Hendrick Cromartie, class of 1947, played in the Indians’ farm system in 1949
After losing the first two games of the best-of-five American League Division Series, the Cleveland Guardians (formerly the Cleveland Indians) beat the Chicago White Sox three games in a row to win the series and advance to the American League Championship Series, where they face the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Guardians have not won a World Series since 1948. As defending World Series champions in 1949, the Indians had an MMI graduate in their farm system.
Hendrick Cromartie never made it to the majors.
Born in Albany, Georgia, in 1928, Cromartie graduated from Leesburg High School in 1945 and enrolled in Marion Military Institute’s junior college program. After graduating in 1947, he enrolled at the University of Georgia.
During the spring and summer of 1949, Cromartie played minor league baseball for the Hazlehurst-Baxley Red Socks of the Georgia State League and the Cordele Indians of the Georgia-Florida League.
In 249 at-bats between the two farm clubs, Cromartie had a .201 batting average and drove in 24 runs with nine doubles, six triples and one home run.
Those are not Hall of Fame numbers, but as with Moonlight Graham, the real story began after his season in the grass.
Cromartie focused on his studies and graduated from UGA in 1951. He then enlisted in the Air Force and served four years, spending part of his service in a dental lab. Liking the work, Cromartie enrolled in the Emory University School of Dentistry after his time in the Air Force and graduated in 1960. At Emory he met Dorothy Fincher, who became his wife.
After dental school, Cromartie and his new bride moved to Rome, Georgia, where he practiced dentistry for 38 years. In his spare time he was an inventor. Cromartie held four U.S. patents, two for knee braces and two for specialized swimsuits. He was a church deacon, a golfer and a Cotillion member, and he and Dorothy danced many nights away.
Dr. Cromartie died in 2019.
