My maternal grandfather, Bob Hasty, pitched in the major leagues for 5 years until a scandal cost him his big league career. Sadly, the scandal outlives his memory and includes false accusations of racism. I've been trying to set the record straight for many years now.
A couple of years ago I wrote up a formal biography of my maternal grandfather for a well-known baseball website. I spent a lot of time on it. The website refused to use it. After making a few edits, I've reproduced it below, so that anyone who Googles Bob Hasty will hopefully find it, and thus will have a good idea of the man I called Papa.
Bob Hasty
My maternal grandfather, Robert Keller Hasty was born May 3, 1896 in Canton, Georgia, a small town about forty miles north of Atlanta. His father was a prosperous farmer and he grew up with seven siblings. His ancestry was mostly Scots-Irish although one great-grandmother was reportedly half Native American.
[Note: To me he was always Papa. So that’s how I will refer to him here.]
His early exposure to baseball is unknown, as he attended school in a rural one-room schoolhouse. One Hasty cousin recalls him “pitching” rocks at a tree, to get his arm in shape. His father took a dim view of baseball and didn’t encourage his son. Papa attended Berry College but did not graduate.
above, Connie Mack, Slim Harris, and Bob Hasty
How It All Started
Papa was the right age to fight in the first world war, but he didn’t go overseas. In the summer and fall of 1918 he trained at Camp Gordon, outside Atlanta [it was later moved to a location just outside Augusta and became Fort Gordon]. At 6’4 and 220 lbs. he was far bigger than most of his fellow soldiers, and his arm was powerful. The higher ups quickly noticed that he had great skill as a pitcher, and he was promoted to the rank of sergeant, so he could have more time to practice. The war ended before he could be sent overseas. He was discharged in December 1918.
Camp Gordon was a turning point in Papa’s life. Sports were very popular at Camp Gordon. Papa pitched on the camp baseball team, and his talent was noticed by the higher ups and the local newspaper. It’s not surprising that while playing a baseball game in 1918 he was scouted by Charley Frank of the Atlanta Crackers.
Atlanta had no major league baseball team at that time. The Crackers were a popular team though, and Atlanta was the biggest city in the South. According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia:
The Atlanta Crackers were one of professional baseball’s most successful minor league franchises. From 1901 until 1965 they won seventeen league championships—more than any other team in organized baseball except the New York Yankees. National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Luke Appling and Eddie Mathews started their careers with the Crackers, as did players Tommie Aaron, Tim McCarver, and Chuck Tanner, as well as announcers Skip Carey and Ernie Harwell.
After signing with the Crackers in 1919, Papa was loaned to Mobile, where he won his first six games playing for the Mobile Bears. The loan was a “gentlemen’s agreement” and not actually legal according to the league constitution. Charley Frank then wanted him returned to Atlanta before Mobile played Atlanta.
As one writer characterized it, “Hasty is a splendid pitcher and is being groomed for a trip ‘up.’” (Chattanooga Daily Times, July 24, 1919)
Mobile didn’t want to return him. Years later the Mobile manager, Bob Coleman, told the story: “I told Mr. Frank we had a gentlemen’s agreement and Mobile wasn’t going to give up Hasty.” (Newman, Zipp. “Dusting ‘Em Off: Four Years to Decide Gentleman’s Agreement,” The Birmingham News, December 12, 1948.) In a game against Atlanta on Memorial Day, Frank sent the sheriff to arrest Hasty, saying there is an injunction preventing Hasty from pitching against the Crackers. The arrest didn’t happen because the man sent to the ballgame to arrest Hasty didn’t have the injunction and could not get it because of the holiday, so Hasty pitched for Mobile and Mobile won the game. Another attempt to arrest Hasty was made at the train station as the Mobile team was leaving town the next day, but Coleman told Hasty to hide in the bathroom until the train pulled out. More injunctions come down from Frank – Hasty cannot pitch against Atlanta, can only play every four days, and cannot pitch in any double-headers. Soon, Hasty was called up to the majors, to pitch for the Philadelphia Athletics.
“The case goes before the National Association to determine whether Mobile gets half of the purchase price the Athletics paid for Hasty. I think it was $10,000 and that was a lot of money in 1917 (author’s note: it was actually 1919). Four years later the National Association ruled that Mobile was entitled to half of the purchase price.” (Newman, Zipp. “Dusting ‘Em Off: Four Years to Decide Gentleman’s Agreement,” The Birmingham News, December 12, 1948.)
above, publicity shot of my grandparents made shortly after their 1923 marriage
The Big Leagues
The 1920 season was difficult for Papa, as he didn’t do well and was taken off the Athletics roster. Papa had never seen a major league baseball game until he pitched in one.
Connie Mack permitted Hasty to pitch for semi-pro teams in the Philadelphia area. Papa had to wait until he pitched the final game of the season to win a game, but the Athletics beat the Washington team 8-6. However, his batting average was .250 in 1920.
Hasty had more luck in his 1921, 1922, and 1923 seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1921 he was batting .294 and in 1922 he batted .200.
