Hugh Alexander
| Birthdate | 07/10/1917 |
| Death Date | 11/25/2000 |
| Debut Year | 1937 |
| Year of Induction | |
| Teams | Cubs, Dodgers, Indians, Phillies, White Sox |
| Positions | Pinch Hitter, Right Field, Scout |
Super scout Hugh Alexander discovered or signed more than 60 big leaguers including Don Sutton, Steve Garvey, Dale Mitchell, and Allie Reynolds.
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Hugh Alexander started his professional baseball playing career at age 17; his greatest fame came later as a scout
Hugh Alexander started his professional baseball playing career at age 17; his greatest fame came later as a scout
Signed by the Indians in 1935 at age 17, Hugh Alexander was a outfield prospect in Cleveland’s minor leagues. He hit .348 and .344 in his first two professional seasons in and got his call to the big leagues in August, 1937. Debuting a month after turning 20, Alexander had 11 at bats for the Tribe with high hopes for ’38.
Fate intervened. Working in Oklahoma during the off season, Alexander got his left hand tangled in the gears of an oil well, severing it from his arm. Indians General Manager Cy Slapnicka then hired Alexander as a scout – the youngest in Major League history.
Alexander flourished in his new role. Over his 64-year scouting career, Alexander signed more than 60 future big leaguers to contacts. The haul from his time in Cleveland included six-time World Series champ Allie Reynolds. Reynolds contributed immediately, leading the AL in strikeouts his rookie year in 1943. Alexander signed two-time All Star and .312 lifetime hitter Dale Mitchell.
With the Dodgers, Alexander signed Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton and Frank Howard. Ten-time All Star Steve Garvey, Dodger captain Davey Lopes and 18-year MLB veteran Bill Russell were also Alexander products.
If scouts are ever included in the Hall of Fame, look for Alexander to be among the first to be recognized.
In the collection is this Heilbronner Baseball Bureau information card filled out and signed by Hugh Alexander as a 19-year old. The information reveals that Alexander’s second favorite sport was football. It also shows that the club he played for the year before filling this out was the Seminole Oklahoma semipro team.
Interesting notations and information are on the back of the card shown in the next image.
Hugh Alexander had an 11-game stint in the big leagues with the Indians before severing his left hand in 1938
Hugh Alexander had an 11-game stint in the big leagues with the Indians before severing his left hand in 1938
Louis Heilbroner opened the first professional statistical bureau devoted entirely to baseball. The bureau sent out information cards for players to fill out then kept the cards updated as part of their service.
The image above shows the reverse of one such card filled out in 1936 by Hugh Alexander. This side of the card lists Alexander’s time as a teen in pro baseball. Notice the listings of a semipro team and with the two minor league Class-D clubs.
Though there’s no mention of the young outfielder’s 11 game stint with the Indians, the last entry does state the cause of the end of his career, “1938 – lost left hand”.
The injury actually happened in December of ’37 when Alexander’s hand was severed from his arm after getting caught in the gears of an oil well.
Alexander was one of the most prolific scouts in terms of the quality and quantity of players he discovered or signed.
When an injury ended Alexander's playing career, the Indians offered him a job as a scout
When an injury ended Alexander's playing career, the Indians offered him a job as a scout
Before he became one of the most respected scouts in the game, Hugh Alexander was first a professional player. After two minor league seasons in which he hit over .340, Alexander was promoted to the Indians in 1937. He was just two months after his 20th birthday.
In his big league debut against the White Sox, Alexander got his first MLB hit. Sadly it would also turn out to be his last. At season’s end Alexander was 1-for-11 and seemingly ready to be with the big club for good in 1938.
Everything changed in December of ’37 when his left hand was torn at his job working with oil-drilling equipment. Alexander drove 14 miles to the nearest country doctor in Seminole, Oklahoma who looked over the injury. Using two gulps of whiskey as the only anesthetic, Alexander watched at the doctor amputated the hand.
Though his playing career was no over, the Indians’ GM Cy Slapnicka immediately hired Alexander as a scout for the team. Alexander went on to a scouting career that lasted more than 60 years.
In 1984 Alexander co-founded the “Scout of the Year Program”, which recognized the best scouts in the country each year. Alexander himself received the award in 1996.
