High School:  Sacramento

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* MLB Career Playing Career:  16 Years (Chicago Cubs)

​* 5 Time All-Star Selection (1938, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1945)
* 2,193 Career MLB Hits​
* 642 Career RBI’s​

​* MLB Managing Career:  4 Years (Chicago Cubs, St. Louis)

 

Stan Hack was born and raised in Sacramento which has long been known as a hotbed for baseball talent. The city is also famous for having professional baseball for more than 100 years. During those early years, there was a young bright star that would be one of the first to make it to the major leagues from our fair city.  His name was “Smiling” Stan Hack.  Stan attended Sacramento High School and had a love for baseball.  He was known as the ideal third baseman during that time. Tall, slender, handsome and confident. Stan was described by an author in the 1930’s as “the idol of every sandlot urchin playing third base in a pair of torn knickers.”

 

After graduating, Stan worked at a bank and played semi-pro baseball on weekends. He tried out for his home town team, the Sacramento Solons in 1931. Chicago Cubs president William Veck Sr. saw Stan and signed him to a lucrative contract at the time of $40,000 at the age of 21 after hitting .352 in his first minor league season that year.

 

He broke in with the Cubs in 1932 and in his rookie season he appeared in the World Series. The Cubs faced the New York Yankees.  One of baseball’s most famous moments in baseball history occurred in Game 3 in that World Series where Babe Ruth called his shot pointing to the bleachers when he came to the plate.  He then homered over the center field wall.  The Cubs were swept by the Yankees but for Stan he had arrived in the big leagues. 

 

In 1934, Stan became the starting third baseman for the Cubs and began to shine. He hit .289 that season and quickly became one of the best players at his position. Stan played in a total of four World Series in which he batted an astonishing .348.

 

Not only was Stan one of the best players in the Major Leagues during the 1930’s and 1940’s, he also was consistent. He had at least a .300 batting average in seven seasons and he never hit below .270 in any season since becoming a starter. 

 

Stan had an outstanding 16-year career with a lifetime batting average of .301 accumulating 2,193 hits. His 1,092 walks ranked fourth in National League history when he retired, which remains a Cubs franchise record.  Stan also had tremendous speed on the bases. He was a 2-time National League Stolen Base leader and a 5-time All Star. His .394 career On-Base Percentage was the highest by a 20th-century third baseman up until 1982. It was the top National League mark until 2001. Stan was an iron man appearing in 1,836 games which was a record at that time. He played in at least 140 games in nine of his 16 seasons. 

 

Stan stepped away from playing in 1947 but stayed in the game, becoming a coach and manger.  He managed the Cubs from 1954-1956 and then the St. Louis Cardinals in 1958.  He settled into retirement by hunting and fishing and then opened a restaurant called Stan Hack’s Landmark located in Grand Detour Illinois that stood for decades and became a very popular tourist spot.

 

Stan passed away in 1979 at the age of 70.  He will always be remembered for his deep passion and devotion for the game. Stan spent his entire 16-year career with the Cubs and is known as the “original Mr. Cub.”  His banner still hangs on the concourse at the friendly confines at Wrigley Field and is in the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame.

 

Stan played in the era known as the Golden Age of Baseball. He will always be remembered as one of the first and best players from Sacramento and one of the greatest Cubs of all time. It is with tremendous honor we induct “Smiling Stan Hack” into his hometown Sacramento Sports Hall of Fame.