Fred Hartman

On August 8, 1938, the Pittsburgh Pirates took on the McKeesport (Pennsylvania) All-Stars in a benefit game for McKeesport Hospital.1 In attendance that day was a local favorite and major league ballplayer from the turn of the century, Fred Hartman.2 In a weakened state and a patient at the hospital, Hartman was given permission to attend the game.3 A photo of him surrounded by nurses was featured in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph.4 Just a few months later, in November 1938, he passed away; his remains were buried in an unmarked grave. As the decades rolled by, Hartman faded from public memory – his name was mentioned only in other players’ stories. Yet this man – a third baseman in his day – was once one of the most popular players ever to emerge from “Tube City.”  

***

Frederick Orrin Hartman was born on April 21, 1865, in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, a municipality adjacent to Pittsburgh.5 His parents, Henry and Caroline Hartman (née Swartzwelder), were immigrants from the Kingdom of Saxony (Germany).6 The elder Hartman was listed as a “laborer” in both the 1870 and 1880 US Census, with Caroline listed as “keeping house.”7  The Hartmans had four children: August, Christina, Frederick, and Anna.8

Though information regarding Hartman’s pre-baseball life is sparse, the 1870 census records his occupation as “work glass house,” alongside his older brother August and his baby sister, Anna. At the time, Hartman was just five years old, his brother 14, and sister one.9 Though child labor was common at this time, especially in industrial cities like Pittsburgh, the claim is suspect in view of Anna’s age. A decade on, Fred’s occupation was listed as “laborer.”10 Hartman was not connected with baseball until 1889.

Hartman’s name first appeared in newsprint in the box score of an April 20, 1889, game between amateur clubs from McKeesport and Braddock, Pennsylvania.11 Left fielder Hartman scored one of the runs that gave McKeesport a 19-9 victory.12 A few weeks later, on May 10, Hartman, a righty hitter and thrower, scored two runs in McKeesport’s 20-1 drubbing of the Keystones, a Black nine from Pittsburgh.13 Hartman’s 1889 season appears to have concluded with a September 28 game against Homestead (Pennsylvania) in which he hit a double and triple, scoring two runs to help his team to a 21-6 victory. 14

The following season, Hartman entered the professional ranks when McKeesport affiliated with the minor Tri-State League. But by mid-June, Hartman was playing for another Tri-State League club based in Springfield, Ohio. By July, however, Hartman was back with McKeesport, finishing out the 1890 season with that club. Appearing in 45 games overall, Fred batted a solid .289 (56-for-194) combined, according to the 1891 Reach Guide. He played capable defense (.952 fielding percentage) in right field for Springfield.15

Hartman spent the ensuing three seasons playing for minor league clubs in Pennsylvania: Erie of the New York-Pennsylvania League (1891), Wilkes-Barre of the Pennsylvania State League (1892), and then PSL rival Johnstown (1893).16 He hit well at each stop (twice over .300) while displaying defensive versatility, playing multiple infield and outfield positions.

Hartman’s work did not go unnoticed; in early 1894, he was signed by the National League’s Philadelphia Phillies. He played a number of preseason games with the team,17 but was let go before the regular season began.18 Hartman returned to the Pennsylvania State League, engaged by the Altoona Mad Turtles.19 He remained with the club when the franchise was transferred to Lancaster in early July, but did not sign a Lancaster contract.20 Several weeks later, Hartman abandoned the Lancaster club to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates.21

On July 26, 1894, the five-foot-six, 170-pound, clean-shaven Hartman made his major league debut. He was stationed at third base for a home game against the Cleveland Spiders. Facing veteran right-hander Tony Mullane, the newcomer registered a base hit and a run scored in a 9-3 Pittsburgh victory. The Philadelphia Times was impressed, reporting that despite two defensive miscues, Hartman “played a brilliant game.”22 The Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette stated that “he is big and strong and covers a world of ground around the bag.”23 Days later, Hartman tripled in the fifth inning, stole second in the eighth, and scored two runs in a 15-5 Pittsburgh victory over the Cincinnati Reds.24

