Andy High as a Cardinal
1. Andrew A. High was born in Ava, Illinois on 21 November 1897.
2. Two of his brothers, Hugh and Charlie, played in the Major Leagues. Andy had the best career of the three.
3. He joined the US Navy in World War I as an electrician’s mate.
4. In 1919 he began play with the Memphis Chicks Minor League team. Initially an outfielder he moved to third base in 1920 and was bought (along with Dazzy Vance) by Brooklyn in 1922.
5. He remained with Brooklyn into 1925 when he was put on waivers. Boston (the Braves, not the Red Sox) picked him up. He moved on to St. Louis in 1928.
6. High was with St. Louis for three pennant winners: 1928, 1930, and 1931. His ninth inning run scoring single on 28 September 1928, tied the score and helped lead the Cardinals to a pennant clinching victory in 15 innings.
7. By 1930, he was working as the team’s primary pinch hitter and backup third baseman. He had only one appearance in the 1930 World Series, but started four (of seven) games in 1931. He scored two runs in the Series clinching seventh game. The final score was 4-2.
8. In 1932, he was traded to Cincinnati. He did poorly, was released mid-1933, and went to Columbus in the American Association. He got into 47 games with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1934.
9. He spent 1935 in the minors, then landed a coaching job with Brooklyn in 1936 which lasted through 1938.
10. In 1939 he became a scout for Brooklyn where he signed both PeeWee Reese and George Kell, two Hall of Fame infielders.
11. He left the Dodgers in 1943 and rejoined the US Navy. He was a SeaBee, serving with a construction unit in the South Pacific.
12. High returned to Brooklyn as a scout in 1945 and became Chief Scout in 1950. He remained in that position until his retirement in 1963.
13. He died in Ohio in 1981.
Tags: Andy High, Dazzy Vance, George Kell, PeeWee Reese
Verdun2's Blog 
June 29, 2013 at 4:07 pm
Certainly a life worth learning about. Thanks for bringing him to our attention.
Bill