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Submitted: 10/24/08 • Approved: 11/28/08 • Last Updated: 7/28/12 • R85549-G0-S3
10 November 1919 – 16 March 1962
Major League Baseball Pitcher
1941 - 1946
Harry “Hank” Feldman, also known as Hard Luck Harry, was born in New York, New York where he attended Clark junior High School. He pitched two no-hitters in high school. He took time off from his job in a shirt factory to try out with the New York Giants. He was sufficiently impressive that he was signed to the Blytheville Giants of the Northeast Arkansas League in 1938. He dominated the Northeast Arkansas League with a record of 13 wins and 1 loss while compiling an earned run average of 2.02, the league’s best in both categories. With this record he was promoted to the Fort Smith Giants of the Western Association. During his first season there he was only 7 and 7, but the following year, 1939, his record improved to 25 and 9. While at Fort Smith, he met his future wife and converted from Judaism to Christianity at some point after his marriage in 1941. The 1940 and 1941 seasons were spent with the Jersey City, New Jersey Giants. His record was 19 and 29, but 18 of his losses were by one run and he acquired the nickname of Hard Luck Harry. The Army turned him down for induction when it was determined that he had lung problems as a result of having TB as a child. He made his major league debut on September 10, 1941 and remained with the New York Giants through his final game on April 25, 1946. He won his first major league game in his second start on September 21, 1941 by pitching a 4 to 0 shutout over the Boston Braves. He left the team for a brief period in 1944 due to his wife’s bad health and his mother’s death. After his return he became a mainstay in the rotation for the next couple of years. In 1944 he was ninth in the league with 40 starts. In 1945 he was 6th in the league in games started (30) and shutouts (3), and 9th in innings (217.7) and batters faced (933). In 1946 he joined 27 major league players in jumping to the “outlaw” Mexican League. These players had trouble getting back into the major leagues and he finished his career with two years playing for the San Francisco Seals with little success and he retired at the age of 30. He is eighth in lifetime earned run averages among all Jewish major league pitchers, behind such as Sandy Koufax and Ken Holtzman. After retiring he opened a record store in Fort Smith, Arkansas. In 1962, at age 42, the 6' 0", 175 lb. right-hander had a massive heart attack while tending his boat at Lake Tenkiller, Oklahoma, and died.
Resources Consulted
Ref:http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Harry_Feldman (Accessed 11/19/2008)
Ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Feldman (Accessed 11/19/2008)
Contributed on 10/24/08 by tomtodd
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Record #: 85549