{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}} {{Short description|American baseball player (1895–1963)}} {{other people}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Harry Harper |image = Harry Harper, N.Y., 1921 LOC npcc.04928.jpg |caption = Harper c. 1915 |position=Pitcher |bats=Left |throws=Left |birth_date={{Birth date|1895|4|24}} |birth_place=Hackensack, New Jersey, U.S. |death_date={{death date and age|1963|4|23|1895|4|24}} |death_place=New York City, New York, U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate= June 27 |debutyear= 1913 |debutteam= Washington Senators |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=May 8 |finalyear=1923 |finalteam= Brooklyn Robins |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Win–loss record |stat1value=57–76 |stat2label=Earned run average |stat2value=2.87 |stat3label=Strikeouts |stat3value=623 |teams= * Washington Senators ({{baseball year|1913}}–{{baseball year|1919}}) * Boston Red Sox ({{baseball year|1920}}) * New York Yankees ({{baseball year|1921}}) * Brooklyn Robins ({{baseball year|1923}}) |module={{Infobox officeholder|embed=yes | office = New Jersey Commissioner of Labor and Industry | term_start = 1944 | term_end = 1950 | office1 = Bergen County Sheriff | term_start1 = 1927 | term_end1 = 1931 | predecessor1 = Mort O'Donnell | successor1 = Mort O'Donnell | party = Republican | spouse = | education = | occupation = {{hlist|Politician|baseball player}} }}}}
'''Harry Clayton Harper''' (April 24, 1895 – April 23, 1963) was an American professional baseball pitcher, businessman, and politician. He played in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Brooklyn Robins between 1913 and 1923. Harper started Game 6 of the 1922 World Series for the Yankees.
Harper was from Hackensack, New Jersey, and was often called "Hackensack Harry" during and after his baseball career. Harper invested his salaries in his business career while he was a baseball player. After retiring from baseball, Harper entered politics, and won election as sheriff of Bergen County as a Republican. He served in the cabinets of Governors Walter Evans Edge and Alfred E. Driscoll, as the Commissioner of Labor and Industry. He also lost elections to the New Jersey Legislature and United States Congress.
==Early life== Harper was born on April 24, 1895, in Hackensack, New Jersey, to Elizabeth (née Van Saren) and Henry Clay Harper. He was the second of three sons born to the couple.<ref name=sabr>{{Cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/harry-harper/|title=Harry Harper |first=Bill|last=Nowlin|publisher=Society for American Baseball Research|accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref> He started earning money through selling newspapers, coffee, and tea when he was ten years old. Harper's father died when he was 13 years old, and he dropped out of school after the eighth grade to work in a factory in New York City, earning $7 per week (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|7|1908}}}} in current dollar terms).<ref name=sabr/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/78398031/harry-harper-dies-after-n-y-surgery/|title=Harry Harper Dies After N. Y. Surgery|page=5|work=The Record |via=Newspapers.com |date=April 23, 1963 |accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
==Baseball career== ===Washington Senators=== Harper also earned money by playing in semi-professional baseball in Hackensack. Former Major League Baseball (MLB) player George Davis watched Harper throw a no-hitter in 1913, when Harper was 18 years old,<ref name=debut/> and scouted Harper for the Washington Senators of the American League.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/78398156/southpaw-h-harper-looks-to-have-goods/ |title=Southpaw H. Harper Looks to Have Goods|page=16|work=Evening Star |via=Newspapers.com |date=June 27, 1913 |accessdate=May 14, 2021}}</ref> They convinced his mother to give permission for Harper to join the team.<ref name=sabr/> Harper made his MLB debut for the Senators on June 27, 1913, pitching three innings as a relief pitcher.<ref name=debut>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/78398256/george-davis-brings-young-pitcher-to/ |title=George Davis Brings Young Pitcher To Griff|page=11|work=The Washington Herald |via=Newspapers.com|date=June 28, 1913 |accessdate=May 14, 2021}}</ref> He played in four games during the 1913 season, with a 3.55 earned run average (ERA) in {{frac|12|2|3}} innings pitched.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WSH/1913.shtml|title=1913 Washington Senators Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
