During his 20-year playing career (1926–1945), Cronin played for three teams, primarily the Boston Red Sox; he was a player-manager for 13 seasons (1933–1945), and served as manager for two additional seasons (1946–1947). A seven-time All-Star, Cronin became the first AL player to become an All-Star with two teams; he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1956.\n', '

Cronin was born in Excelsior District of San Francisco, California. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake had cost his Irish Catholic parents almost all of their possessions. Cronin attended Sacred Heart High School. He played several sports as a child and he won a city tennis championship for his age group when he was 14. As he was not greatly interested in school, Cronin\'s grades improved only when the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League began giving away tickets to students with good conduct and attendance. At the time, the nearest MLB team was nearly 2,000 miles from San Francisco.\n', '

Baseball promoter Joe Engel, who scouted for the Senators and managed the Chattanooga Lookouts at Engel Stadium, originally signed Cronin. Engel first spotted Cronin playing in Kansas City. "I knew I was watching a great player", Engel said. "I bought Cronin at a time he was hitting .221. When I told Clark Griffith what I had done, he screamed, \'You paid $7,500 for that bum? Well, you didn\'t buy him for me. You bought him for yourself. He\'s not my ballplayer – he\'s yours. You keep him and don\'t either you or Cronin show up at the ballpark.\'"\n', '

Return to Joe Cronin Autograph Profile