Joe Gerhardt

John Joseph Gerhardt (February 14, 1855 – March 11, 1922) was an American professional baseball second baseman whose career spanned from 1873 to 1893. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 11 major league clubs.

Early years Gerhardt was born in 1855 in Washington, D.C.

Professional baseball

Gerhardt played five seasons in Louisville, Kentucky, for the Grays (1876–77), Eclipse (1883–84) and Colonels (1891), and five seasons in New York City for the Mutuals (1875), Giants (1885–87), Metropolitans (1887) and Gladiators (1890). Across all 15 major league seasons, he appeared in 1,078 games, 893 as a second baseman, 85 as a third baseman, 63 as a first baseman, and 33 as a shortstop. He twice led his league in assists at any position and regularly ranked among the league leaders in putouts. double plays and fielding percentage by a second baseman between 1877 and 1890. His career range factor of 6.46 remains the highest in major league history for a second baseman. He also ranks eighth among all second basemen in major league history with 558 errors at second base.

Gerhardt's nickname, "Move 'Em Up Joe" came from his war cry, "Move 'em up", which he would shout from the bench or base line when his teammates were on base. Gerhardt was an early advocate of the sacrifice play to move base runners forward. Upon Gerhardt's death, New York sports writer John M. Foster went so far as to call Gerhardt the "original inventor of the sacrifice theory in baseball." By 1910, Gerhardt and his wife had moved to Liberty, New York, where Gerhardt was the proprietor of a liquor retail business. Gerhardt and his wife at that time had a daughter, Alva, living with them.

Gerhardt later lived in Middletown, Orange County, New York. As of 1919, he was employed in N. D. Mills' cigar store. At the time of the 1920 Census, he was living in Middletown with his wife, Edith, and daughter, Alva, and was employed as a salesman in a cigar store.

Gerhardt died from a sudden heart attack in Middletown at age 67. The attack reportedly struck him in front of the Middletown post office as he was walking to work after having been ill for a week. He was buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.