Granny Hamner's 7 RBI Day: July 17, 1948

To honor this Whiz Kids birthday, here's the story of his greatest day as a player.

In 1969, one year before Larry Bowa took over as the starting shortstop for the Phillies and 32 years before Jimmy Rollins began his tenure at short, Granville Wilbur Hamner was voted the greatest Phillies shortstop of the teams' 100-year history. And while both Bowa and Rollins would eventually surpass Hamner as all-time greats at the position, Hamner did manage one feat that neither Bowa nor Rollins ever achieved. On July 17, 1948, Hamner drove in seven runs in an 11-10 Phillies win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman’s Park. Ironically for the man who ranks third all-time in games at shortstop for the Phillies, Hamner was actually playing second base on this day as he did for most of the 1948 season, before establishing himself as the star shortstop and fiery leader of the Whiz Kids.

Hamner had been up briefly with the Phils from the time he was a 17-year-old in 1944. After getting more experience in the minors and after a stint in military service in World War II, Hamner finally established himself as a regular as a 21-year-old in 1948. The Phillies, however, had traded with the Cincinnati Reds for veteran shortstop Eddie Miller during the off season, so Hamner was slotted in at second base. He was never comfortable there, feeling he was too slow at turning the double play. His solid, clutch hitting, however, kept him in the lineup.

On a warm, muggy Saturday afternoon in St. Louis the young Hamner played the hero for the Phillies. The Phils got off to a fast start in the top of the first, when after two were out, Cardinal pitcher Al Brazle walked Johnny Blatnick and Del Ennis. Dick Sisler followed with a double to score Blatnick and move Ennis to third. Eddie Miller was then intentionally walked and Hamner, batting seventh in the lineup, made the Cardinals pay for that strategy by sizzling a line single to center to score two runs. In the second inning, now facing pitcher Ken Burkhart, the Phillies piled on more runs. Richie Ashburn led off with his second walk of the game. After Bert Haas popped out, Blatnick singled and Ennis drove home Ashburn with a double. Sisler was walked intentionally and Miller struck out, leaving the bases loaded and two out for Hamner. Granny drove a Burkhart pitch into left center, clearing the bases with a long double.

Hamner now had five RBIs in two innings, but he was not finished. Phillies starting pitcher Blix Donnelly managed to give most of the 7-1 lead back in the bottom of the second inning, an inning that included a Stan Musial grand slam home run. By the time the smoke cleared, the score was 7-6 and Donnelly had been replaced by lefty Ken Heintzelman. Heintzelman could not hold the lead. He gave up a tying solo home run to Nippy Jones in the third, and the Cardinals took an 8-7 lead in the fourth on a couple of walks, a wild pitch, and a ground out.

The Phillies roared back in the sixth inning, however. Haas and Blatnick opened with singles and scored on another Ennis double. Sisler walked, Miller popped out, and Hamner came to the plate with runners on again. This time he smacked a double to right field, scoring both Ennis and Sisler and giving the Phillies an 11-8 cushion. As it turned out they would need every one of those runs. In the seventh the Cardinals made it close, scoring two runs on singles by Erv Dusak and Ralph LaPointe and a Bill Baker double.

Phil reliever Monk Dubiel quieted the Cards in the eighth and ninth with the help of two double plays, both started by, you guessed it, Granny Hamner. As the Philadelphia Inquirer's Stan Baumgartner described the plays, in the eighth Hamner made a "magnificent one hand pick-up of Nippy Jones hard rap, stepped on second and then relayed the ball to first." In the ninth Hamner "scooped pinch-hitter Terry Moore's rap over the keystone, tossed to Eddie Miller who relayed to Dick Sisler for the twin killing." Baumgartner concluded it was "[Hamner's] greatest day in the big leagues."

Hamner's box score line for the day: 5 ABs, 3 H, 2 2b, 7 RBI, 8 assists, 3 put outs, and 3 double plays started.

Granny Hamner would go on to have many more fine days in the big leagues and would be named the captain of the Whiz Kids team that won the pennant in 1950. Each year from 1949 to 1954 he played in 150+ games for the Phillies and was named to the National League All Star team three times. Knee and shoulder injuries slowed Hamner in his final few years and he ended his career as a knuckleball pitcher, of all things, for the 1962 Kansas City Athletics. After his career was over, Phillies owner Bob Carpenter would remember Hamner as the "best clutch hitter we ever had."