In the spring of 1923 Papa married Wilma Butler, daughter of a prominent businessman in Cobb County, Georgia. Connie Mack gave Hasty a few days off for a honeymoon.
His daughter Elva [my mother] recalled in her memoir: “Dad played for Connie Mack for 5 seasons, as part of the Philadelphia Athletics ballclub. Connie Mack made Dad take lots of dancing lessons as well as boxing lessons, to help such a big man learn to move more easily. I don’t remember his ever talking about the boxing but he dearly loved to dance.” (Singing to the Cows: A Memoir, by Elva Hasty Thompson, page 78).
On one memorable occasion, Papa was pitching in an afternoon game and a fan mercilessly heckled him, loudly shouting out insults every time he took to the mound to pitch. Finally, Papa called for a time out and walked over to stand directly in front of the loud obnoxious fan. “I know you’re having fun yelling at me this afternoon so I just wanted you to know it’s fine with me. You go right ahead and holler whatever you like, It doesn’t bother me a bit.” Papa walked back to the mound and the fan didn’t shout anything else the rest of the game.
Scandal
After the season ended, in November of 1923, Papa was home in the off season in Marietta, Georgia. He was arrested and accused of being part of a Klu Klux Klan mob that assaulted a young white woman and her date. Two of his brothers were also accused, and three other local men. Papa had an alibi for the evening in question and was released on payment of a $4,000 bond. He had recently come home for the off season and he and his wife were at her parents’ home that evening. A few weeks later, the first trial (of another defendant) resulted in a Not Guilty verdict, and the judge directed that all the other defendants be found Not Guilty (including Hasty). Unfortunately, incorrect information persists to the present day, in books and magazines, stating the Papa was a member of the Klan and he assaulted a black woman. Neither accusation was true. In fact, he was a well-known and outspoken opponent of The KKK.
The 1924 season for Philadelphia was dismal and Papa got very little playing time. Later that year, he was sent out to play for the Oregon Beavers as part of a trade. However, his overall numbers were impressive. In his major league career he earned 29 wins and had a .221 batting average. He played in 146 major league games and started in 94. In 1921, Hasty led all American League pitchers in fewest walks per 9 innings pitched, among qualified pitchers.
above, team photo of the Barons / below that, Papa and my grandmother with my uncles before my mother was born
After the Majors
Papa’s career in the Pacific Coast League between 1925 and 1928 was respectable, though. At that time there was no major league baseball on the west coast. He split the 1925 season, playing half a year for the Portland Beavers and half a year for Seattle Indians. He continued with Seattle for 1926, then played for the Oakland Oaks in 1927 and 1928.
In 1926 he pitched a no-hit no-runs games against Seattle, while playing for the Oakland Oaks in Los Angeles. It was an exhibition game.
In 1927 his first child, Robert Hasty Jr., was born in Oakland, California.
From 1928 until 1932 Papa pitched for the Birmingham Barons. In 1931 the Barons won the Dixie Series, with Hasty pitching in game 7 against a young Dizzy Dean, the star of the Houston Texas team the Buffaloes, or “Buffs.”
In approximately 1929, his son Bob Hasty Jr. was kidnapped from the backyard of the family home, in Birmingham. Police searched all across the city for the missing 2-year-old. Just before sundown, the child came walking down the street. He had been released unharmed. The theory was that he was such a lively toddler the kidnappers didn’t want to take care of him.
In 1930 his second child, son Don Hasty, was born.
In 1931, while playing for the Barons, they won the Southern Association pennant in a series of games that included a young Dizzy Dean.
In July of 1932 Papa re-joined the Atlanta Crackers. A newspaper story noted: “Sixteen innings pitched – five games won! That is the amazing record which Keller Bob Hasty, the tall pitcher from Canton, Ga., and now a citizen of Marietta, has hung up since he joined the Crackers as a regular on July 17. Those 16 innings have been pitched in 11 days, to make the record all the more remarkable.” (McGill, Ralph. “Hasty Compiles Record for Boys to Shoot At,” The Constitution, July 29, 1932.)
In 1933, Papa traveled to New Jersey to play for the Jersey City minor league team but because of the Depression, the team folded. He returned home to Georgia and the family welcomed their third child, Elva, in December.
below that, the family [minus son Bobby] in New York in 1949 at the famous Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe, where all the waiters asked for autographed baseballs
Later Career
Papa spent the rest of the 1930’s in Georgia, playing and coaching company teams, which was very popular at the time. He coached the minor league Cordele (Georgia) Reds in 1938. The team had won the pennant in the Georgia-Florida League in 1937.
Everyone who knew him, knew that Papa was a true gentleman. “He did not drink or smoke or cuss or chew – and didn’t approve of other folks doing it. He had the notion that an athlete was a person young folks looked up to, so it was important to set a good example. He almost never raised his voice and seldom lost his temper, maybe once every few years. However, he could be stern and he expected his children to obey him. Mostly, he was a very kind and affectionate person, a wonderful listener, extremely patient. (Singing to the Cows: A Memoir, by Elva Hasty Thompson, page 78).
