- Born
- Died
- Nickname
- Pie Traynor
- Harold Traynor was born on November 11, 1898 in Framingham, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Angels in the Outfield (1951). He was married to Eve Helmer. He died on March 16, 1972 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
- SpouseEve Helmer(January 3, 1931 - March 16, 1972) (his death)
- Professional baseball player, manager, scout and radio broadcaster who played his entire Major League Baseball career (1920-37) as a third baseman with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1948.
- After spending time as a scout for the Pirates, Traynor eventually took a job as a sports director for a Pittsburgh radio station in 1944. His radio broadcasts became popular with Pittsburgh sports fans and he remained at the job for 21 years, retiring in 1965.
- The second child of James and Lydia Maude Traynor, the parents emigrated from Canada (Nova Scotia). Traynor was nicknamed as a child because he frequented a grocery store and often asked for pie. The store owner at first called him "Pie Face", but this was later shortened to "Pie" by friends and it stuck.
- In 1999, Traynor was ranked #70 on "The Sporting News" list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Baseball historian Bill James ranked Traynor 15th all-time among third baseman in his Historical Baseball Abstract.
- He and wife, the former Eve Helmer (1904-1977), had no children.
- Nobody taught me how to play third base. The way I learned was simply to tackle each situation as it arose and master it before moving on to something else. I think I learned more about playing third base in the morning bull sessions in the hotel lobby than I did out on the field.
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