Barney Dreyfuss
| Birthdate | 2/23/1865 |
| Death Date | 2/5/1932 |
| Debut Year | 1890 |
| Year of Induction | 2007 |
| Teams | Colonels, Pirates |
| Positions | Executive, Owner |
As owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Barney Dreyfuss presided over teams that won six pennants and two World Series championships.
Leave a commentIn the collection:
Handwritten letter from 1908 - Dreyfuss mentions HoFers Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke
Handwritten letter from 1908 - Dreyfuss mentions HoFers Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke
In the collection is a letter handwritten by Hall of Fame Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss. Dreyfuss alludes to a feud with newspaper men before closing the letter with an assessment of his team’s fortunes for the upcoming 1908 season.
“With Fred (Clarke), Honus (Wagner), and (Tommie) Leach to build around we expect to put together another first division on the field.”
Though his Pirates would win 98 games, they would finish second to the Chicago Cubs who went on to win the World Championship.
Inducted 76 years after his 1932 death, Barney Dreyfuss presents a challenge to autograph collectors.
Pittsburgh second baseman & Renaissance Man Howdy Groskloss recalls Barney Dreyfuss
Pittsburgh second baseman & Renaissance Man Howdy Groskloss recalls Barney Dreyfuss
Howdy Groskloss decided to become a doctor at age 12 when he witnessed the death of his father. As an adult he made good on that decision, becoming a respected gynecologist.
Before entering the medical profession Groskloss was an elite college athlete who became a big league player for Barney Dreyfuss’ Pirates.
At Amherst College Groskloss was a star in football, tennis, track, swimming, and baseball. Upon graduation, he was voted the school’s best all-around athlete. Amherst grad and former president Calvin Coolidge presented an award for the honor.
Dreyfuss soon signed Groskloss to a contract. The athlete used the money to pay off his mother’s mortgage.
Weeks after giving the commencement speech at Amherst in 1930, Groskloss made his big league debut with the Pirates. The second baseman played two games for Pittsburgh then enrolled in Yale medical school.
Groskloss totaled 72 Major League games before turning all of his attention to medicine. In addition to his career as an OB/GYN, Groskloss enjoyed more than five decades of teaching teaching obstetrics, endocrinology, and gynecology.
When he died in 2006 ninety-six days after his 100th birthday, Groskloss was the oldest living former Major Leaguer.
In the collection is this handwritten note and 3×5 card signed by Renaissance Man Howdy Groskloss.
Of his memories of Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, he writes, “Barney Dreyfuss, President Pirates and a very friendly person…Honus Wagner…greatest of all…and my father’s close friend. “
