Mel Harder spent 36 seasons overall with the Indians, as a player from 1928 to 1947 and as one of the game's most highly regarded pitching coaches from 1948 to 1963.
| FactSnippet No. 2,322,229 |
13 Facts About Mel Harder
2.
Mel Harder was an excellent fielder, leading AL pitchers in putouts four times, then a record.
| FactSnippet No. 2,322,230 |
3.
Mel Harder broke in with the Indians as a relief pitcher in 1928.
| FactSnippet No. 2,322,231 |
4.
Mel Harder was one of the most successful All-Stars of the 1930s, appearing in all four games from 1934 to 1937, and setting a record with 13 consecutive innings without an earned run.
| FactSnippet No. 2,322,232 |
5.
From 1948 into the 1950s, he guided what became known as the Indians' "Big Four" pitching rotation, featuring Feller, Bob Lemon, Early Wynn and Mike Garcia; Mel Harder had successfully transformed Lemon from an infielder into a top pitcher while working with him in the mid-1940s, and he taught future 300 game-winner Wynn the breaking ball and changeup.
| FactSnippet No. 2,322,233 |
6.
When Sal Maglie was struggling with the Indians, Mel Harder watched some films of Maglie pitching with the Giants and figured out that he wasn't swivelling his foot like he normally did, which kept him from following through with his delivery.
| FactSnippet No. 2,322,234 |
7.
Mel Harder was fired after the 1963 season, having spent the first 36 years of his adult life in Cleveland.
| FactSnippet No. 2,322,235 |
8.
Mel Harder later coached with the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals.
| FactSnippet No. 2,322,236 |
9.
In 2002, Mel Harder died in Chardon, Ohio at age 93; at the time of his death, he had been one of only five living players who had played in the 1920s.
| FactSnippet No. 2,322,237 |
10.
Mel Harder was the only pitcher to work 10 or more All-Star innings without allowing an earned run and the only man in major league history to have both 20-year playing and coaching careers.
| FactSnippet No. 2,322,238 |
11.
Mel Harder was the only man to play 20 seasons for one franchise who is not an active player, in the Hall of Fame, or on the Hall of Fame ballot.
| FactSnippet No. 2,322,239 |
12.
Mel Harder threw the first pitch ever thrown at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in a 1932 game, and the last pitch there, as well, in ceremonies after the final game of the 1993 season before the Indians moved to Jacobs Field.
| FactSnippet No. 2,322,240 |
13.
Mel Harder holds the record for the most managerial wins without a loss.
| FactSnippet No. 2,322,241 |