a two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award winner, he was one of the premier power hitters of his generation and is widely considered one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history.
Greenberg played the first twelve of his 13 major league seasons for Detroit; with the Tigers, he was an All-Star for four seasons and was named the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player in 1935 and 1940. He had a batting average over .300 in eight seasons, and won two World Series championships with the Tigers (1935 and 1945). He was the AL home run leader four times and his 58 home runs for the Tigers in 1938 equaled Jimmie Foxx's 1932 mark for the most in one season by anyone other than Babe Ruth, and tied Foxx for the most home runs between Ruth's record 60 in 1927 and Roger Maris' record 61 in 1961. Greenberg was the first major league player to hit 25 or more home runs in a season in each league, and remains the AL record-holder for most runs batted in in a single season by a right-handed batter.
When the United States joined World War II, Greenberg was the first major leaguer to join the armed forces; he spent 47 months in military service, more than any other major league player, all of which took place during what would have been prime years in his major league career. Like many players who served in WWII, his career statistics suffered because of the war and would have certainly been higher had he not served in the armed services during wartime. In 1947, Greenberg signed a contract for a record $85,000 salary before being sold to the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he played his final MLB season that year. After retiring from playing, Greenberg continued to work in baseball as a team executive for the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.
Greenberg was the first Jewish superstar in American team sports. He attracted national attention in 1934 in the middle of a pennant race when he grappled with the decision of whether or not to play baseball on the Jewish High Holy Days; after consultation with his rabbi, he decided to play on Rosh Hashanah, but refused to play on Yom Kippur, instead spending the day at the synagogue. Having endured his share of antisemitic abuse in his career, Greenberg was one of the few opposing players to publicly welcome African-American player Jackie Robinson to the major leagues in 1947.
Henry Benjamin Greenberg (January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", and "the Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional...
they were building a solid foundation, adding slugging first baseman HankGreenberg and pitchers Tommy Bridges and Schoolboy Rowe to a lineup that already...
married Major League Baseball player HankGreenberg in 1966, after which she went by the name Mary Jo Greenberg. She remained married to him until his...
Life and Times of HankGreenberg is a 1998 documentary film written, directed, and produced by Aviva Kempner about HankGreenberg, first baseman of the...
had a male fiancé, a masseur named HankGreenberg, who was also his business partner. In multiple interviews, Greenberg has described Verrett's true nature...
against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field, Judge equalled HankGreenberg and Sammy Sosa's record of 11 multiple home run games in an MLB season...
seasons was one of the best-hitting combinations in MLB history. With HankGreenberg at first, Charlie Gehringer at second, Billy Rogell at shortstop, and...
in the fifth. Hank Wyse got two outs, before allowing a single and walk. Doc Cramer's RBI single tied the game before HankGreenberg's three-run home...
Bryan Greenberg (born May 24, 1978) is an American actor and singer, known for his starring role as Ben Epstein in the HBO original series How to Make...
basketball player Hank Green (born 1980), video blogger Hank Goldup (1918–2008), Canadian National Hockey League player HankGreenberg (1911–1986), Hall-of-Fame...
World Series because it fell on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, like HankGreenberg before him, garnered national attention and made him an icon in the...
Oscar Charleston (.6145), Jimmie Foxx (.6093), Barry Bonds (.6069), and HankGreenberg (.6050) are the only other players with a career slugging percentage...
Jimmie Foxx (1.0376), Turkey Stearnes (1.0340), Mule Suttles (1.0176), HankGreenberg (1.0169), and Rogers Hornsby (1.0103) are the only other players with...
stretch (1930–32). Only two other players, Jimmie Foxx with 507 and HankGreenberg with 503, have surpassed 500 RBIs in any three seasons; their totals...
home run plateau. No Detroit Tigers player had turned the mark since HankGreenberg slugged 58 in 1938, and no Tiger player has reached 50 home runs since...
so that he would avoid the risk of malicious slides at second base. HankGreenberg, a natural first baseman for the Detroit Tigers, moved to left field...
father in This Isn't Funny, and in 2017, he played baseball player HankGreenberg in the film Battle of the Sexes. He is married to actress Spencer Kayden...
Cincinnati Reds won the World Series over the Detroit Tigers in seven games. HankGreenberg of the Tigers and Frank McCormick of the Reds won the Most Valuable...
refused to include Yogi Berra. In the September 1949 issue of SPORT, HankGreenberg said that DiMaggio covered so much ground in center field that the only...
between social pressures and personal beliefs. Hall of Fame first baseman HankGreenberg attracted national attention in 1934, when he refused to play baseball...
Lane (1948–1955) Chuck Comiskey (1956–1958) Johnny Rigney (1956–1958) HankGreenberg (1959–1961) Ed Short (1961–1970) Stu Holcomb (1970–1973) Roland Hemond...
the season, the Pirates convinced future Hall of Famer HankGreenberg not to retire. Greenberg gave Kiner hours of instruction, and in 1947, Kiner led...
Tigers history to hit 30 home runs in five consecutive seasons, passing HankGreenberg (1937–40) and Cecil Fielder (1990–93), who each had four consecutive...
In 1960, C.V. Starr hired HankGreenberg to develop an international accident and health business. Two years later, Greenberg reorganized one of C.V. Starr's...
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