Harper signed a contract with the Senators in 1914 that contained a clause barring him from pitching on Sundays.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/79889697/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22&match=1 |title=19 Jan 1914, Page 8|work=The Washington Times |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=January 19, 1914 |accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref> He had a 2–1 win–loss record and a 3.47 ERA in 57 innings in 1914, but also committed three errors in 14 total chances.<ref name=sabr/> When the Senators needed to reduce their roster size by a mid-May deadline in 1915, they sent Harper to the Minneapolis Millers of the Class AA American Association.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/79912370/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20minneapolis&match=1 |title=11 May 1915, Page 10|work=The Washington Times |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=May 11, 1915 |accessdate=May 14, 2021}}</ref> He threw a no-hitter for Minneapolis in May,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/560772442/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20minneapolis&match=1 |title=20 May 1915, 3|work=St. Joseph Gazette |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=May 20, 1915 |accessdate=May 14, 2021}}</ref> and had a 7–9 record with a 2.81 ERA in 154 innings, while issuing 127 walks.<ref name=sabr/> He returned to Washington in July.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/15293782/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20minneapolis&match=1 |title=17 Jul 1915, Page 5|work=The Daily Review |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=July 17, 1915 |accessdate=May 14, 2021}}</ref> He had a 4–4 record and a 1.77 ERA in 19 games, 10 games started, for Washington in 1915.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WSH/1915.shtml|title=1915 Washington Senators Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
Throughout his career, Harper was a bad-luck pitcher either due to injury or playing on a bad baseball team. He played for the Senators for seven seasons. His most productive season came in 1916 with Washington, when he posted career numbers in wins (14), strikeouts (149) and innings pitched ({{frac|249|1|3}}), while recording a 2.45 ERA.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WSH/1916.shtml|title=1916 Washington Senators Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref> Harper had a 11–12 record and a 3.01 ERA in 31 games, all starts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WSH/1917.shtml|title=1917 Washington Senators Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref> In 1918, Harper went 11–10 in 244 innings, His 2.18 ERA ranked him sixth between the American League pitchers, while his 13 wild pitches led the league.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1918-pitching-leaders.shtml|title=1918 American League Pitching Leaders|website=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref> He had a 6–21 record with a 3.72 ERA for the Senators in 1919; his 21 losses led the league.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1919-pitching-leaders.shtml|title=1919 American League Pitching Leaders|website=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
===Later career=== After the 1919 season, the Senators traded Harper, Eddie Foster and Mike Menosky to the Boston Red Sox for Braggo Roth and Red Shannon.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/78685491/roth-shannon-go-for-menosky-harper-fo/ |title=Roth, Shannon Go for Menosky, Harper, Foster|page=12|work=New-York Tribune |via=Newspapers.com |date=December 30, 1919 |accessdate=May 14, 2021}}</ref> He had a 5–14 record with a 3.04 ERA for the Red Sox in 1920,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/1920.shtml|title=1920 Boston Red Sox Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref> which was seventh-best in the league.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/AL/1920-pitching-leaders.shtml|title=1920 American League Pitching Leaders|website=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref> After the 1920 season, the Red Sox traded Harper, Waite Hoyt, Mike McNally, and Wally Schang to the New York Yankees for Del Pratt, Muddy Ruel, Hank Thormahlen, and Sammy Vick.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/604585303/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20%22waite%20hoyt%22%20%22wally%20schang%22&match=1 |title=16 Dec 1920, 13|work=Nashville Banner |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=December 16, 1920 |accessdate=May 14, 2021}}</ref> In his first start for the Yankees, on May 13, his thumb was broken by a line drive hit by Eddie Ainsmith.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/466215691/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20%22eddie%20ainsmith%22&match=1 |title=14 May 1921, 12|work=New-York Tribune |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=May 14, 1921 |accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref> He did not return to the Yankees until August. He started six games for the Yankees in September, finishing the season with a 4–3 record and a 3.76 ERA. The Yankees won the American League pennant and Harper started Game 6 of the 1921 World Series, but did not earn a decision.<ref name=sabr/>
