Hank Helf

Who was Hank Helf?

Henry Hartz Helf was a Major League Baseball catcher who played for three seasons. He played for the Cleveland Indians in 1938 and 1940 and the St. Louis Browns in 1946. From 1944 to 1945 Helf served in the military during World War II.

On August 20, 1938, as part of a publicity stunt by the Come to Cleveland Committee, Helf, along with Indians' catcher, Frankie Pytlak, caught baseballs dropped from Cleveland's 708-foot-tall Terminal Tower by Indians' third baseman Ken Keltner. The 708-foot drop broke the 555-foot, 30-year-old record set by Washington Senator catcher Gabby Street at the Washington Monument. The baseballs were estimated to have been traveling at 138 miles per hour when caught.