It’s baseball season, so why not share some vintage baseball images. Once again, these negatives come from my private archive. Most of these images feature the 1939-40 Cincinnati Reds. They were the National League Champs in ’39 and went on to face the New York Yankees in the World Series. The Yankees swept the 1939 Series in four games. The following season, the Red’s would once again make it the Series. This time with a different outcome and under extraordinary circumstances.

In July of the 1940 season, Red’s starting catcher Ernie Lombardi suffered an injured finger. Willard Hershberger filled in for him and played well. However, in a game against a poor New York Giants team at the Polo Grounds on July 31, the Reds blew a 4-1 late-game lead and lost the game 5-4. Three days later, the Reds lost both games of a double-header to the Boston Bees 10-3 and 4-3, respectively. The sensitive Hershberger, who caught the Giants game and the second game versus the Bees, perceived that some of his teammates might have felt or implied that they might not have lost to such poor teams had Lombardi been playing. The Giants and the Bees would ultimately finish in sixth and last place, respectively.

At one point during the Bees game, an upset Willard Hershberger alluded to his father’s suicide and said he would do likewise. Concerned, Reds manager Bill McKechnie spoke to his catcher in private. Hershberger tearfully opened up and took personal blame for the two loses. However, after about an hour, he had calmed down considerably and McKechnie believed he would be fine. The following morning, Reds publicist and traveling secretary Gabe Paul called Hershberger’s room at the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston and relayed a message from Bill McKechnie that he wasn’t going to play that afternoon and needn’t even put on his uniform; McKechnie likely wanted to give Hershberger time away from the ballpark to collect himself emotionally. However, he said he would be there. But when he failed to appear for pre-game activities, Gabe Paul became concerned and went to the hotel. The manager unlocked the door to Hershberger’s room and found him dead. He had taken his own life.

After giving his team the tragic news, Bill McKechnie exhorted the Reds to dedicate themselves to winning the World Series “for Hershie”. The Cincinnati Reds would go on to defeat the American League Champion Detroit Tigers in seven games to win the 1940 World Series. Reds players decided to share a portion of their championship money, totaling $5,803, to Hershberger’s grieving mother, Maude.

Willard Hershberger originally signed with the New York Yankees, but did not make his major league debut until age 27, after eight minor league seasons. On December 3, 1937, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for shortstop Eddie Miller and $40,000. During his three-year tenure with the Reds, Willard Hershberger was a backup to regular catcher Ernie Lombardi. Hershberger, smaller and more athletic than the lumbering Lombardi, lacked power (he hit no home runs in his major league career), but was a good hitter for average, hitting .276 in 49 games in his rookie season and .345 in 63 games in his second season. He was a part of the Reds’ 1939 World Series team, their first appearance in the “Fall Classic” since the controversial 1919 World Series. In 1940, he played in 48 games and hit .309. He had a career batting average of .316.

What a sad story. How many guys playing today would be thrilled with numbers like that. My collection includes a number of Hershberger images. Included here are a portrait taken outside the dugout; an action shot with his catcher’s gear on; and the most chilling image of them all, a makeshift memorial placed directly behind home plate. The fourth image shows the entire Red’s team paying tribute to their teammate from the top step of the dugout.

All rights to these images are controlled by Paul Freehauf/wondrousstories. More to come…