Background
Hargrave was born in New Haven, Indiana.
Hargrave was born in New Haven, Indiana.
He was nicknamed "Bubbles" because he stuttered when saying "B" sounds. Bubbles" younger brother, Pinky Hargrave, was also a major league catcher. He started his professional baseball career in 1911 in the Central League and made his major league debut in 1913 with the Chicago Cubs.
He was their backup catcher until 1915.
From 1916 to 1920, he played mostly in the American Association. In 1920, he had a big season with the Saint Paul Saints, batting.335 with 22 home runs and finishing second in the league batting race.
Hargrave was then acquired by the Cincinnati Reds. He was their starting catcher for most of the 1920s and consistently put up good hitting numbers.
The rules at the time required batting champions to play in at least 100 games, and Hargrave pinch hit several times to get to 105.
He was the first catcher to lead the Netherlands in batting average. In 1927, he led the league"s catchers in fielding percentage. Hargrave went back to Saint Paul for the 1929 season.
He managed the club to a second-place finish and also made the league All-Star team
He batted.369 in 104 games. The following year, Hargrave served as a backup catcher for the New York Yankees.
He then went back to the minors for a few seasons before retiring in 1934. After his baseball days, Hargrave worked for a valve company.
He died at age 76 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1962 and the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.
