© Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Phillies Legends: Granny Hamner
Granville (Granny) Hamner was born on April 26, 1927 in Richmond, Virginia. He grew up idolizing his older brother, Garvin, and even playing in the same sports as him. By his senior year of high school, Hamner was a captain on the football, basketball, and baseball teams. He was an impressive athlete that especially drew attention on the baseball diamond.
When Granny was 17, a Phillies scout named Ted McGrew came to Richmond to assess Granny’s brother, Garvin. McGrew was impressed by Garvin, but even more so by Granny, and soon enough the two of them would be playing side-by-side in the big leagues.
In 1945, the Hamner brothers became the first sibling middle-infield duo in the history of Major League Baseball. Unfortunately, Granny only lasted 14 games that season due to his .171 batting average and 11 errors.
Hamner took two more seasons to develop, and finally in 1948, he became an everyday name in the Phillies starting lineup. That season, Granny batted .260 in 129 games. His defense was still questionable, but he was becoming more of a household name.
It was in 1950 with the “Whiz Kids” when Hamner grew to be one of the most popular players on the team. In 1950, he played in every single game that season, and was part of a Phillies starting infield that would be completely intact for all but 15 games that season.
In the final game of the year, the Phillies beat the Dodgers in extra innings to clinch the National League Pennant and move on to the World Series. Unfortunately for the Phillies, they fell completely flat offensively and only scored three runs and collected seven extra-base hits in the series. They would be swept in four games and not play in another World Series until 1980.
Offensively, Hamner was one of the bright spots of the “Whiz Kids” World Series appearance, as he batted an incredible .429 with two doubles and a triple in those four games. However, more so than his offensive performance, Granny is remembered for an error he committed at shortstop in Game 3 that would lead to a 3-2 loss for the Phils.
The following season, expectations were growing for the young Phillies team, but they once again fell flat and came in fifth place in the National League. For the rest of his time in a Phillies uniform, Hamner would only be a part of one more winning season which came in 1953 as the Phillies finished in third place.
Hamner played in a career 1,501 games with the Phillies, collecting 1,518 hits and blasting 103 home runs. In his 16 seasons with Philadelphia, he slashed .263/.305/.385 with a .690 OPS.
Here are some of his other career achievements:
- Philadelphia Phillies Wall of Fame
- Most defensive assists in 1949 - 506
- Most double plays turned as a shortstop in 1949 - 101
- 3x MLB All-Star
- Received MVP votes in six different seasons
- Virginia Sports Hall of Fame
As great as Hamner was, he brought along lot of locker room drama. He was a very hard-headed individual that often got in arguments and fights with managers and fellow players. There were constant trade rumors surrounding the future of Hamner’s career, but they never came true until 1959 when he was traded to Cleveland.
This would nearly call an end to Hamner’s career, but he played three games in 1961 as a pitcher for the Kansas City Athletics to officially end his professional career. After retirement, Hamner helped coach and manage several different baseball organizations, but never quite made it to his ultimate goal of managing a Major League team.
Granny passed away in Philadelphia at the age of 66 in 1993. His plaque is on the Phillies Wall of Fame in Citizens Bank Park, and his 16 dedicated seasons to the Phillies franchise will never be forgotten.
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