Gabby Hartnett Gabs With Al Capone

Gabby Hartnett Gabs With Al Capone

Gabby Hartnett was a Hall of Fame catcher who played almost his entire career as a Chicago Cub. He batted .297 lifetime, threw out 56 percent of would-be base stealers and was the National League MVP in 1935.

Al “Scarface” Capone was an infamous gangster who reigned as the crime boss of the Chicago syndicate. He ran a bootlegging business by violent means and engaged in mutually profitable relationships with Mayor William Hale Thompson and key police officers. Capone often sat in his front row box at Comiskey Park with body guards all around. He reveled in attention from fans, many of whom viewed him as a Robin Hood figure who made significant donations to charity.

On September 9, 1931, famous Chicagoans, Gabby Hartnett and Al Capone, were at Comiskey Park for a Cubs-White Sox exhibition game. Gate receipts were designated for Governor Louis Emmerson’s unemployment fund which preceded the local United Way.

Before the game, Harnett was chatting with fans including Capone and his 12-year old son Alphonse, Jr. At the mobster’s request, Gabby signed a baseball for the youngster. A press photographer captured the moment and the photo was splashed across sports pages.

The photo is especially interesting because it shows Capone’s left profile. He almost always kept photographers from standing on that side so his scar could not be seen.

Despite the charity nature of the game, Commissioner Kenesaw Landis was furious with the optics of the situation. He fired off a telegram to Harnett:

“You are no longer allowed to have your picture taken with Al Capone!”

Hartnett replied to Landis with a telegram that said:

“OK, but if you don’t want me having my picture taken with Al Capone, you tell him!”

The exhibition game was a big success. A crowd of about 35,000 raised over $44,000 for the unemployment fund in the middle of the Great Depression. By the way, Charlie Root and the Cubs beat Red Faber and the Sox 3-0 with Root driving in all the runs.