Charles Leonard Gehringer (May 11, 1903 – January 21, 1993), nicknamed "the Mechanical Man," was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played for the Detroit Tigers for 19 seasons from 1924 to 1942. He had a .320 career batting average with 2,839 hits and 1,427 runs batted in (RBIs). He had seven seasons with more than 200 hits and was the starting second baseman who played every inning of the first six All-Star Games. He won the American League batting title in 1937 with a .371 average and the American League Most Valuable Player Award. He helped lead the Tigers to three American League pennants (1934, 1935, and 1940) and the 1935 World Series championship.

Gehringer was also one of the best fielding second basemen in history. At the time of his retirement, he was the top second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) history for double plays (now seventh in MLB history) with 1,444. He remains among MLB's all-time leaders with 7,068 assists at second base (second in MLB history) and 5,369 putouts (sixth in MLB history).

After his playing career, Gehringer served as the Tigers' general manager during the 1952 and 1953 seasons. He later operated a company that helped manufacturers sell car interior furnishings. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949 and had his jersey (No. 2) retired by the Tigers in 1983.

Early years

Gehringer was born on May 11, 1903, on a farm in Iosco Township, Michigan. His parents were German immigrants, and he had nine half-siblings from their previous marriages. When Gehringer was a young boy, the family moved to a 220-acre dairy and grain farm two miles south of Fowlerville, Michigan.

Gehringer later remembered how he first learned about baseball:

He attended Fowlerville High School, where he led the baseball team to a state championship. He played both as an infielder and a pitcher. He also played for a Fowlerville summer league team that competed against other town teams.

University of Michigan

In 1921, Gehringer joined the University of Michigan to study physical education and played on the university's freshman baseball team. In May 1923, the Ann Arbor News described him as "one of the most promising third basemen to join a freshman team in many years." Gehringer later said he also played basketball at the University of Michigan and earned a letter in basketball but did not receive one in baseball.

Professional baseball

In the fall of 1923, after completing his first year at the University of Michigan, Gehringer was noticed by Detroit Tigers left fielder Bobby Veach. Veach was hunting in Fowlerville when a friend, Floyd Smith, suggested Veach meet Gehringer. Veach brought Gehringer to Navin Field to try out and demonstrate his skills. Player-manager Ty Cobb was very impressed and asked club owner Frank Navin to sign Gehringer immediately. Cobb said, "I knew Charlie would hit and was so excited to sign him that I didn’t even change out of my uniform before rushing him to the front office to sign a contract."

In 1924, Gehringer played for the London Tecumsehs in the Class B Michigan Ontario League. He was briefly called up to the Tigers in late September and played five games, hitting .462 in 13 at-bats. He returned to the minor leagues in 1925, playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League. He hit .325 with 206 hits and 25 home runs. At the end of the 1925 season, he was called up again for eight games with the Tigers, hitting .167 in 18 at-bats.

Gehringer joined the Tigers’ regular-season roster in the spring of 1926. When second baseman Frank O’Rourke became sick with measles, Gehringer played his first game as a starter on April 28, 1926. He made two costly errors and went hitless in four at-bats. The Associated Press reported on his performance.

Gehringer became the Tigers’ second baseman in 1926, appearing in 112 games. He hit .277 and recorded 17 triples, the second-highest total in the American League. Playing for manager Ty Cobb, who focused on small-ball strategies, Gehringer had a career-high 27 sacrifice hits that year. After Cobb left the team, Gehringer never again reached that number.

Gehringer remembered Cobb as a father figure, especially after his own father died in 1924. Cobb even made Gehringer use his own bat, which was thin and small. Though Gehringer preferred a larger bat, he did not dare to use another. Cobb and Gehringer later had a disagreement. Cobb told Gehringer he needed more energy and should "chatter like the rest of the infield." Gehringer replied that "there were enough people talking and saying nothing." Gehringer later described Cobb as "a real hateful guy."

After the 1926 season, Cobb left the Tigers, and George Moriarty became the new manager. During the off-season, Moriarty acquired Marty McManus from the St. Louis Browns and named him the starting second baseman for the 1927 season. McManus was later benched for disciplinary reasons, allowing Gehringer to return to the starting lineup.

Gehringer had his best season in 1927. He led the American League’s second basemen with 438 assists, 84 double plays, and a range factor of 6.19. He also improved as a hitter, batting .317 and scoring 110 runs, fourth best in the league.

In 1928, Gehringer played in all 154 games for the Tigers, starting a streak of 511 consecutive games. He hit .320, collected 193 hits (fifth best in the league), scored 108 runs (fifth best in the league), and had 507 assists (best in the league for a second baseman). At the end of the 1928 season, Gehringer placed 19th in the American League’s Most Valuable Player voting.

Gehringer continued to improve in 1929, hitting .339 with an on-base percentage of .405, a slugging percentage of .532, and 106 RBIs. He led the American League with 215 hits, 45 doubles, 19 triples (including three in one game on August 5), 131 runs scored, and 27 stolen bases. He also led the league in putouts (404) and fielding percentage (.975) by a second baseman and ranked second with 501 assists.

In 1930, Gehringer hit .330 with a .404 on-base percentage and a .534 slugging percentage. He scored 144 runs (third in the league), collected 201 hits, 78 extra base hits, 47 doubles (third in the league), 15 triples (fifth in the league), and 19 stolen bases (second in the league).