By season’s end, Hartman had appeared in 49 games, batting .319 (58-for-182) for a seventh-place (65-65, .500) Pittsburgh club that batted .312 as a team during the offensively supercharged 1894 season. Hartman scored 41 runs, drove in 20 more, and his 13 extra-base hits included two home runs. Playing third base exclusively, his defensive work (.876 fielding percentage) was a shade below average statistically.25

Notwithstanding his solid rookie year, Hartman was unconditionally released by Pittsburgh in mid-October.26 Not learning of his discharge until two months later, Hartman subsequently signed with the Toledo Swamp Angels of the high-minor Western League. Despite situational instability – the Toledo franchise was transferred to Terre Haute, Indiana, at midseason, and Hartman himself was a late-campaign acquisition of the WL’s Milwaukee Brewers – Fred turned in sparkling numbers: a combined.357 BA (161-for-451), with improved hot corner defense (.891 fielding percentage, fourth-best among Western League third basemen).27

Hartman continued his standout play in 1896, batting .307 (186-for-606) and upping his third base fielding mark to .904 in 126 games for Milwaukee.28 That Western League performance revived major league interest in Hartman, and in January 1897 he was traded to the St. Louis Browns in return for infielder for Bret Myers.29 Installed as the everyday third baseman, Fred was one of the few bright lights on a woeful (29-102-2, .221) Browns club that finished dead last in the bloated 12-team National League of 1897. In 125 appearances, Hartman batted .304, with 31 extra-base hits and 67 runs scored, second-best on the club in all three categories. But his hot corner defense was suspect, as reflected in a substandard .867 fielding percentage and a National League-worst 64 errors committed.

On November 11, St. Louis traded Hartman and first baseman Mike Grady to the New York Giants in exchange for Jim Donnelly, Ducky Holmes, and $3,500.30 The Giants “had a big hole at third base”31 and expected Hartman to fill that void. His early season work pleased management and the local press. But thereafter, Hartman’s performance deteriorated, and he was fined for poor play in September.32 A rumor then circulated that he and outfielder Mike Tiernan had quit the team.33 Hartman stated that he was “unjustly fined,” and refused to play.34 The matter was settled later and Hartman was reinstated.35

Hartman’s batting average fell to .272, but his 88 RBIs were second-best for the seventh-place (77-73-7, .513) Giants. His defense remained lackluster (.882 fielding percentage, with 57 errors in 123 games) but Hartman retained his third base spot as the 1898 season commenced. It was a rocky start: he committed two errors on one first-inning play during a 5-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on April 21.36 By June, it was clear that management was not happy with Hartman’s work and began to audition others at third base.37 The following month Hartman was farmed out to the Bridgeport (Connecticut) Orators of the Connecticut State League for six games before being recalled to the Giants.38  In the unsparing estimation of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Hartman “proved a failure on third.”39 The numbers bore that assessment out. In 51 games, Hartman posted a tepid .237 batting average (25-for-177), while supplying mediocre defense (.883 fielding percentage).

In April 1900, the Giants sold Hartman to the Chicago White Stockings of the minor American League, formerly the Western League.40 Slimmed down from 180 to 156 pounds, Fred was in great condition to begin the season.41 And he soon got a new nickname. During a May 24 game against Cleveland, Hartman became involved in a heated hit-batsman dispute with umpire Frank Dwyer. A postgame article published by the Chicago Tribune contained the first application of the common 19th century nickname for men of German ancestry in describing our subject. “Hartman protested so vigorously against one of Dwyer’s decisions that he was put on the bench. [Frank] Isbell took the ‘Dutchman’s’ place at third base and played great ball,” the Tribune related.42 Thereafter, Hartman was often referred to as “Dutch.”43

In a July 26 game against the Cleveland Lake Shores, Hartman was part of what the Chicago Tribune called “the greatest mix-up ever photographed in black and white.”44 Hartman, who was on third base, tried to score on an infield grounder but a quick throw from Cleveland second baseman Frank Genins to catcher Harry Spies sent Hartman scurrying back to third. Spies “held the ball a minute too long and his quick throw to [third baseman Suter Sullivan hit Hartman in the back, bounding off towards the bleachers. Hartman turned and reached the plate in safety this time, running between two lines formed by players of both teams, who gathered around to the scene of action.”45  Chicago won, 8-6.

