Ellsworth Tenney "Babe" Dahlgren (June 15, 1912 – September 4, 1996) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played twelve seasons in Major League Baseball from 1935 to 1946 for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Browns, Brooklyn Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Dahlgren is perhaps best remembered for replacing Lou Gehrig in the lineup on May 2, 1939,[1] which ended Gehrig's 14-year, 2,130 consecutive game streak. Dahlgren hit a home run and a double as the Yankees routed Detroit 22–2. He went on to hit 15 home runs and drive in 89 runs for the season for the Yankees.[2]
The Browns returned Dahlgren to the Cubs for a contract dispute once it was learned that he had become eligible for the draft in May 1942.[3] He was sold to the Dodgers soon after. In August 1942 he sought voluntary retirement.[4] In early 1943, Dahlgren was notified by the draft board to report for his physical, which occurred in mid-May of that year.[5] After passing his physical, Dahlgren was to be inducted into the military in July 1943.[6] In July 1943, he played on the National League All-star team. In October 1943, Dahlgren was rejected for military service due to a sinus condition.[7]
Highlights
- Had a 621 consecutive game streak with the San Francisco Missions of the Pacific Coast League from 1931 to 1934
- Member of the 1934 Pacific Coast League All-Star Team as a First Baseman for the Mission Reds
- Member of the 1936 International League All-Star Team as a First Baseman for the Syracuse Chiefs
- Member of the 1937 International League All-Star Team as a Third Baseman for Newark Bears
- Member of 1938-39 New York Yankees World Series Champions
- Hit the first home run of the 1939 World Series in game 2 off of Bucky Walters
- Named to 1943 National League All-Star Team as an Infielder for the Philadelphia Phillies
- Presided over the first American League pension plan meeting in 1946
- Briefly returned to the majors as a coach for the 1964 Kansas City Athletics
Personal life
Dahlgren was married twice. His first wife was Josephine Greco whom he married on September 30, 1932. The marriage ended in divorce on December 14, 1941 on the grounds that his wife had deserted him. He remarried to Mabel Virginia Decker on January 1, 1942. Mabel and Babe had two sons: Raymond and Donald. His grandson, Matt Dahlgren, is an author of multiple baseball books.[8]
After years of dementia, Dahlgren died of natural causes in Arcadia, California on September 4, 1996.[9]
References
- ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: New York Yankees 22, Detroit Tigers 2". Retrosheet.
- ^ "Lou Gehrig ends his streak", The Baseball Page
- ^ The New York Times, May 19, 1942
- ^ The New York Times, August 23, 1942
- ^ The New York Times, May 20, 1943
- ^ The New York Times, May 27, 1943
- ^ The New York Times, October 21, 1943
- ^ "Babe Dahlgren (SABR BioProject)". Society for American Baseball Research.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (September 6, 1996). "Babe Dahlgren, 84, Successor to Gehrig When Streak Ended". The New York Times.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Babe Dahlgren at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
- Babe Dahlgren at Find a Grave
Recent Comments