The Yankees did not use Harper in a game during the 1922 season due to an injury to his pitching hand,<ref name=sabr/> and he was released by the team in June 1922.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/489632057/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22&match=1 |title=2 Jun 1922, 8|work=The Record |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=June 2, 1922 |accessdate=May 14, 2021}}</ref> He pitched for a semi-professional team in Hackensack after he was released.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/489646556/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20business&match=1 |title=8 Jul 1922, 6|work=The Record |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=July 8, 1922 |accessdate=May 20, 2021}}</ref> Harper signed with the Brooklyn Robins for the 1923 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/182182257/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22&match=1 |title=23 Sep 1922, Page 8|work=The Evening News |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=September 23, 1922 |accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref> He pitched in one game for Brooklyn before he was released, and he returned to playing semi-professional baseball.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/489635955/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20brooklyn&match=1 |title=1 Jun 1923, 12|work=The Record |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=June 1, 1923 |accessdate=May 14, 2021}}</ref> In May 1924, he joined the Reading Keystones of the Class AA International League.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/48245988/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20reading&match=1 |title=30 May 1924, Page 5|work=Reading Times |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=May 30, 1924 |accessdate=May 14, 2021}}</ref> He continued to pitch and manage in semi-professional baseball for a team based in Hackensack.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/489397499/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22&match=1 |title=24 Mar 1926, 19|work=The Record |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=March 24, 1926 |accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
In a 10-season career, Harper posted a 57–76 record with 623 strikeouts and a 2.87 ERA in 219 appearances, including 171 games started, 66 complete games, 12 shutouts, five saves in 1,256 innings pitched.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/harpeha01.shtml|title=Harry Harper Stats|website=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
==Political and business career== With the salary that he drew from the Senators in 1913, Harper purchased a truck and opened a garbage collection business. His fiancé compelled him to sell the business before they married.<ref name=sabr/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/28954289/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20bessie&match=1 |title=16 Oct 1917, Page 12|newspaper=The Washington Post |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=October 16, 1917 |accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref> Harper formed a trucking business in 1922, and requested a leave of absence from the Yankees to pursue it.<ref name=sabr/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/586669558/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22&match=1 |title=21 Feb 1922, 16|work=Knoxville Sentinel |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=February 21, 1922 |accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref> The company expanded into construction,<ref name=millionaire>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/395950194/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20trucking&match=1 |title=15 May 1931, 19|work=The Evening News |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=May 15, 1931 |accessdate=May 20, 2021}}</ref> helped build the Holland Tunnel and moved pipe that was laid from the Catskill Mountains to New York City.<ref name=sabr/>
In 1925, Harper was elected president of the Hackensack chapter of the Kiwanis Club.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/490088339/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20kiwanis%20president&match=1 |title=5 Jan 1925, 7|work=The Record |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=January 5, 1925 |accessdate=May 20, 2021}}</ref> He entered local politics in 1927 with a campaign for sheriff of Bergen County as a Republican. He defeated Mort O'Connell, the political boss of the Bergen County Democratic Party by around 10,000 votes.<ref name=njglobe>{{cite web|url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/bergen/the-story-of-hackensack-harry/|access-date=May 14, 2021|date=March 3, 2019|title=The story of Hackensack Harry|last=Wildstein|first=David|work=New Jersey Globe}}</ref> He served a three-year term as sheriff, and ran in a special election for the New Jersey Senate in 1931, following the expulsion of Ralph W. Chandless.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/489962641/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20%22Ralph%20Chandless%22&match=1 |title=2 May 1931, 20|work=The Record |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=May 2, 1931 |accessdate=May 20, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/395950194/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20trucking&match=1 |title=15 May 1931, 19|work=The Evening News |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=May 15, 1931 |accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref> Harper won the Republican nomination by defeating County Judge John Zabriskie with 61% of the vote. Harper lost the general election to William H. J. Ely, a Bergen County District Judge, 52%–48%, during what was a difficult year for Republicans due to the unpopularity of President Herbert Hoover's economic policies.<ref name=njglobe/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/1920-1970//1931-primary-election.pdf|title=State of New Jersey, 1931 Primary Election Results|author=New Jersey Secretary of State}}</ref>
