Danny Gardella

Positions: Leftfielder and First Baseman
Bats: Left  •  Throws: Left
5-7, 160lb (170cm, 72kg)
Born: February 26, 1920 in New York, NY
Died: March 6, 2005 (Aged 85-008d) in Yonkers, NY
Buried: Mount Hope Cemetery, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
Debut: May 14, 1944 (9,727th in major league history)
vs. PIT 4 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: April 20, 1950
vs. PIT 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Full Name: Daniel Lewis Gardella
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Relatives: Brother of Al Gardella

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1944

Eddie Yost
Eddie Lopat
Joe Nuxhall
Granny Hamner
Gene Mauch
Emil Verban
Jim Konstanty
Cal McLish
Ralph Branca

All-Time Teammate Team

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Notable Events and Chronology

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May 24, 1945

The visiting Giants beat the Reds, 7 – 6, on a pinch homer by colorful Danny Gardella. Gardella had started the day by leaving a suicide note in his hotel room for his roommate Nap Reyes. When Reyes returned to the room a few minutes later‚ he noticed the open window and read the note. Horrified‚ he rushed to the window only to see the grinning face of Gardella‚ who had been hanging from the window ledge several stories over the street.

August 12, 1945

Mel Ott leads the Giants to a pair of wins over the Reds‚ 3 – 2 and 6 – 5. Ott hits a pinch 3-run homer in the 8th of the nitecap after his homer and another by Danny Gardella leads the way in opener. The Reds’ Bill McKechnie‚ desperate for hitting‚ selects P Joe Bowman to pinch-hit for Vern Kennedy in game 1. Bowman is 0-for-42. He will hit .088 for the season.

February 18, 1946

Danny Gardella of the Detroit Tigers signs a one-year contract with Veracruz of the Mexican League

February 19, 1946

1946 – Giants OF Danny Gardella becomes the first major leaguer to announce he is jumping to the “outlaw” Mexican League, the first shot in the series of events that will dominate baseball even more than the return of all the war veterans. His attempt to return to Major League Baseball a few years later will initiate a major court battle.

February 9, 1949

A federal appeals court orders Mexican League jumper Danny Gardella back to a lower court for trial

June 21, 1950

Renegade ballplayer Danny Gardella admits accepting a pay-off to drop his suit against baseball. After a month-long tryout with the Cardinals, Gardella had been sent to their Houstonfarm club where, shortly afterward, he was released. Gardella argues that he should be paid for the entire year, and he blames his release on his suit against the major leagues.

February 20, 1953

The U.S. Court of Appeals rules that organized baseball is a sport and not a business

Biography

Gardella was a shipyard worker in 1944 when he joined the wartime Giants. He and brother Al, bot lefthanded New Yorkers, were with the Giants in 1945 when 5’7″ Danny hit 18 homers. Refusing the Giants’ $4,500 contract offer in 1946, Gardella jumped to Vera Cruz of the Mexican League for $10,000. Suspended for five years by Commissioner Chandler along with the other Mexican League jumpers, Gardella sued baseball, claiming he had been bound only by the controversial reserve clause, not a contract. This celebrated antitrust case against baseball, Gardella v. Chandler, was dismissed by a district court in 1948, but Gardella ‘s attorney, Frederic Johnson, won an appeal before the Second Circuit Court in 1949. Fearful of this significant threat to the reserve clause, baseball officials settled out of court for $29,000 and lifted Gardella’s suspension. Gardella joined the Cardinals in 1950 but was dropped after one at-bat. Nevertheless, his victory was the only successful challenge to baseball’s reserve clause in the federal courts. Though his cause was much maligned by players and the press, his challenge was a stepping-stone to free agency.

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Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

Played For
New York Giants (1944-1945)
St. Louis Cardinals (1950)

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