Joe Gerhardt

As manager John Joseph Gerhardt (February 14, 1855 – March 11, 1922)[1] was an American professional baseball second baseman whose career spanned from 1873 to 1893.

[1] Gerhardt was a weak hitter, compiling a .227 career batting average, but he was known as one of the best defensive second baseman of his era.

His career range factor of 6.46 remains the highest in major league history for a second baseman.

[8] At the time of the 1920 Census, he was living in Middletown with his wife, Edith, and daughter, Alva, and was employed as a salesman in a cigar store.

[10] The attack reportedly struck him in front of the Middletown post office as he was walking to work after having been ill for a week.

Grave of Joe Gerhardt (lower right), in the Gerhardt family plot at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.