Danning, whose brother Ike caught two games for the 1928 Browns, backed up Gus Mancuso
for the 1936 pennant-winning Giants, then took over as the regular for the 1937 NL
Champions. He earned a reputation (and nickname) for durability. The Horse hit 46
homers and averaged .303 in the period 1937-40. Playing with injuries in the next
two seasons, his hitting suffered. He retired after WWII military service.
(MC)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»June 15, 1940: Harry Danning hits for the cycle, as the Giants beat visiting Pittsburgh. Danning's home run is an inside-the-park hit that lands 460 feet on the fly in front of the Giants' clubhouse. It lodges behind the Eddie Grant memorial, and CF Vince DiMaggio cannot extricate the ball in time. Danning is the last player this century to include an IPHR in his cycle. The Giants win 12-1, their 8th straight win.
»August 3, 1940: With Ernie Lombardi hurt, Reds C Willard Hershberger is hitting .309 after taking over. However, depressed in recent weeks, Hershberger commits suicide by slashing his throat in Boston's Copley Plaza Hotel. Hershberger blamed himself for calling wrong pitches in the July 31st 5–4 10-inning loss to New York. Leading 4–1, Bucky Walters retired the first two batters in the 9th and had two strikes on each of the next four batters. But Harry Danning and Burgess Whitehead each homered with a man on. Hershberger's father also committed suicide, in 1928.
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