Sauer, "Hank" (Henry J.)
Baseball
b. March 17, 1917, Pittsburgh, PA
Sauer was with the NL's Cincinnati Reds briefly in 1941 and 1942, then entered military service. He returned after World War II to play in 31 games with Cincinnati in 1945. After two more seasons in the minor leagues, Sauer became a starting outfielder with Cincinnati in 1948.
The Reds traded him to the Chicago Cubs during the 1949. A right-hander, the 6-foot-4, 199-pounder was named the league's most valuable player in 1952, when he batted .270 with a league-leading 37 home runs and 121 RBI.
Sauer's best season was actually 1954, when he hit .288 with 41 home runs and 103 RBI. An injury limited his playing time in 1955 and the Cubs traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1956. After one season there, he went to the New York Giants. Sauer finished his career with the Giants, then in San Francisco, in 1959.
In 15 seasons, he batted .266 with 1,278 hits, including 200 doubles, 19 triples, and 288 home runs. He scored 709 runs and drove in 876.