Hartman’s first season with Chicago produced not only respectable numbers for the third baseman but also his first championship.46 He finished the season with a.276 batting average (124 -for-450) with 28 extra base hits and 15 stolen bases for the pennant-winning (82-53, .607) Sox. His third base defense, however, remained indifferent (.876 fielding percentage in 116 games).47

In 1901, the American League declared itself a major league and commenced a fierce battle with the established National League for playing talent and fan allegiance. Hartman got off to a fast start, recording four hits and driving in a pair of runs in a 13-1 rout of Cleveland on April 28. The performance was just the first of his five four-hit games that year, including a game-winning, three-run homer to beat Washington in extra innings on June 10, 1901.48 By season’s end, Hartman’s batting average stood at a club-best 309, and his OPS of .768 was second best in the lineup to Billy Hoy (.807). He also drove in 89 runs and stole 31 bases for the American League champion Chicago White Sox.

Despite the success, Hartman was dissatisfied with his compensation from Chicago and defected to the National League’s St. Louis Cardinals shortly after the season closed. The Chicago Tribune subsequently revealed that it was “pretty well known that Hartman was dissatisfied with Chicago. Something of this cropped out of last year when he absented himself from the team for several days until [Jimmy Burke threatened to replace him. The fact that there were men on the team who were drawing larger salaries than he, although, in his opinion, they were not doing as much for the team, was the principal cause of his dissatisfaction.”49

The move proved ill-considered. From an important cog on a championship team, Hartman – by then 37 years old – became an underperformer on a sixth-place finisher. He posted an anemic .216 batting average (90-for-416) but managed to compile a career-high .908 fielding percentage in 105 games at third. On February 28, Hartman was dealt to the Buffalo Bisons of the high-minor Eastern League.

The transaction brought the major league career of Fred Hartman to a close. In 582 games spread over six seasons, he batted a respectable .278, with 134 of his 623 base hits going for extra bases. He also scored 297 runs while driving in 333 more and stole 88 bases. Playing all but seven games at third base, he had been below average defensively (.886 fielding percentage, overall). In sum, Hartman had been a competent, if less than stellar, turn-of-the-century major leaguer.

Though Hartman never played in the majors again, he was not done with baseball. He completed his professional career with turns with minor league clubs in the Eastern, Connecticut State, Tri-State, and Pennsylvania-Ohio-Maryland Leagues. Thereafter, he suited up for the Braddock team in the non-professional Allegheny County League.50 In 1908 he signed with the Scottdale (Pennsylvania) club in the Pennsylvania-West Virginia League.51 Finally, in 1909 Hartman finished up his playing career with the Rosche Club of McKeesport. He hit .368 over 23 games, scoring 28 runs.52

Off the field, Hartman’s life followed a conventional path. On February 19, 1890, he married Jennie Leotta Murphy (1871-1929) in Pittsburgh.53 The couple had two daughters, Margaret (1891-1911) and Myrtle (1893-1967) and made their residence in McKeesport.54 In the 1920 census, Hartman was listed as a “laborer” living with his family in North Versailles, Pennsylvania.55 In 1929, Jennie Hartman passed away at the age of 57.56 The 1930 census found widower Fred living with his daughter and son-in-law and their family in North Versailles.57

In 1936 the Greensburg (Pennsylvania) Daily Tribune ran a sad article about Hartman titled “Old Infielder Tells Players To Be Thrifty.” By then 71 years old, he was living in a one-room shack that adjoined a coal mine near McKeesport. He acted as a watchman “to get a place to stay,” with his only possessions being a gun and his dog.”58 Hartman attributed his destitute state to the sudden and unexpected termination of his pension from the National League and his lack of foresight in saving his money.59

In 1937, Hartman became a patient at McKeesport Hospital. He died there on November 11, 1938, from metastatic thrombosis.60 His final resting place is the McKeesport and Versailles Cemetery, in the shadow of the hospital where he spent his final days.61

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Bill Lamb and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Paul Proia.

