Charlie Gehringer
Hall of Famers at War
| Date and Place of Birth: | May 11, 1903 Fowlerville, MI |
| Date and Place of Death: | January 21, 1993 Bloomfield Hills, MI |
| Baseball Experience: | Hall of Fame |
| Position: | Second Base |
| Rank: | Lieutenant Commander |
| Military Unit: | US Navy |
| Area Served: | United States |
Charles L. “Charlie” Gehringer was born in Fowlerville, Michigan on May
11, 1903. After a year at the University of Michigan, where he played
baseball and football, Gehringer began his professional baseball career
in the Michigan-Ontario League in 1924, and made his first appearance
with the Detroit Tigers the same year.
In 19 seasons with the Tigers, Gehringer was a six-time all-star, played
in the 1935 World Series and led the American League with a .371 batting
average in 1937, earning MVP honors.
Gehringer entered military service with the Navy in September 1942.
He was commissioned as a lieutenant in December 1942
and was appointed head baseball coach of the St. Mary's Naval Pre-Flight
School team in California for the 1943 season. Included on the team was
former major leaguer Al Niemiec.
When Gehringer arrived at Jacksonville NAS in 1944, he told his
commanding officer that he wanted to just coach the baseball team and
not play. He was promptly told that he would play, and if he didn't, he
would be sent so far they wouldn't know where to find him. Consequently,
Gehringer played and managed the Jacksonville NAS Fliers.
In Donald Honig's Baseball When the Grass was Real, Gehringer
recalled how seriously the commanding officers took baseball. "Once we
had a game scheduled at Montgomery Air Base, in Alabama, and they came
and picked us up and flew us to Montgomery for the game and then flew us
back again."
When Gehringer had entered military service in 1942, he was seemingly
finished as a player. He was 39 years old and finding it difficult to
keep in shape. However, when he came out of the service in November
1945, having attained the rank of lieutenant commander
in October of that year,
he was in great shape and, in hindsight, wished he played a couple more
years. Instead, he became wealthy through an auto accessories business
in Michigan.
Gehringer later
served as general manager and vice-president of the Tigers. He was
elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949.
Charlie Gehringer passed away on January 21, 1993 in Bloomfield Hills,
Michigan. He was 89 years old.
Date Added June 8, 2020
Can you add more information to this biography and help make it the best online resource for this player? Contact us by email
Read Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice Through The Years - an online year-by-year account of military related deaths of ballplayers
Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice is associated with Baseball Almanac
Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice is proud to be sponsored by
