Buddy Hassett
Buddy Hassett, born John Aloysius Hassett on September 5, 1911 in New York, was an American baseball player who played first base and outfield. He batted and threw left-handed and appeared in Major League Baseball from 1936 to 1942 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Bees/Braves, and New York Yankees. His career stats include a .292 batting average, 12 home runs, and 343 RBIs.
Before reaching the majors, Hassett starred in the minor leagues: Wheeling Stogies (1933) hit .332, Norfolk Tars (1934) hit .360 and set a stolen-base record, and Columbus Red Birds (1935) hit .337. He earned a major league spot for the next seven seasons and, as a rookie in 1936, struck out only 17 times in 635 at-bats, a record for fewest strikeouts by a rookie at the time.
World War II cut his major league career short. He served in the Navy from 1943 to 1945, then played in the minor leagues for a few years and managed the Newark Bears through 1950. He was also a player-coach for a Navy Pre-flight team in Chapel Hill that played a War Chest benefit game against All Stars from the Yankees and Indians, coached by Babe Ruth; the Navy team won and included Ted Williams, Johnny Sain, and Johnny Pesky. Hassett served in the Pacific aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bennington.
His brother, Billy Hassett, was a notable college basketball player who later played pro basketball for several teams. Buddy Hassett lived in Hillsdale, New Jersey, and died of bone cancer on August 23, 1997, at Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood, New Jersey, at age 85.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:28 (CET).