Hal Leathers

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Hal Leathers

|image=Hal Leathers -Score Card 1923 - DPLA - 7a9ca8211a338ffdfdf81aac6f6e492e (page 18) (cropped).jpg

|caption=Leathers in the minor leagues, 1923

|position=Shortstop / Second baseman

|birth_date={{Birth date|1898|12|2}}

|birth_place=Selma, California, US

|death_date={{death date and age|1977|4|12|1898|12|2}}

|death_place=Modesto, California, US

|bats=Left{{efn|Leathers was listed as a switch hitter in the Cubs' 1921 pre-season roster.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56799596/chicago-cubs-roster-for-1921/ |title=Chicago Cubs' Roster for 1921 |newspaper=Brooklyn Standard Union |page=13 |date=March 23, 1921 |accessdate=August 6, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}}}

|throws=Right

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=September 13

|debutyear=1920

|debutteam=Chicago Cubs

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=October 2

|finalyear=1920

|finalteam=Chicago Cubs

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.304

|stat2label=Home runs

|stat2value=1

|stat3label=Runs batted in

|stat3value=0{{efn|name=noRBI}}

|teams=

Chicago Cubs ({{mlby|1920}})

}}

Harold Langford Leathers (December 2, 1898 – April 12, 1977) was a professional baseball middle infielder who played in nine games for the 1920 Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). Listed at {{convert|5|ft|8|in|m}} and {{convert|152|lb|kg}}, he batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Biography

Leathers' minor league baseball career spanned 1918 to 1924, plus a final season in 1926. He appeared in 778 minor league games, compiling a .253 batting average. Defensively, he played 480 games as a shortstop and 142 games as a second baseman.{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=leathe001har |title=Hal Leathers Minor Leagues Statistics & History |website=Baseball-Reference.com |accessdate=August 6, 2020}}

From mid-September to early October 1920, Leathers appeared in nine major league games with the Chicago Cubs. He registered a .304 batting average (7-for-23) with one home run,{{efn|name=noRBI|Somehow, official baseball records of the era do not credit him with a run batted in (RBI) for his home run, creating a discrepancy in his MLB career record.{{cite web |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/L/PDleath101.htm |title=Discrepancy File for Hal Leathers |website=Retrosheet |accessdate=August 6, 2020}} For an overview of discrepancies in historical baseball records, see [https://www.retrosheet.org/DiscrepanciesWithOfficialData.pdf this discussion] at Retrosheet.}} which was hit off of Joe Oeschger of the Boston Braves.{{cite web |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1920/B09210BSN1920.htm |title=Boston Braves 4, Chicago Cubs 2 |date=September 21, 1920 |website=Retrosheet |accessdate=August 6, 2020}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56798902/braves-beat-cubs-in-last-of-series/ |title=Braves Beat Cubs in Last of Series |first=James C. |last=O'Leary |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=11 |date=September 22, 1920 |accessdate=August 6, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} Defensively, Leathers made six appearances at shortstop (four starts) and three appearances at second base, recording an .837 fielding percentage.{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leathha01.shtml |title=Hal Leathers Stats |website=Baseball-Reference.com |accessdate=August 6, 2020}} He committed three errors in his first major league start at shortstop,{{cite web |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1920/Mleath1010011920.htm |title=The 1920 CHI N Regular Season Fielding Log for Hal Leathers |website=Retrosheet |accessdate=August 6, 2020}} one of which led to an unearned run, the difference in a 1–0 Cubs loss to the Brooklyn Robins.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56799469/thanks-to-harold-leathers/ |title=Thanks to Harold Leathers |newspaper=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |page=22 |date=September 16, 1920 |accessdate=August 6, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}{{cite web |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1920/B09150BRO1920.htm |title=Brooklyn Robins 1, Chicago Cubs 0 |date=September 15, 1920 |website=Retrosheet |accessdate=August 6, 2020}}

Leathers was born in 1898 in Selma, California. As of February 1942, he was living in Los Angeles and was self-employed as a gardener.{{cite web |url=https://www.fold3.com/image/630400326 |title=Draft Registration Card |publisher=Selective Service System |date=February 1942 |via=fold3.com |url-access=subscription |accessdate=August 6, 2020}} He died in 1977 in Modesto, California, and was interred in Hughson, California.{{cite web |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/L/Pleath101.htm |title=Hal Leathers |website=Retrosheet |accessdate=August 6, 2020}}