Eddie Grant

Edward Leslie Grant (May 21, 1883 – October 5, 1918), was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman between 1905 and 1915. Grant became one of the few major league players to be killed in World War I.

Biography

Grant was born on May 21, 1883, in Franklin, Massachusetts. After completing high school in 1901, Grant attended Dean Academy (now Dean College) in Franklin for a year before enrolling at Harvard University (earning him the nickname "Harvard Eddie"). While at Harvard, Grant was a member of the freshman basketball and baseball teams. He played varsity basketball for the Crimson during his sophomore year in 1903, and was set to play varsity baseball the following spring until he was declared ineligible for playing in a professional independent baseball league the previous summer.

Post-career

Upon his retirement from baseball, Grant opened a law practice in Boston. He was the first Major League Baseball player killed in action in World War I. He was buried at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in Lorraine, France.

Grant was one of eight Major League Baseball players known either to have been killed or died from illness while serving in the armed forces during World War I. The others were Alex Burr‚ Harry Chapman, Larry Chappell‚ Harry Glenn‚ Newt Halliday, Ralph Sharman and Bun Troy.

Legacy On Memorial Day, May 30, 1921, representatives from the armed forces, baseball, and the sisters of Grant unveiled a monument in center field of the Polo Grounds to his memory. During the celebration at the end of the last Giants' game in , someone pried the plaque from its monument. A replica plaque has been installed at Oracle Park since 2006.

Grant is also memorialized with the Edward L. Grant Highway in The Bronx, New York and by Grant Field at Dean College.