1905
Born June 10, 1905
Calhoun, AL, USA
Vic Harris Marquee
b. June 10, 1905 · Pittsburgh Keystones 1922, Cleveland Browns 1924, Chicago American Giants 1924, Homestead Grays 1928–1933, 1935–1945, 1947, Detroit Wolves 1932, Pittsburgh Crawfords 1934
Vic Harris managed the Homestead Grays through the most dominant run any club in the Negro Leagues put together, winning nine pennants, while playing left field for much of it. He was known as a hard competitor and, by several accounts, the most aggressive baserunner in the league.
His playing career started with the Pittsburgh Keystones in 1922 and took in Chicago and Cleveland before he settled with the Grays in 1928. Apart from a season with the Pittsburgh Crawfords in 1934 he stayed with Homestead for the rest of his career, and was picked for seven East-West All-Star games.
Born in Calhoun, Alabama in 1905, Harris batted .307 with 902 hits and 598 runs in the surviving record. Harris was seventy-two at his death on February 23, 1978.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Negro Leagues East-West Classic | 7 | 1933, 1934, 1938, 1939, 1942, 1943, 1947 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | PK | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .167 |
| 1924 | CAG/CBN | 42 | 150 | 25 | 40 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 23 | 20 | 0 | 2 | .267 |
| 1928* | HG | 19 | 72 | 19 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| 1929 | HG | 68 | 276 | 54 | 83 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 43 | 24 | 0 | 8 | .301 |
| 1930* | HG | 55 | 231 | 59 | 83 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 43 | 21 | 6 | 3 | .359 |
| 1931* | HG | 37 | 129 | 22 | 36 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 17 | 0 | 3 | .279 |
| 1932 | DW/HG | 50 | 192 | 48 | 64 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 36 | 28 | 0 | 2 | .333 |
| 1933 | HG | 22 | 97 | 14 | 29 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | .299 |
| 1934 | PC | 63 | 236 | 41 | 79 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 18 | 1 | 4 | .335 |
| 1935 | HG | 44 | 176 | 39 | 57 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 19 | 0 | 5 | .324 |
| 1936 | HG | 30 | 121 | 32 | 43 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 12 | 0 | 0 | .355 |
| 1937 | HG | 48 | 202 | 59 | 66 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 48 | 24 | 0 | 0 | .327 |
| 1938 | HG | 44 | 176 | 43 | 53 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 26 | 16 | 1 | 0 | .301 |
| 1939 | HG | 33 | 129 | 18 | 34 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 22 | 20 | 0 | 0 | .264 |
| 1940 | HG | 47 | 183 | 37 | 50 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 18 | 19 | 1 | 1 | .273 |
| 1941 | HG | 46 | 179 | 23 | 42 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 14 | 2 | 1 | .235 |
| 1942 | HG | 52 | 183 | 26 | 48 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 35 | 17 | 0 | 3 | .262 |
| 1943 | HG | 38 | 141 | 31 | 51 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 16 | 0 | 1 | .362 |
| 1944 | HG | 20 | 30 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .400 |
| 1945 | HG | 17 | 31 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .226 |
| 1947 | HG | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Major leagues | — | 668 | 2510 | 498 | 759 | 119 | 48 | 34 | 408 | 258 | 5 | 29 | .302 |
| All seasons | — | 779 | 2942 | 598 | 902 | 144 | 60 | 42 | 483 | 306 | 11 | 35 | .307 |
Seasons outside MLB's recognized major leagues appear in All seasons, but not in Major leagues or the leaderboards. For Vic Harris, that is 1928–1931. Why totals can differ.
On this day & linked events
1978
Died February 23, 1978
Image: Harrison Studio, public domain