Robert Earl Grace
^{born: 02-24-1907, died: 12-22-1980}

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Twenty-two year old Earl Grace began his Major League baseball career in 1929 as a catcher for the Chicago Cubs. Due to the sore arm of the regular starting catcher, Gabby Hartnett, the Cubs platooned 5 catchers that year. Grace played in 27 games and came to the plate 89 times. He had 20 hits with one double and 2 home runs along with 9 walks for a .250 batting average. The Cubs won the National League Pennant with a 98-54 record. They faced the powerful Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series. Zack Taylor did most of the catching in the series and Earl never got in any of the 5 games. The Athletics won the series 4-1.

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With Gabby Hartnett healthy in 1930, the Cubs no longer needed so many catchers. They let go of Johnny Schultz and 38 year old Mike Gonzalez, Earl Grace did not play that year but stayed with the Cubs organization. In June of 1931, after playing in only 7 games Earl was traded to the Pirates for their catcher, Rollie Hemsley. In Pittsburgh, Grace got more playing time getting into 47 games and batting a total of 163 times. He got 42 hits including 6 doubles, a triple and a home run along with 13 bases on balls. His batting average was .280 and he got 20 RBI.

The following year, 1932, Grace became the starting catcher playing in 115 games. He proves to be a good catcher defensely as well as a reliable batter. He set the National League records with 110 consecutive errorless games (400 chances) and fewest errors (one) in 100 or more games (114). On September 7th, 1932, Grace made a wild throw to end a streak of 110 consecutive errorless games. It is Grace's only error of the season establishing a still-standing NL record. He also batted .274 with 107 hits, 8 home runs and 55 RBI. But the Pirates fall short of winning the pennant, four games behind the Cubs.

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Four catchers were platooned in 1933 with Earl getting the most playing time. He caught in 88 games and batted .289. He had 291 at-bats with 84 hits. Once again the Pirates ended up in second place this time 5 games behind the NY Giants. 1n 1934, Earl's playing decreased slightly and his batting average slipped, too. In 189 at-bats, he had 78 hits for a .270 average. The trend continued with Earl getting less playing time in 1935, with Tom Padden taking on the starting catcher roll. In the off-season, Grace was traded to the Phillies with pitcher Claude Passeau for Al Todd.

In Philadelphia in 1936, Grace shared the catching duties with Jimmie Wilson and Bill Atwood. He got into 86 games and batted .249. The Phillies came in last place with a dismal 54-100 record. In 1937, Grace's last year, he got into 80 games and batted his worst in 8 season with a .211 average. After the season ended, Earl was traded to the St. Louis Browns, another cellar-dweller. He never played for the Browns.

In 8 seasons and 3 teams, this platoon catcher achieved a lifetime batting average of .263 in 627 games.