Ernie Lombardi

Position: Catcher
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
6-3, 230lb (190cm, 104kg)
Born: April 6, 1908 in Oakland, CA
Died: September 26, 1977 in Santa Cruz, CA
Buried: Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, CA
High School: McClymonds HS (Oakland, CA)
Debut: April 15, 1931 (7,190th in major league history)
vs. BSN 2 AB, 2 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: September 17, 1947
vs. CHC 1 AB, 1 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1986. (Voted by Veteran’s Committee)
View Ernie Lombardi’s Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos).
Full Name: Ernesto Natali Lombardi
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

Nine Players Who Debuted in 1931

Billy Herman
Ernie Lombardi
Dixie Walker
Billy Jurges
Red Rolfe
Bucky Walters
Paul Derringer
Van Lingle Mungo
Gee Walker

The Ernie Lombardi Teammate Team

C:   Al Lopez
1B: Frank McCormick
2B: Lony Frey
3B: Dave Bancroft
SS: Billy Myers
LF: Babe Herman
CF: Kiki Cuyler
RF: Mel Ott
SP: Johnny Vander Meer
SP: Bucky Walters
SP: Paul Derringer
SP: Dave Koslo
SP: Dazzy Vance
RP: Eppa Rixey
M:   Bill McKechnie

Vintage Baseball HOT ON EBAY
Card Collections ENDING SOON ON EBAY
MOST WANTED ROOKIE CARDS
VINTAGE SPORTS TICKETS
Baseball Hall of Famers

Notable Events and Chronology for Ernie Lombardi Career

SearchSearch Events, Dates and More Date (Newest)Title (A - Z)

January 19, 1931

Brooklyn Robins purchase the contract of catcher Ernie Lombardi from the Oakland Oaks

March 14, 1932

Cincinnati Reds acquire Ernie Lombardi, Babe Herman, Wally Gilbert from the Brooklyn Dodger

May 8, 1935

Reds backstop Ernie Lombardi equals the major-league record with four straight doubles, all in consecutive innings (6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th) and each off a different pitcher: Syl Johnson, Orville Jorgens, Euel Moore and Frank Pearce. The slow-footed Lombardi also has a “long single” in the 23-hit, 15 – 4 win over the Phillies in the first game. The Reds collect seven doubles and two homers. In the nightcap, the Phils snap their nine-game losing streak with a 5 – 4 victory.

May 9, 1937

Reds’ starter Peaches Davis gives up 15 hits but goes the distance in the Reds’ 21-10 rout of Philadelphia. The right-hander’s batterymate, Ernie Lombardi, goes 6-for-6 in the Baker Bowl ballgame, collecting five singles and a double.

May 9, 1937

Ernie Lombardi goes 6-for-6 and Alex Kampouris drives in eight runs in 21-10 blowout

November 1, 1938

National League batting champ Ernie Lombardi of the Cincinnati Reds is named the Most Valuable Player

March 15, 1939

1939 Spring Training Game Audio New York Yankees vs Cincinnati Reds

October 8, 1939

New York Yankees set a record by winning their fourth consecutive World Championship in 1939

February 23, 1940

1940 Cincinnati Reds

September 18, 1940

The Reds clinch the National League flag, outdistancing the Dodgers and the late-rushing Cardinals. Bill McKechnie’s Cincinnati team makes only 117 errors during the season, 18 less than any previous team. The .981 fielding mark is the best up to this time. The defense, plus the pitching of Bucky Walters, Paul Derringer, and reliever Joe Beggs, brings the second straight NL flag to the Reds, despite multiple injuries to Ernie Lombardi. The big catcher went down again on September 15th, and the club turns to 39-year-old coach Jimmy Wilson for some of the backstopping. Wilson will end up as a World Series hero.

May 22, 1941

A smart play by the Reds’ Lonny Frey helps Cincy to a 6 – 4 win over the Giants. With one out and the sacks full in the 1st, Chuck Aleno hits a double play grounder to short. Frey, running from second base, allows the ball to hit him for an out, stopping play and putting Aleno on first base. Ernie Lombardi then hits a grand slam. Frank McCormick adds a two-run home run in the 3rd.

May 29, 1941

The Cards nip the Reds, 10 – 9, for their 10th straight win. The last five are one-run victories. The Reds almost pull the game out‚ scoring 3 in the 9th‚ but Marty Marion snags a line drive off the bat of Ernie Lombardi and doubles up Ernie Koy at second base.

