Harry Betts (baseball)

Harry Betts
Pitcher
Born: (1881-06-19)June 19, 1881
Alliance, Ohio
Died: May 22, 1946(1946-05-22) (aged 64)
San Antonio, Texas
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 22, 1903, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
May 13, 1913, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
Win–loss record0–1
Earned run average8.03
Strikeouts2
Teams

Harold Matthew Betts (June 19, 1881 – May 22, 1946) was a professional baseball pitcher in the Major Leagues in 1903 for the St. Louis Cardinals and in 1913 for the Cincinnati Reds.

In 1905, a pitcher named Brown signed with the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. He was later confirmed to be Harold Betts and to have assumed a pseudonym because of his family's objections to his playing professional baseball.[1][2][3]

Betts played for the 1913 Reds under the name Fred Betts. It was not until 1985 that the Society for American Baseball Research published researching showing that the two players were the same.[4]

  1. ^ "Assert Brown Is An Assumed Name". Los Angeles Herald. October 6, 1905. p. 2. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  2. ^ "Betts Admits Identity". Los Angeles Herald. October 7, 1905. p. 4. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  3. ^ "Betts Given Trial". Los Angeles Herald. November 8, 1905. p. 10. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  4. ^ Schmidt, Ray (Winter 1985). "The Betts and the Brightest". The National Pastime: A Review of Baseball History. 4 (2): 10–12.