Ernie Lombardi
- David Hegler
- Apr 25
- 5 min read
Ernie Lombardi was one of the best catchers of his era. Hailing from the Oakland Oaks of the PCL, he made a name for himself in Cincinnati and was even named NL MVP in 1938. While his play was stout, his massive hands may have been even more memorable. This is his story.
The Early Years
Ernesto "Ernie" Natali Lombardi was born in Oakland, California on April 6, 1908. Brought up in an immigrant household, Lombardi knew the value of hard work from the day he was born. His father owned a small grocery store and it was common to see young Ernie lending a hand after school.
He also spent a lot of his free time playing baseball at Bay View Park and caught the eye of a semipro team, Ravioli's Meat Market, when he was just 12 years old. He could have signed with the Oakland Oaks right out of McClymonds High School, but he didn't want to leave home for the Oaks' minor league system and spent the next year working in his father's store. It wasn't too long before Lombardi realized that he really missed the game and that he couldn't live without it.
He called the Oaks and they responded by sending him to Ogden, Utah to play for their farm team. After posting a sizzling .398 batting average in his lone year of 1927, Ernie Lombardi was called up to the PCL. He played well for the Oaks, averaging .377 in 1928, hammering 24 home runs in 1929 and 22 in 1930 while recording 563 putouts from the catcher spot.
Swooning over his prowess at and behind the plate and salivating over his massive hands, the Brooklyn Dodgers sent Hank DeBerry, Eddie Moore and paid $50,000 for the Oaks' catcher just before the start of the 1931 season. Ernie Lombardi's life would never be the same.
The Majors
Ernie Lombardi never got a proper chance with the Dodgers as Brooklyn manager Wilbert Robinson preferred season veterans over rookies. As a result, Lombardi was relegated to the bench for much of the year, watching Al Lopez work behind home plate. Still, Lombardi used his time wisely, taking mental notes on Lopez's mannerisms and play.
After the season, Ernie Lombardi was part of a six player trade with Cincinnati where he could truly display his talent as one of the game's best catchers. That first year with the Reds, Lombardi demonstrated his unique grip (the one where his left index was draped over the right pinky) by averaging .303 while hitting 11 home runs and driving in 68 scores.
While he never broke any slugging records, he did manage to tie an NL record by crushing four doubles on May 8, 1935 in his favorite ballpark, Philadelphia's Baker Bowl. For some reason, that environment always got the best out of him. Exactly two years and a day later, he found himself in the same place with another unique opportunity set before him. Only this time, it was a club record.
Just six years earlier, Cincinnati's Tony Cuccinello six times in a game against the Red Sox. On May 9, 1937, Ernie Lombardi tied that club record at the Baker Bowl in a 21-10 thrashing of the Phillies. In total, Lombardi recorded two doubles, five RBI and scored thrice. At season's end, he had recorded a .334 batting average, 59 RBI and 333 putouts while earning his second straight All-Star invitation.
From a defensive standpoint, 1938 and 1939 were his best years as Lombardi recorded 512 and 536 putouts respectively while posting a .985 fielding percentage. In 1938, he earned the NL MVP award by crushing 19 homers, driving in 95 runs and getting to base 39.10% of the time, all while leading the league with a .342 batting average.
The following year, he crushed a career best 20 home runs while the Reds made it all the way to the World Series. Towards the end of the otherwise forgettable four game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, Ernie Lombardi was the victim of fate. The Yankees were clinging to a 3-0 series lead late in Game 4 when Joe DiMaggio stepped to the plate. Joltin' Joe slapped a single to drive in the winning run when Charlie Keller decided to stretch the opportunity and try to add to the scoring binge. Keller trampled over Lombardi near home plate, knocking him senseless.
Just a split second later, DiMaggio galloped around third and towards home, but all Lombardi could muster was a half-hearted swipe at the Yankee Clipper's feet as he made it 7-4 at the top of the tenth inning. As he lay prostrate in front of a packed audience at Crosley Field, Ernie Lombardi had no idea how the play that would soon be known as "Lombardi's Big Snooze" would come back to haunt him time and again.
Ernie Lombardi enjoyed another fine season in 1940 with a .319 batting average, .382 OBP and 74 RBI to go along with 397 putouts and his fifth straight All-Star Game invitation. However, his excellent season was sullied when he was hurt early in the World Series, forcing him to miss all but two games. Still, the Reds managed to beat the Detroit Tigers in seven games.
Lombardi was traded from the Reds to the Boston Braves in 1942. Although the Braves were horrible, Lombardi fed off the wisdom of manager Casey Stengel to lead the league with a .330 batting average and was patient enough at the plate to get on base 40.3% of the time while earning another All-Star nod.
After his lone season in Boston, Lombardi was traded to the New York Giants for catcher Hugh Poland and infielder Conny Ryan. The aging catcher rewarded the Giants for their belief in him by making the last All-Star Game of his career that year after averaging .305, recording 10 homers and making 296 putouts.
His last gasp of greatness occurred the following year when Lombardi drove in seven runs in a 26-8 thumping of the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1946, the Giants signed St. Louis's Walker Cooper as Lombardi's replacement. Two years later, Lombardi was cut and returned to the Oakland Oaks to finish out his career. He retired as a Sacramento Solon in 1949.
Later Years
Like many ballplayers, Ernie Lombardi never could find a profession after his playing days were over and he spent much of his remaining days as a recluse. The only thing that kept him in society's eyesight was when the Giants moved to San Francisco and he was hired as a press box attendant not long after being inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 1958. Although he was used mainly for P.R. purposes, Lombardi relished in the opportunity to regale fans of his playing days. He passed away on September 26, 1977.
but the game refused to forget him. Thanks largely to the efforts of Birdie Tebbetts, Ernie Lombardi was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986. He was inducted into the PCL Hall of Fame in 2003 too, just a year before a full-sized bronze statue of him was erected outside Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark.
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