February 7, 1942

Cincinnati Reds selling popular catcher Ernie Lombardi to the Boston Braves

February 8, 1942

prison team is stopped when it is discovered that two prisoners have escaped

June 4, 1943

 Vince DiMaggio scores from first on pass ball

April 19, 1944

Mel Ott of the New York Giants hits the first National League home run of the season, the 464th of his career.

September 15, 1946

Ernie Lombardi of the Giants slams the ball 483 feet under the stairway in right-center of the Polo Grounds, but barely makes third base. It is the 3rd triple in 7 years for Schnozz and the last of his career.

April 20, 1949

Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Willie Jones hits four consecutive doubles tying the record

April 8, 1953

Bernice Lombardi finds her husband Ernie lying on the bed after the former major league catcher slit his throat from ear to ear with a razor he found in a relative’s bathroom. The former Reds’ backstop, battling a similar bout of depression that caused his teammate Willard Hershberger to commit suicide in 1940, is given little hope to live, at the time, but he will manage to survive his horrific self-inflicted wound.

August 3, 1986

First ballot inductee Giant first baseman Willie McCovey, the BBWAA’s only choice, is enshrined in the Hall of Fame, along with Veterans Committee selections Red Sox second baseman Bobby Doerr and the late Ernie Lombardi, a catcher best known for his playing days with the Reds and Giants. Pirates announcer Bob Prince and Cincinnati beat writer Earl Lawson, respectively, accept the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence and the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for meritorious contributions to baseball writing.

September 28, 2022

Best Catchers of All Time

Biography

Lumbering man-child Ernie Lombardi won two batting titles, the first catcher to do so. In 1938 he was named National League Most Valuable Player, in 1939 he helped the Cincinnati Reds to the World Series, and in 1940 he led the Reds to the World Championship. A cartoon-lie figure, Lombardi was considered the slowest player in the game, had a notoriously large nose, and hands so large he could hold five baseballs in one palm. A fair defensive player, he made his name with his bat, fashioning a .306 lifetime average with 190 home runs, a total exceeded by only two other right-handed hitting catchers when he retired. Like Enos Slaughter, Lombardi was an outspoken critic of the Hall of Fame, as the years passed and he was not elected. In 1986, eight years after Lombardi had died, the Veterans Committee elected him to Cooperstown.

Best Season: 1938
Lombardi hit .342 with 19 homers and 95 RBI in 129 games, and was named National League Most Valuable Player. The “Homer in the Gloamin'” was a large reason why.

@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@

Vintage Baseball HOT ON EBAY
Card Collections ENDING SOON ON EBAY
MOST WANTED ROOKIE CARDS
VINTAGE SPORTS TICKETS
Baseball Hall of Famers

Factoids, Quotes, Strange Things that may only interest me

Linked: Babe Herman was the player the Reds wanted in their March 14, 1932, trade with the Dodgers, but Lombardi was thrown in as an afterthought, making it one of the best trades in Cincinnati history… Lombardi caught each of Johnny Vander Meer’s consecutive no-hit games in 1938… In Game Four of the 1939 World Series, Yankee outfielder Charlie Keller collidded with Lombardi at home plate, stunning the Reds’ catcher. Two more runners glided in to score as Lombardi lay on the ground semi-conscious. The play became known as “Lombardi’s Snooze” or “Lombardi’s Swoon”… After Lombardi suffered an injury in the middle of the 1940 season, Reds #2 catcher Willard Hershberger took over. Despite playing well, the fragile Hershberger committed suicide in August after a poor performance in a game against the Giants.

Best Season, 1938
Lombardi hit .342 with 19 homers and 95 RBI in 129 games, and was named National League Most Valuable Player. The “Homer in the Gloamin'” was a large reason why.

Post-Season Notes
Lombardi was injured and only appeared in two games of the 1940 World Series.

Transactions
March 14, 1932: Traded by the Brooklyn Dodgers with Wally Gilbert and Babe Herman to the Cincinnati Reds for Tony Cuccinello, Joe Stripp, and Clyde Sukeforth; February 7, 1942: Purchased by the Boston Braves from the Cincinnati Reds; April 27, 1943: Traded by the Boston Braves to the New York Giants for Hugh Poland and Connie Ryan.

The Dodgers dealt Lombardi to he Reds because they already had a fine catcher: Al Lopez.

Most Games Caught, (1931-1947)
Al Lopez… 1,730
Ernie Lombardi… 1,544
Bill Dickey… 1,474
Rick Ferrell… 1,362
Gus Mancuso… 1,250

Best Strength as a Player
He was a pure hitter.

Largest Weakness as a Player
He was quite possibly the slowest runner in baseball history. If he and Edgar Martinez were to have a foot race, I think it’s plausible that Edgar would beat Ernie by a significant margin.