Larry Gardner

William Lawrence Gardner (May 13, 1886 – March 11, 1976) was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball.

Gardner was signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1908, and played his first professional game on June 25, 1908.

In the 10th inning of the final game, the same inning that included Fred Snodgrass and Chief Meyers making critical fielding mistakes and giving the Red Sox two extra outs to work with, Gardner drove in Steve Yerkes with the series-winning sacrifice fly.

In his 17-season career, Larry Gardner posted a .289 batting average with 27 home runs and 934 RBI in 1923 games.

In its December 27, 1999, issue commemorating the millennium, Sports Illustrated named Gardner as one of the Top 50 Vermont athletes of the 20th century.

The Vermont chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research, located in Burlington, is named in honor of Gardner.