In 1934, Governor Harold G. Hoffman appointed Harper to serve on the New Jersey Civil Service Commission. He remained in that role for a decade, until Governor Walter Evans Edge appointed him Commissioner of Labor and Industry in 1944. Alfred E. Driscoll kept Harper in the position after he was elected governor in 1946.<ref name=njglobe/>
In 1948, Harper ran for United States Senate seat occupied by Albert W. Hawkes, who was retiring, against Driscoll's wishes. Driscoll endorsed Harper's primary opponent, Robert C. Hendrickson, the New Jersey State Treasurer. Hendrickson won the primary by over 60,000 votes, though Harper carried Bergen County in a landslide.<ref name=njglobe/> Harper resigned from the state cabinet in order to run in a special election in February 1950 for the United States House of Representatives for {{ushr|NJ|7}} following the resignation of J. Parnell Thomas. He faced William B. Widnall, a member of the New Jersey General Assembly. Though Harper had the support of the Bergen County Republicans, he narrowly lost the primary election to Widnall, 50%–40%, a margin of 402 votes.<ref name=njglobe/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/489479533/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20%22William%20Widnall%22&match=1 |title=25 Jan 1950, 3|work=The Record |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=January 25, 1950 |accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
==Personal life and family== Throughout his baseball career, Harper refused to play on Sundays; he held out from the Red Sox after his trade there in part to ensure that clause was added to his contract.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/78024260/the-evening-herald/|title=Harry Harper refuses to sign with Red Sox|work=The Evening Herald |via=Newspapers.com |date=February 14, 1920 |page=8|accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
Harper became engaged to Bessie (née Brewster) of Hackensack, daughter of Sheriff George Brewster, in October 1917.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/302621380/?terms=%22harry%20harper%22%20bessie&match=1 |title=23 Oct 1917, 3|work=The News-Herald |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription |date=October 23, 1917 |accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref> They were married on February 26, 1918. They had a son, George, and a daughter, Elizabeth.<ref name=sabr/> George represented Sussex County in the New Jersey Senate and served as New Jersey Auditor from 1964 to 1974. Harry Harper's grandson, George Jr., became mayor of Sandyston.<ref name=njglobe/>
==Death== Later in life, Harper relocated to the Layton section of Sandyston Township, New Jersey.<ref>Barbati, Carl. [http://www.njherald.com/story/20138292/sussex-hall-of-fame-welcomes-new-members "Sussex Hall of Fame welcomes new members"], ''New Jersey Herald'', November 19, 2012. Accessed January 5, 2017. "Harry Harper, Layton (1913–23, Senators, Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers)"</ref>
Harper had surgery at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York, and died in the hospital on April 23, 1963.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/78397876/|title=Harry Harper Dies in NYC; Was Athlete, Public Official|page=2 |work=The Herald-News |via=Newspapers.com |date=April 24, 1963 |accessdate=May 15, 2021}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==External links== {{Baseballstats|br=h/harpeha01|brm=harper001har}} *[https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/H/Pharph101.htm Retrosheet]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Harry}}
Category:1895 births Category:1963 deaths Category:American businesspeople in construction Category:American businesspeople in the trucking industry Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:Brooklyn Robins players Category:Businesspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey Category:Businesspeople from Sussex County, New Jersey Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Category:New Jersey Republicans Category:Sheriffs in New Jersey Category:New York Yankees players Category:People from Sandyston Township, New Jersey Category:Reading Keystones players Category:Baseball players from Hackensack, New Jersey Category:Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:Baseball players from Sussex County, New Jersey Category:American athlete-politicians