When World War II commenced, Papa moved his family to a farm in rural South Carolina because he felt like it would be safer there. Papa managed the farm, which was a large agribusiness, not a family farm. After the war, the family returned to Georgia and he lived in Atlanta the rest of his life. He continued to coach and play on teams for big companies like Atlantic Steel and Foremost Dairies.
In his final years, in Atlanta, Papa often received letters from fans, addressed simply to “Bob Hasty, Atlanta Georgia.” He always replied with an autographed card and was often approached in public and asked to chat, pose for photos, or sign autographs.
Mom recalled that “Especially in the south, we were accustomed to people coming up to Dad asking for his autograph and wanting to talk about baseball. It could be annoying to us, but never to him and he never refused or lost patience. People brought baseballs to him to sign and even mailed them to him.” (Singing to the Cows: A Memoir, by Elva Hasty Thompson, page 78).
She also recalled a memorable evening in 1949. “When I was 15 years old, Mother, Dad, Don, and I went to a then famous nightclub in New York, the Diamond Horseshoe. We did not have reservations and were seated way in the back where we could barely see the floorshow. A few minutes after we were seated, a waiter came to our table and asked Dad if he was Bob Hasty. Then another man came and escorted us to a ringside table up front. A few minutes later, men stopped at our table, one by one, with baseballs for Dad to autograph. Someone had made a quick trip to a sporting goods store and bought about a case of baseballs. Needless to say, that was great fun for a couple of teenagers.” (Singing to the Cows: A Memoir, by Elva Hasty Thompson, page 78).
In the 1950’s Papa completely changed careers. He went to work at Lockheed and designed and built airplanes. When he retired, three graduates of Georgia Tech were hired to replace him. He also became an enthusiastic golfer and was able to play the National in Augusta several times, thanks to his son-in-law Tony Thompson, my dad, who had friends who were members of the club.
In 1961, Papa heard that Ty Cobb was at Emory Hospital, dying. They were friends. Papa visited Cobb at the hospital, and Cobb told him to look under the bed. There was a suitcase full of stock certificates and cash, with a loaded pistol on the top. Papa called his son Bobby, and enlisted his help in getting the suitcase in a secure place. Bobby went to the hospital with his friend Marshall (who worked at a local bank), and they got the suitcase stored safely in the vault. Papa was one of the pallbearers at Ty Cobb’s funeral in Royston Georgia.
In 1966 when the Braves ballclub left Milwaukee and moved to Atlanta, Papa and my grandmother became dedicated fans. They joined the Braves 400 Club and went to spring practice every year. While there, Papa befriended a young Hank Aaron.
Papa’s final public appearances came in 1966 and 1967, during Braves games at Fulton County Stadium, when he went down on the field and was recognized on Old Timer’s Day. It was the only time his grandchildren ever saw him in uniform.
After surgery to repair his hip, a blood clot traveled to his heart and killed him. Papa died on May 28, 1972, in Dallas Georgia. He left behind his three children and eight grandchildren. His talent for baseball lives on, however. Two of his great-grandsons played baseball at the college level and as of this writing one of his great-great grandsons plays college level baseball.
In 2008, a young Georgian, Gerald “Buster” Posey was drafted to play for the San Francisco Giants, and he played until his 2021 retirement. Posey is a descendant of the Hasty family of North Georgia and is a distant cousin of my grandfather, Bob Hasty.
Although few outside of the world of baseball historians know about my grandfather, his story fascinates those of us who knew and loved him. He played baseball against Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, and yet he was always humble. Papa was a gentle giant, his huge hands as skilled at diapering a baby or making a cake as they were at throwing a baseball. To all who knew him, he was an old-school gentleman whose love of baseball and love of family were his defining characteristics. He played an important role in my early life, and I still miss him.
Addendum: I was in my late twenties before I learned why Papa had left major league baseball. I was so fascinated by the story and the scandal that caused national headlines, that it inspired me to write a novel, Return to Marietta.
#bobhasty, #majorleaguebaseballplayersfromgeorgia, #baseballbobhasty, #baseballscandals, #abaseballdynasty
NOTE: Grok has an extensive writeup on my grandfather and you can see it here: LINK. However, it's not entirely accurate.
Sources
Evans, Billy. “Last Game His First Win,” The Kansas City Star, April 6, 1921.
Jemison, Dick. “Fourth Regiment and Camp Teams Win Double Header,” Atlanta Constitution, Sept. 3, 1918
McGill, Ralph. “Hasty Compiles Record for Boys to Shoot At,” The Constitution, July 29, 1932.
“Men Indicted in Smyrna Flogging Case Will Face Trial Here Next Week,” Cobb County Times, November 22, 1923.
Newman, Zipp. “Dusting ‘Em Off: Four Years to Decide Gentleman’s Agreement,” The Birmingham News, December 12, 1948.
“Not Guilty” Declares Cobb Jury,” Cobb County Times, November 29, 1923.
“This Is Mr. Hasty, Center of Argument Between Crackers and Bears; He’ll Pitch Today Because Court Order Makes Him,” Chattanooga Daily Times, July 24, 1919.
Thompson, Elva Hasty. Singing to the Cows: A Memoir. (Amazon, 2021) pages 74-76, 78.
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