Harry Redmond

The tale of two recruits: The Brooklyn Superbas, mired in the second division of the National League in 1909, called up new personnel that September. One of that cadre, outfielder Zack Wheat, played 19 years in the majors and became a Hall of Famer. Another, infielder Harry Redmond, went 0-for-19 in his eight-day trial for the Brooklynites – the third-longest career hitless streak of any position player from the 20th century onward. He eventually ended his playing career as the second verified major-leaguer to ply his trade in the wide expanse of the Alaska frontier.1

Harry John Redmond was born on September 13, 18872 in Cleveland, Ohio, the second of eight children born to Michael Redmond, an Irish-born machinist for a refrigerator company, and Bridget (Goldrick) “Bessie” Redmond, from Ohio. Michael and Bessie had married in 1881.

By the 1900 census, 12-year-old Harry was listed as a day laborer. In 1905, Redmond, for a Cleveland amateur all-star team, “played one of the most spectacular games ever witnessed on the local grounds in recent years” in a victory over Loudonville.3 Almost immediately after, the sandlot player joined the Erie (Pennsylvania) Fishermen team of the Class D Interstate League. The homesick lad quickly returned to Cleveland after rebuffing attempts by Erie to retain him.4

The next year, Redmond played for a Euclid Beach amateur team in Cleveland. He was considered “a second baseman of good repute. . . a reliable player both in the field and at the bat.”5 By May, the 18-year-old had debuted for the Braddock (Pennsylvania) Infants of the new Class D Pennsylvania-Ohio-Maryland (POM) League.6 Redmond hit .287 and – switching to the outfield – fielded at a .952 clip for the Infants.7

Redmond latched on with the Vicksburg (Mississippi) Hill Billies of the Class D Cotton States League in early 1907. He had been recommended to Vicksburg manager ‘Smiling’ George Blackburn by Mique “Mickey” Finn, former Nashville manager who was by then returning as Little Rock manager. Redmond shifted back to second base from his outfield post of the year prior.8 He hit .480 in 25 exhibition at-bats against the likes of the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Little Rock, and local amateur teams.9 Redmond collected 27 stolen bases and hit .241 for Vicksburg, which finished in second place. After the season he was drafted by the Memphis Egyptians of the Class A Southern Association.

Memphis returned Redmond to Vicksburg to begin 1908, but he was later sold back to Memphis in May.10 He hit just .174 in 63 games. After the season, Redmond was sold down in class to the Class D Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Twins of the Carolina Association.11

For 1909, “Reddy” Redmond played every inning of each of Winston-Salem’s first 97 games of the season.12 He was said to have “certainly made many friends by his gentlemanly conduct and modest bearing as well as by the excellent qualify of his ball playing.”13 Redmond’s streak was broken, however, in mid-August when he was summoned to Cleveland to be with his very ill mother, who later passed away.

Redmond had been signed by the Brooklyn Superbas in late July, to report after the minor-league season.14 The Memphis News-Scimitar printed an unflattering writeup on Redmond’s promotion: “We all know that Harry Redmond will never bat better than .150 in the big league. He couldn’t hit at a .200 clip down here.”15 The sniping was unjustified on one hand – Redmond hit .242 for Winston-Salem – but proved prescient.

Redmond arrived in Brooklyn on September 7, along with pitcher Elmer Knetzer and outfielders Red Downey and Zack Wheat.16 Redmond made his major-league debut for manager Harry Lumley that day, at home at Washington Park against the Philadelphia Phillies. He struck out in the bottom of the ninth inning, pinch-hitting for his former Winston-Salem teammate, rookie pitcher Eddie Dent.

The next day, Redmond debuted in the starting lineup in the nightcap of a doubleheader as Brooklyn moved across New York City to the Polo Grounds to face the Giants. The Times Union wrote that Redmond “made a splendid showing.”17 This contest began a span of 21 straight away games for the Superbas. Redmond committed two errors in the second game of another doubleheader on September 11 against the Giants. Still, after the September 13 game against Philadelphia, it was reported that “the work of Wheat and Redmond, two of Brooklyn’s new men, and plays by (Philadelphia’s Eddie) Grant and (Red) Dooin, stood out as features in the fielding line.”18 While Wheat shined at the plate, hitting over .300 in his September trial, Redmond did not. Redmond finished 0-for-19 with six strikeouts and but one walk, while also committing four errors in his five games at second base for the Superbas, who finished the season in sixth place.

