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Why HOFer Harry Heilmann’s Favorite MLB Moment Was Making A Childhood Friend Want To Kill Him
The baseball star had many highlights during his legendary career, but tricking a long-time buddy topped them all
For the small number of baseball players who have enjoyed Hall-of-Fame careers, it would seem a near certainty that they accumulated a trove of fond memories of their feats on the diamond — all competing to what they recalled most fondly about their time in the game. Then there was Cooperstown inductee, Harry Heilmann, who confessed after he retired that his absolute favorite memory was a game he was able to win for his team by tricking the opposing pitcher, Dutch Ruether, a friend he had grown up with, who also became a big-league player.
Primarily a right fielder, Heillman became a star due in large part to his lethal bat. Spending all but the final two seasons of his 17-year career _1914; 1916–1930; 1932) with the Detroit Tigers, he batted a combined .342 with 183 home runs and 1,543 RBIs. He was a complementary star alongside Ty Cobb during the later years of the Georgia Peach’s legendary career. Heilmann kept up pace, winning four batting titles of his own, including a high mark of .403 in 1923. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1952.