Sources

In addition to the sources shown in the notes, the author used Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, and the following:

Ancestry.com

Findagrave.com

Newspapers.com

US Census Bureau, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1920, 1930 US Census.

Notes

1 “Bucs at M’Keesport,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, August 9, 1938: 18.

2 “Fred Hartman Succumbs,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, November 13, 1938: 37.

3 “Fred Hartman Succumbs.”

4 “Bucs at McKeesport.”

5 Though part of Pittsburgh today, Allegheny was a separate city until 1906. East Allegheny was known as “Deutschtown” because of its large number of German immigrants. Deutschtown accessed: April 19, 2026.

6 1870 U.S. Census; Fred Hartman death certificate. Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1973 – Ancestry.com: accessed: April 29, 2026. * The 1880 census lists Caroline’s place of birth as Wurttemberg.

7 1870 U.S. Census; 1880 U.S. Census. No occupation is listed for Caroline Hartman.

8 1870 U.S. Census. The surname is listed as “Hantman.” 1880 U.S. Census.

9 1870 U.S. Census.

10 1880 U.S. Census.

11 “Almost Too Easy,” Pittsburg Dispatch, April 21, 1889: 6.

12 “Almost Too Easy.”

13 “Keystones Defeat McKeesport.” Pittsburg Dispatch, May 11, 1889: 6. Strangely, the Pittsburg Dispatch’s headline read: “Keystones Defeat McKeesport: The Colored Players Metaphorically Annihilate Their Opponents.”

14 “’Twas Very Easy,” Pittsburg Dispatch, September29,1889: 6.

15 Per Tri-State League statistics published in the 1891 Reach American Association Base Ball Guide, 97, 101. Baseball-Reference provides no stats for Hartman’s 1890 season.

16 “Gossip of the Diamond,” Pittsburgh Post, March 14, 1891: 6. Frank Torreyson, who managed McKeesport, was signed to manage Erie that year. A few of the 1890 McKeesport nine headed to Erie.

17 “Short Paragraphs,” Philadelphia Times, March 11, 1894: 8; “This Time the Phillies Win,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 7, 1894: 3; “’Twas’ a Walk-Over for the Phillies,” Philadelphia Inquirer, April 17, 1894: 3.

18 “Comments on Base Ball,” Philadelphia Times, April 29, 1894: 8.

19 “Chat of the Diamond,” Philadelphia Times, April 30, 1894: 3; “A Crushing Defeat for Altoona,” Philadelphia Times, May 8, 1894: 8.

20 “League Gossip; General Comment,” Sporting Life, August 4, 1894: 2.

21 As reported in “Telegraphic Notes of Sport,” Chicago Tribune, July 27, 1894: 11; “Hartman Joins Pittsburg,” Lancaster (Pennsylvania) New Era, July 27, 1894: 1; and elsewhere. Lancaster protested the Hartman signing but National League president Nick Young determined that Hartman, having not signed a Lancaster contract, was essentially a free agent at liberty to sign with other clubs.

22 “Killen’s Left Arm Broken,” Philadelphia Times, July 27, 1894: 6.

23 “Review of Sports,” Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette, July 28, 1894: 6.

24 “Terrific Batting,” Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette, August 2, 1894: 6.

25 Hartman’s fielding average ranked 12th of the 20 National League third baseman rated in the 1895 Reach Official Base Ball Guide, 44.

