Joe Gallagher (baseball)

Joseph Emmett Gallagher (March 7, 1914 – February 25, 1998), nicknamed "Muscles", was an American professional baseball left fielder. He played two seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, and Brooklyn Dodgers between 1939 and 1940.[1]

Joe Gallagher
Left fielder
Born: (1914-03-07)March 7, 1914
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Died: February 25, 1998(1998-02-25) (aged 83)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 20, 1939, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1940, for the Brooklyn Dodgers
MLB statistics
Batting average.273
Home runs16
Runs batted in73
Teams

In 165 games, Gallagher posted a .273 batting average (133-for-487) with 73 runs, 16 home runs and 73 RBIs. He recorded a .950 fielding percentage playing at left and right field.[1]

Born in Buffalo, New York, he attended and played ball for the same high school as Warren Spahn, South Park High School in South Buffalo. He was one of the "Four Joes" of the 1939 New York Yankees, along with Baseball Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Joe McCarthy, and Joe Gordon. His major league career ended after missing the entire 1941–1945 seasons due to military service, though he spent a brief time with the minor league Montreal Royals in 1946. He later coached collegiately, for both the Stephen F. Austin and Rice baseball teams. He died at age 83 in Houston, Texas.

Pro career

In 1936, Gallagher was signed by the New York Yankees and assigned to their affiliate in the Piedmont League, the Norfolk Tars. Gallagher performed well for the team, which was managed by former major leaguer first baseman Johnny Neun. That season, Gallagher played in 142 games, and finished the season with 19 home runs and a .348 batting average. Gallagher began to climb his way up the ladder in the Yankees farm system, eventually playing for their Double-A ball club, the Kansas City Blues. At Kansas City, Gallagher continued to show his power at the plate, leading the team with 24 home runs. He hit two more than teammate Wally Judnich.

In 1939, Gallagher made his debut in the major leagues, which made him briefly a teammate of Lou Gehrig. Gallagher was back-up to outfielder George Selkirk and made his MLB debut April 20th, going 0-3 in the Yankees 2-0 win over the Boston Red Sox. On June 13 of his rookie season, the Yankees traded Gallagher to the St. Louis Browns for reserve infielder Roy Hughes. While with St. Louis, Gallagher batted .282 and hit nine home runs while appearing in 71 games. The Browns finished the season in last place.

On May 27, the Browns traded Gallagher to the Brooklyn Dodgers in exchange for Roy Cullenbine, and infielder/outfield. In 1946, at the age 32, Gallagher appeared in six games for the Montreal Royals, where he was teammates with Jackie Robinson. After his brief return, Gallagher retired from baseball.

College baseball

Gallagher's playing career was interrupted by service in the United States Army in 1941 but, by the time his service had ended, he had gained too much weight to continue playing at the Major League level.[2] After returning to North America and playing minor league baseball briefly,[3] Gallagher graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University in 1947, graduated from the University of Houston in 1950 and attended the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University in 1951.[4]

In March 1947, he was hired as the head coach of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks baseball team.[3] He held that job through the 1949 season, after which he resigned to attend the University of Houston and was replaced by Paul Geisler.[5] He was named the head coach of the Rice Owls baseball team prior to the 1962 season.[6]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Rice Owls (Southwest Conference) (1962)
1962 Rice 10–124–9
Rice: 10–12 (.455)4–9 (.308)
Total:10–122 (.076)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References
  1. "Joe Gallagher Statistics and History". "baseball-reference.com. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  2. Kritzer, Cy (4 October 1950). "Sports Comment". The Buffalo News. p. 9. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  3. "Joe Gallagher Gets Job As Coach At Stephen F. Austin". The Brownsville Herald. 28 March 1947. p. 17. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  4. "'Joe' Gallagher". Tyler Morning Telegraph. 27 February 1998. p. 20. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  5. "Faculty At SFA Is Enlarged". Tyler Morning Telegraph. 24 August 1949. p. 9. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  6. "Joe Gallagher to Coach at Rice". The Buffalo News. 7 March 1962. p. 9. Retrieved 3 August 2023.


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