Howard Maple

{{Short description|American football and baseball player (1903–1970)}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Howard Maple

|image=Howard_Maple.jpg

|caption=Maple with the Washington Senators, c. 1932

|position=Catcher

|birth_date={{Birth date|1903|7|20}}

|birth_place=Adrian, Missouri, U.S.

|death_date={{death date and age|1970|11|9|1903|7|20}}

|death_place=Portland, Oregon, U.S.

|bats=Left

|throws=Right

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=May 19

|debutyear=1932

|debutteam=Washington Senators

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=September 18

|finalyear=1932

|finalteam=Washington Senators

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.244

|stat2label=RBI

|stat2value=7

|stat3label=Home runs

|stat3value=0

|teams=

Washington Senators ({{mlby|1932}})

}}

Howard Albert Maple (July 20, 1903 – November 9, 1970) was an American professional athlete. He played football for the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) in 1930 and baseball for the Washington Senators of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1932. He was a college athlete at then-Oregon State Agricultural College.

Biography

Maple played college football and college baseball for the Oregon State Aggies (now the Oregon State Beavers).{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2016/08/30/tim-tebow-looks-to-join-a-club-that-includes-former-nats-catcher-howard-maple/ |title=Tim Tebow looks to join a club that includes former Nats catcher Howard Maple |first=Scott |last=Allen |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 30, 2016 |accessdate=August 3, 2020}} As a quarterback, he led the team to an overall 16–7–1 record for the seasons of 1926 through 1928,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56612195/sportslightner-column/ |title=Sportslightner (column) |first=Al |last=Lightner |newspaper=Statesman Journal |location=Salem, Oregon |page=19 |date=November 15, 1970 |accessdate=August 3, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} and was named a 1928 All-American.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56612400/death-takes-howard-maple/ |title=Death Takes Howard Maple |newspaper=Capital Journal |location=Salem, Oregon |page=1 |date=November 10, 1970 |accessdate=August 3, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} Maple is the university's only alumnus to play in both the NFL and MLB. He was inducted to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1981,{{cite web |url=http://oregonsportshall.org/timeline/howard-maple-football/ |title=Howard Maple – Football |website=oregonsportshall.org |date=November 27, 2018 |accessdate=August 3, 2020}} and the athletics hall of fame at Oregon State University in 1990.{{cite web |url=https://osubeavers.com/honors/hall-of-fame/howard-maple/182 |title=Howard Maple (1990) |website=osubeavers.com |accessdate=August 3, 2020}}

In 1930, Maple played in eight games for the Chicago Cardinals of the NFL.{{cite web |url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=MAPLEHOW01 |title=Howie Maple |website=databasefootball.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070209035936/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=MAPLEHOW01 |archive-date=February 9, 2007 |url-status=usurped |via=Wayback Machine}} The NFL's website lists him as a wingback.{{cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/players/howard-maple/ |title=Howard Maple |website=NFL.com |accessdate=August 3, 2020}}

Maple played in minor league baseball from 1930 through 1935, appearing in over 400 minor league games. Listed at {{convert|5|ft|7|in}} and {{convert|175|lb|kg}}, he batted left-handed and threw right-handed.{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=maple-001how |title=Howard Maple Minor Leagues Statistics & History |website=Baseball-Reference.com |accessdate=August 3, 2020}} Maple appeared 44 major league games, all with the 1932 Washington Senators. He posted a .244 batting average (10-for-41) with seven RBIs. His best offensive game came on August 31, when he went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored against pitcher Sam Gray, as the Senators defeated the St. Louis Browns, 7–6.{{cite web |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1932/B08310WS11932.htm |title=Washington Senators 7, St. Louis Browns 6 |date=August 31, 1932 |website=Retrosheet |accessdate=August 3, 2020}} Maple appeared in 41 games defensively, all as a catcher, handling 39 total chances without an error for a 1.000 fielding percentage.{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mapleho01.shtml |title=Howard Maple stats |website=Baseball-Reference.com |accessdate=August 3, 2020}}

Maple was born in 1903 in Adrian, Missouri, and graduated from Peoria High School in Illinois. He coached basketball, football, and baseball at Willamette University from the early 1930s through 1941. During World War II, he served in the United States Army. He worked in several jobs after the war, and went on to manage the Oregon State Fair from 1957 to 1967. He was married, and had one daughter and a foster son. Maple died in 1970 in Portland, Oregon, and is interred in Salem, Oregon.{{cite web |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/M/Pmaplh101.htm |title=Howard Maple |website=Retrosheet |accessdate=August 3, 2020}}

References

External links

{{baseballstats |br=m/mapleho01 |brm=maple-001how |retro=M/Pmaplh101}}, or [https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=mapleho01 Baseball Almanac]
[https://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/baseball_and_football_players.shtml Baseball and Football Players: Played Major League Baseball & National Football League] at Baseball Almanac

Category:1903 births

Category:1970 deaths

Category:People from Adrian, Missouri

Category:Oregon State Beavers baseball players

Category:Oregon State Beavers football players

Category:Chicago Cardinals players

Category:American football running backs

Category:Major League Baseball catchers

Category:Baseball players from Oregon

Category:Washington Senators (1901–1960) players

Category:20th-century American sportsmen

Category:Bloomington Cubs players