26 “Baseball Brevities,” Pittsburg Press, October 16, 1894: 5.

27 According to 1895 Western League statistics published in the 1896 Reach Official Base Ball Guide, 36, 39.

28 Per 1896 Westen League stats published in the 1897 Reach Guide, 23, 26.

29 “Western League Averages,” St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat, January 21, 1897: 4.

30 “Connor After the Browns,” St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat, September 16, 1897: 10; “An Injudicious Trade,” St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat, November 12, 1897: 4.

31 “Watch Cy Seymour,” Buffalo Courier, March 1, 1898: 8.

32 “Baseball,” Buffalo Evening News, September 20, 1898: 6.

33 “Baseball Notes,” New York Sun, September 21, 1898: 5.

34 “Current Baseball News,” New York Times, September 25, 1898: 20.

35 “Nash’s Friends Wanted Him Signed …,” Buffalo Courier, December 21, 1898: 9. Just how the matter was settled is unknown.

36 “Orioles Trounced New York,” New York World, April 22, 1899: 8. The Retrosheet box score only charges Hartman with one error.

37 “Brooklyn’s Win Another,” New York Sun, June 7, 1899: 8.

38 “Bridgeport 10, Bristol 0,” Meriden (Connecticut) Morning Record, July 12, 1899: 2.

39 “Baseball Notes,” Rochester (New York) Democrat and Chronicle, September 2, 1899: 15.

40 “In the Baseball World,” New York Sun, April 4, 1900: 5.

41 “Comiskey Likes His Team,” Chicago Tribune, April 13, 1900: 4.

42 “Cruelty of the Umpire.” Dutch or Dutchman was then a common nickname for men of German ancestry.

43 “Home-Run Hartman Made Himself Solid with Local Fans,” Buffalo Enquirer, May 8, 1903: 8.

44 “Medley of Wild Throws,” Chicago Tribune, July 27, 1900: 9. *no picture of this incident can be located at this time.

45 “Medley of Wild Throws.”

46 “Chicago Takes Championship,” Chicago Eagle, September 22, 1900: 8.

47 Per 1900 American League fielding stats in the 1901 Reach Guide, 88.

48 “Hartman’s Home Run Ends Game,” Chicago Tribune, June 11, 1901: 6.

49 “New Team for Comiskey,” Chicago Tribune, October 27, 1901: 20.

50 “Metropolitan League Prepares for Action,” Pittsburgh Post, September 18, 1907:10.

51 “Local Minor Leagues,” Pittsburg Press, May 2, 1908: 7.

52 “Hartman Still Can Hit,” Pittsburgh Gazette Times, March 6, 1910: 20.

53 Fred Hartman-marriage certificate. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., Marriage Returns, 1875-1909 – Ancestry.com accessed: April 29, 2026. Her name is listed as Jennie Leotta Murry Hartman on her Find-A-Grave entry. Jennie Leotta Murray Hartman (1871-1929) – Find a Grave Memorial accessed: April 29, 2026.

54 1900 U.S. Census; Margaret Hartman death certificate Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1973 – Ancestry.com accessed: April 29, 2026; Myrtle Hartman death certificate Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1973 – Ancestry.com accessed: April 29, 2026.

55 1920 U.S. Census.

56 Jennie Hartman death certificate 1920 United States Federal Census – Ancestry.com accessed: April 29, 2026.

57 1930 U.S. Census

58 “Old Infielder Tells Players to Be Thrifty,” Greensburg (Pennsylvania) Daily Tribune, December 16, 1936: 13. The article does not reveal why Hartman was no longer living with family.

59 “Old Infielder Tells Players to Be Thrifty.”

60 Fred Hartman death certificate Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1973 – Ancestry.com accessed: April 29, 2026.

61 Fred Hartman Find-A-Grave memorial  Frederick Orrin “Dutch” Hartman (1868-1938) – Find a Grave Memorial accessed: April 29, 2026.