The Sporting News from that week commented that “Wheat Pleases Patrons,” while “Reddy Redmond, also of Winston-Salem, has been playing second for us, but hasn’t been setting the world on fire.”19

Indeed, Redmond’s futility rivaled that of any other major-league position player from the 20th century onward. Research shows only Larry Littleton (0-for-23) with the 1981 Cleveland Indians and Mike Potter (also 0-for-23) with the 1976-1977 St. Louis Cardinals as more ineffective.20

Unsurprisingly, Redmond never played in the majors again. In January 1910, Brooklyn sent him to the Springfield (Massachusetts) Ponies of the Class B Connecticut State League. Redmond was hampered by a foot injury early in the season. Brooklyn repurchased the second baseman in August, wishing to send him to Rochester.21 Redmond balked, however, preferring southern climates owing to health concerns. Brooklyn later traded him to the Galveston Sand Crabs of the Class B Texas League for pitcher George Crable.22 Redmond planned to winter in the Island City to get acclimated to the South Texas climate.

Early in the 1911 season for Galveston, Redmond was considered the best-fielding second baseman in the Texas League, but he was released by late June, after the club tried to sell him to Greenville (Mississippi).23 He hit only .233 in 40 games, while having his jaw broken, then his nose broken two months later. This brought on rheumatism. Manager Jiggs Donahue sent Redmond to a ranch near Hot Springs (near the southwest Texas-Mexico border) to shake it, but to no avail.24 Redmond couldn’t secure his release, so he just left.25 He was listed as suspended by Galveston on their year-end reserve list.

To avoid the suspension, Redmond moved to the Bassano (Alberta) Boosters of the Western Canada “Twilight” League under the assumed name of Harry Raymond.26 “Rusty Raymond” hit .332 in 100 games for manager Chesty Cox. He also led the league with 180 total bases, tied for the league lead with 118 hits, and led second baseman in fielding at .964.27 After the season he was secured by Spokane, although Cincinnati was allegedly also interested in Redmond. Spokane suspended him, however, when he didn’t report in early September, as “Red” was still playing with Bassano.28

The suspension cleared by spring training 1913, Redmond started the season with the Indians, but they had a plethora of infielders. He was released in late April, shortly after throwing out his arm in a game.29 Redmond wired Edmonton, also in the WCL, which showed interest, so he became the second baseman and captain of the Grey Birds, playing under his real name. He was labeled “easily the best second sacker who ever appeared in this circuit.”30 The “snappy” second baseman became manager in late June after skipper Ray Whisman, who was suspended for evading the league salary limits, eventually resigned.31 Edmonton finished second, and Redmond led the circuit in batting at .310.32

Released by Edmonton in May 1914, Redmond went to play ball in Juneau, Alaska with fellow former Western Canada Leaguers pitcher Walter Ford and outfielder Clarence Duggan and work for the prolific goldmine concerns. Redmond expected to stay there two to three years. A year prior, pitcher Ben Hunt was believed to be the first player from the major leagues to play in the Alaskan territory.33 By mid-June Redmond was playing with Douglas-Treadwell against the only other local team, Gastineau-Juneau (which Ford and Duggan joined). The “auburn haired second sacker” took part in an exciting home-and-home doubleheader split on July 4-5.34 Juneau eventually won the 15th game of the summer series to cop the regional title. Redmond hit only .214 (9–for-42) in the series, although that was good for second on the squad.35 In November 1914, he captained the Douglas indoor baseball team, with games held at the local ice rink.36

In 1915, Redmond played second base and captained the Treadwell squad, which won the summer series against Juneau. During the following winter, he was elected vice-president of the Treadwell fire department. However, a month later, Redmond was heading back to the lower 48. Juneau’s newspaper in January 1916 declared that “H.J. Redmond, who was captain and second baseman of the Treadwell baseball team last season, will leave on an early boat for his old home at Cleveland, Ohio. It’s understood that he does not intend to return.”37

In the 1920s, Redmond married Helen Kinsella, also of Cleveland. They had no children. Harry helped co-found (with his brother) and later worked as the secretary/treasurer for the George Redmond Plumbing Co. in Cleveland, a company for which he worked 40 years.38 Helen died in March 1946. Harry later remarried to Ann Liss Perkins. Brother George passed away in 1958.

Harry J. Redmond died in Cleveland of cardiac failure on July 10, 1960, aged 72. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brook Park, Ohio. He was survived by his second wife, Ann; sisters Leila, May, and Jean; and brothers Eugene and Jay.39

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Bill Lamb and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Mark Sternman.

Sources

In addition to the sources shown in the Notes, the author used Baseball-Reference.com, StatsCrew.com, MyHeritage.com, and GenealogyBank.com.

Notes

1 Our subject is not to be confused with Harry Redmon, an East St. Louis theater owner who allegedly lost large bets on the 1919 World Series. Redmon later appeared as a prosecution witness during the July-August 1921 criminal trial of those accused in the Black Sox scandal. Many papers during this time also referred to this person as ‘Harry Redmond.’