In 1931, Gehringer had a less successful year. His streak of consecutive games ended in May, and he played only 101 games. He also fell below the .300 mark (batting .298), the only time between 1926 and 1941. He still had a strong season and finished 14th in the Most Valuable Player voting.

In 1932, Gehringer hit .342, the highest of his career, and scored 119 runs. He had 135 RBIs and played in all 154 games. He finished second in the Most Valuable Player voting.

In 1933, Gehringer hit .326, scored 107 runs, and had 118 RBIs. He played in all 154 games and finished third in the Most Valuable Player voting.

In 1934, Gehringer hit .329, scored 111 runs, and had 127 RBIs.

Military service and retirement from baseball

After the United States entered World War II, many baseball players joined the military. In August 1942, the 39-year-old Gehringer went to the Navy's main office in Detroit for a physical examination. On December 1, 1942, he officially joined the Navy as a lieutenant. At that time, Gehringer told reporters, "I think it may be the end of baseball for me."

Gehringer was assigned to the Navy's Pre-Flight School at Saint Mary's College of California. He played second base for the St. Mary's Pre-Flight baseball team. He also served as the head coach for both the baseball and soccer teams at the school.

Later, Gehringer was moved to the Navy's Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and then to Jacksonville, Florida, in February 1945. In 1945, he led the Jacksonville Naval Air Station Fliers baseball team to a 24–5 record and had a batting average of .438.

Gehringer left the Navy on November 7, 1945, with the rank of lieutenant commander. At that time, he was 42 years old and announced his retirement from baseball. He also said he planned to return to work at Gehringer & Forsyth, a business he started with a friend in 1938. He officially retired from baseball in January 1946 at Briggs Stadium by signing his "Application for Voluntary Retirement from Organized Baseball." Gehringer later said, "I came out of the service in such good shape that I felt I could've played a few years."

Family and later years

In July 1924, Gehringer’s father passed away. After his father’s death, Gehringer moved his mother from the family farm near Fowlerville, Michigan, to live with him in Detroit. Gehringer mentioned that his mother was a "great fan" who either attended games to watch him play or listened to radio broadcasts of Harry Heilmann on the porch. His mother died in July 1946.

In 1949, Gehringer received 102 votes out of 153 in the regular voting for the Baseball Hall of Fame, but this was not enough to meet the required 75 percent. A second election was held in May 1949. In this runoff, 159 out of 187 writers voted for Gehringer, which was 85 percent, qualifying him for the Hall of Fame. Gehringer did not attend the induction ceremony in Cooperstown, New York, because it took place five days before his wedding. He married Josephine Stillen, a secretary at Nash-Kelvinator Corp., in June 1949 in Santa Clara, California. The couple remained married until Gehringer’s death more than 40 years later.

In July 1951, Gehringer was hired as the Tigers’ vice president and general manager, starting his role after the 1951 season. In his first year as general manager, the 1952 Detroit Tigers finished last in the league with a record of 50 wins and 104 losses, the worst in the team’s history. Manager Red Rolfe was fired in July 1952 due to the poor performance. However, the Tigers’ board of directors voted unanimously in September 1952 to express confidence in Gehringer.

The 1953 team improved slightly, finishing with a record of 60 wins and 94 losses, 40½ games behind the New York Yankees. After this disappointing season, Gehringer was replaced as general manager in October 1953. Although the team performed poorly during his time as general manager, Lyall Smith of the Detroit Free Press praised Gehringer for his trades that brought 21 players to the team, including Walt Dropo, Fred Hatfield, Johnny Pesky, Ned Garver, Jim Delsing, Ray Boone, and Steve Gromek.

Gehringer later described his time as general manager as a "nightmare." He explained, "We had a lousy ball club, and I’d been away from baseball for ten years. I didn’t know who was and who wasn’t."

Gehringer remained a vice president with the Tigers during parts of the 1950s. He was the first Detroit official to scout Al Kaline. After watching Kaline play in a high-school all-star game, Gehringer returned to Detroit and praised him highly, assigning scout Ed Katalinas to continue observing Kaline.

In 1963, Gehringer returned to the Tigers as a fielding instructor for young second baseman Dick McAuliffe and as a batting instructor.

After retiring from playing, Gehringer returned to work at Gehringer & Forsyth, a company that manufactured automobile interior furnishings, including products from Burlington Automotive Fabrics, Barform carpets, and Cadillac Rubber & Plastics. In 1967, the company built a three-story, modern building on Woodward Avenue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Gehringer also served on the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Committee on Baseball Veterans from 1953 to 1990. He remained on the Hall of Fame’s board of directors until 1991.

In June 1983, the Tigers retired uniform numbers 2 and 5 at Tiger Stadium. Number 2 was worn by Gehringer, and number 5 was worn by Hank Greenberg. Both players attended the ceremony.

At age 82, Gehringer was the American League’s honorary captain at the 1986 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Houston, Texas.

Gehringer suffered a stroke in December 1992 and died the following month at age 89 in a nursing home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

In 1999, Gehringer was ranked number 46 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. That same year, Sports Illustrated listed Gehringer as the third greatest sports figure from Michigan, behind Joe Louis and Magic Johnson.

In 2013, the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award honored Gehringer as one of 37 Baseball Hall of Fame members for his service in the United States Navy during World War II.