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Harry Berthrong

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Harry Berthrong
Outfielder
Born: January 1, 1844
Mumford, New York, U.S.
Died: April 28, 1928(1928-04-28) (aged 84)
Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S.
Batted: Unknown
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 5, 1871, for the Washington Olympics
Last MLB appearance
July 4, 1871, for the Washington Olympics
MLB statistics
Batting average.233
Home runs0
Runs batted in8
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
  National Association of Base Ball Players
Washington Nationals (1865–1868)
Washington Olympics (1870)
  National Association of Professional BBP
Washington Olympics (1871)

Henry Washburn Berthrong (January 1, 1844 – April 28, 1928) was an American professional baseball player and Presidential portrait painter.

He played in 17 games for the Washington Olympics in 1871. He hit .233 in 73 at-bats.

Berthrong was a veteran of the Civil War and his chief fame was derived from his paintings of candidates in U.S. Presidential elections.

During the Civil War, which had interrupted his art studies, he painted portraits of notable generals including Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan. He painted Grant again in 1885 when he was former President Grant, and in the 1890s he painted hundreds of huge portraits for William McKinley's successful Presidential campaigns. An 1892 photograph of Berthrong with his outsize portrait of President Benjamin Harrison is often reproduced.[1] It was used, for example, as an illustration in a March 2018 article in New York.[2]

In the Civil War he served with the 140th New York Volunteers, Co. E. and the 5th Corps, Army of the Potomac, before he was discharged on July 13, 1865.

He then served with the Olympics in 1871 and afterwards joined the customs service.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Henry Berthrong biography by Paul Proia at Society for American Baseball Research
  2. ^ Kilgore, Ed (March 8, 2018). "Trump Brings Back Ancient GOP Tradition of Protectionism".
  3. ^ "Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers - Harry Berthrong". members.tripod.com.
[edit]
Records
Preceded by Oldest recognized verified living baseball player
January 14, 1928 – April 24, 1928
Succeeded by