2 The 1900 census lists Redmond’s year of birth as 1886, while his death certificate lists 1885.

3 “All-Stars Strong Finish,” Cleveland Leader, July 14, 1905: 8.

4 “Redmond Leaves Erie,” Cleveland Leader, July 31, 1905: 8.

5 “Outland Want Chief Zimmer,” Cleveland Leader, January 14, 1906: 16.

6 “Charleroi Is Whitewashed,” Pittsburgh Post, May 15, 1906: 9.

7 “Manager Blackburn Writes Pitcher Bishop a Plain, Firm Letter,” Vicksburg (Mississippi) American, February 11, 1907: 1.

8 “Opening of Cotton States Season,” Vicksburg (Mississippi) Evening Post, April 10, 1907: 7.

9 “Batting and Fielding Averages,” Vicksburg Evening Post April 10: 1907: 7.

10 “Mystery!! Redmond Recalled or Sold?” Vicksburg Evening Post, May 29, 1908: 3. The Montgomery team claimed Memphis simply “farmed” Redmond to Vicksburg, a violation of organized baseball rules, for recall when needed, a claim Memphis denied.

11 “Babb Sells Men,” Montgomery Advertiser, January 24, 1909: 10.

12 “Redmond’s Unique Record,” Winston-Salem (North Carolina) Sentinel, August 17, 1909: 6.

13 “Harry Redmond Will Leave Twins Today,” Winston-Salem Journal, August 25, 1909: 2.

14 “Ebbets Lands More Players from the Minor Leagues,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 28, 1909: 18.

15 “Redmond and Schmidt,” Winston-Salem Sentinel, September 14, 1909: 6.

16 “Philadelphia 3-2, Brooklyn 1-6,” Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky), September 7, 1909: 8.

17 “Superbas Unlucky Not to Score Double Win,” Brooklyn Times, September 9, 1909: 7.

18 “Brooklyn Easy for the Phillies,” Morning Post (Camden, New Jersey), September 14, 1909: 3.

19 A. Yager, “Are Making Good,” The Sporting News, September 16, 1909: 5.

20 Catcher Henry Zeiher also went 0-for-21 with the 1886 Washington Nationals. Multiple pitchers have had more career at-bats without a base hit, “led” by Randy Tate (0-for-41) of the 1975 New York Mets. See “Most Career At Bats Without a Hit,” Statmuse.com (https://www.statmuse.com/mlb/ask/most-career-at-bats-without-a-hit), accessed June 12, 2024.

21 “Ebbetts (sic) Secures Wilbert Schardt,” St. Louis Star, August 11, 1910: 10.

22 “Redmond Will Report,” Houston Post, September 13, 1910: 3; “Sporting News,” Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily Republican, March 17, 1911: 10.

23 “Donahue Popular,” Houston Post, June 18, 1911: 18.

24 “Texas League Notes and Gossip,” El Paso Herald, June 27, 1911: 4.

25 “Raymond, Who Played for Bassano, Is Harry Redmond,” Morning Albertan (Calgary), March 28, 1913: 6.

26 “Raymond, Who Played for Bassano, Is Harry Redmond.”

27 “Bassano Led in Team Batting,” Bassano (Alberta, Canada) News, September 26, 1912: 5. Baseball-Reference.com only shows “Raymond” with 170 total bases.

28 “Youngster is Suspended,” Spokane Chronicle, September 5, 1912: 14.

29 “Redmond and Felts to Go,” Spokane Chronicle, April 22, 1913: 19.

30 “Western Canada League Commences Its Sixth Season,” Edmonton Journal, May 3, 1913: 19.

31 H.B. Boreham, “Comment on Doings in World of Sport,” Calgary Herald, June 26, 1913: 8; “Harry Redmond Is Edmonton Manager,” Vancouver Daily World, June 26, 1913: 15.

32 “Ex-Lookouts Minor Stars,” Chattanooga Daily Times, November 18, 1913: 8.

33 “Base Ball Game Tomorrow Perhaps,” Alaska Daily Empire (Juneau), July 19, 1913: 1.

34 “Even Break in Baseball Games,” Alaska Daily Empire, July 6, 1914: 4.

35 “Juneau Wins Championship,” Douglas Island (Alaska) News, August 26, 1914: 2.

36 “The Local Field,” Douglas Island News, November 25, 1914: 3.

37 “Island News Notes,” Alaska Daily Empire, January 14, 1916: 6.

38 “Obits,” Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal, July 13, 1960: 3.

39 “Death Notices: Harry J. Redmond,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, July 12, 1960: 20.