{{Short description|American baseball player (1900–1946)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Johnny Grabowski |image=Johnny Grabowski.jpg |position=Catcher |bats=Right |throws=Right |birth_date={{Birth date|1900|1|7}} |birth_place=Ware, Massachusetts, U.S. |death_date={{death date and age|1946|5|23|1900|1|7}} |death_place=Albany, New York, U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=July 11 |debutyear=1924 |debutteam=Chicago White Sox |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=September 21 |finalyear=1931 |finalteam=Detroit Tigers |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=.252 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=3 |stat3label=Runs batted in |stat3value=86 |teams= *Chicago White Sox ({{mlby|1924}}–{{mlby|1926}}) *New York Yankees ({{mlby|1927}}–{{mlby|1929}}) *Detroit Tigers ({{mlby|1931}}) |highlights= *2× World Series champion ({{wsy|1927}}, {{wsy|1928}}) }}
'''John Patrick Grabowski''' (January 7, 1900 – May 23, 1946) was an American baseball player. He played professional baseball for 12 years from 1922 to 1933, including seven years as a catcher in Major League Baseball with the Chicago White Sox (1924–1926), New York Yankees (1927–1929), and Detroit Tigers (1931). He was a member of the 1927 and 1928 New York Yankees teams that won consecutive World Series championships. Grabowski was one of a number of American athletes in the first half of the 20th century to be nicknamed "Nig", being referred to as such in newspaper reports as early as October 1924.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77400812/joe-neidl-signed-by-all-dorp-five-for-co/ |title=Joe Neidl Signed by All-Dorp Five for Court Labors |newspaper=The Post-Star |location=Glens Falls, New York |page=6 |date=October 10, 1924 |accessdate=May 9, 2021 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>
==Early years==
Grabowski was born in Ware, Massachusetts, in 1900 to a family of Polish descent.<ref name=BR>{{cite web|title=Johnny Grabowski Major League Statistics|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=March 27, 2016|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/grabojo01.shtml}}</ref>
==Professional baseball== Grabowski began his professional baseball career in 1922 with the St. Joseph Saints, then spent 1923 and 1924 with the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association.<ref name=BR2>{{cite web|title=Johnny Grabowski Minor League Statistics|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|work=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=March 27, 2016|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=grabow002joh}}</ref> He was traded to the Chicago White Sox in July 1924 and made his major league debut that month.<ref>{{cite news|title=Grabowski Is New White Sox Catcher, Secretary States|newspaper=Arizona Republic|date=July 7, 1924|page=8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4764708/grabowski_is_new_white_sox_catcher/|via=Newspapers.com}} </ref> Grabowski played for the White Sox for three years, from 1924 to 1926, appearing in 89 games, 78 of them as a catcher.<ref name=BR/> One of the games Grabowski caught was Ted Lyons' no-hitter on August 21, 1926. <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1926/B08210BOS1926.htm|title=Retrosheet Boxscore: Chicago White Sox 6, Boston Red Sox 0}}</ref>
In January 1927, the White Sox traded Grabowski to the New York Yankees.<ref>{{cite news|title=Yankees Trade Aaron Ward To White Sox|newspaper=Pittsburgh Gazette Times|date=January 14, 1927|page=11|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JIxRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-GgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4323%2C4335911|via=Google News Archive}}</ref> He had his best season for the 1927 "Murderer's Row" New York Yankees, considered by some to be the best baseball team in history. Grabowski appeared in 70 games for the 1927 Yankees, sharing the catching duty with Pat Collins and Benny Bengough in 1927. Grabowski had a .350 on-base percentage for the 1927 Yankees. He remained with the Yankees through the 1929 season and won two World Series championships with the Yankees in 1927 and 1928.<ref name=BR/>
After spending 1930 with the St. Paul Saints, Grabowski returned to the major leagues in 1931 with the Detroit Tigers.<ref>{{cite news|title=Johnny Grabowski Conspicuous By His Silence|author=Harry Bullion|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=March 1, 1931|page=25|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4764942/johnny_grabowski_conspicuous_by_his/|via=Newspapers.com}} </ref> He appeared in 40 games with the Tigers, 39 as a catcher. He appeared in his last major league game in September 1931. In seven major league seasons, Grabowski appeared in 296 games, 282 as a catcher, and compiled a career .252 batting average and .295 on-base percentage.<ref name=BR/>
Grabowski concluded his playing career playing for the Montreal Royals of the International League in 1932 and 1933.<ref name=BR2/>
==Later years== After retiring as a player, Grabowski became an umpire in the Canadian–American League (1937), Eastern League (1938–1939), and International League (1940–1941). He suffered severe burns in 1946 after a fire at his home in Guilderland, New York. He died of his injuries at St. Peter's Hospital in Albany, New York, at age 46.<ref>{{cite news|title=Grabowski, Former Yankees Catcher, Dies|newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=May 23, 1946|page=20|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4764504/grabowski_former_yankees_catcher_dies/|via=Newspapers.com}} </ref>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{baseballstats|mlb=|espn=|br=g/grabojo01|fangraphs=|brm=grabow002joh|retro=G/Pgrabj101}} *{{findagrave|13653430}} *[https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/johnny-grabowski/ Johnny Grabowski] at SABR Bio Project
{{1927 New York Yankees}} {{1928 New York Yankees}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grabowski, Johnny}} Category:1900 births Category:1946 deaths Category:Chicago White Sox players Category:Detroit Tigers players Category:New York Yankees players Category:Major League Baseball catchers Category:Baseball players from Hampshire County, Massachusetts Category:Accidental deaths in New York (state) Category:St. Joseph Saints players Category:Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Category:St. Paul Saints (AA) players Category:Montreal Royals players Category:People from Ware, Massachusetts Category:People from Guilderland, New York Category:Deaths from fire in the United States Category:American people of Polish descent Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada Category:20th-century American sportsmen