Chozen, Harry "Choz"

Harry Kenneth Chozen

In September 1937, one week before his 22nd birthday, Chozen caught for the Cincinnati Reds in the second game of a double header against the Philadelphia Phillies. The following season, he returned to the minors, and was upset that he was not recalled at the end of the 1938 season. Harry sent a letter to MLB commissioner Judge Landis requesting his free agency but was turned down. He never returned to the majors, and always wondered if he had been "blackballed" for the letter.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. September 27, 1915 - d. September 16, 1994

Career Highlights:
Born to Jewish immigrants from the Ukraine, Chozen was the sixth of seven children. His was the only Jewish family in Winnebago, Minnesota, a town settled by Swedes. When Harry was eight, the family settled in Southern California. He later attended Pasadena Junior College and then started his professional baseball career in 1933.
Chozen played in the minors for a couple of years and was then promoted by the Cincinnati Reds at the end of the 1937 season. He made his major league debut on September 21 and went 1-4 in his only game for the Reds. Although he did not return to the majors, Chozen played for a number of years in the minors and had a 49-game hitting streak in 1945 with Mobile, a Dodgers minor league team.
In 1946, Chozen decided to concentrate on managing. He served as player-manager with Greenville (Mississippi) and Pine Bluff (Arkansas) in the Cotton States League, Miami Beach in the Florida International League, and Lake Charles in the Evangeline League. Harry retired from baseball in 1952 and went into the insurance business. He was district manager for Guaranty Savings Life Insurance Company in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He also served as president of the board at Temple Sinai in Lake Charles.

Career Dates:
Chozen played one game for the Cincinnati Reds in 1937.

Position:
Catcher

Physical description:
5'9", 195 pounds
Right-handed

Career Statistics:
Games: 1
Batting Avg.: .250
Slugging Avg.: .250

At-bats: 4
Hits: 1
Doubles: 0
Triples: 0

Home Runs: 0
Home Run %: 0.0
Runs: 0
RBI: 0

BB: 0
Strike Outs: 0
Stolen Bases: 0

Pinch Hitting
At-bats: 0
Hits: 0

Fielding Statistics
Put-outs: 4
Assists: 1
Errors: 1
Double-plays: 0

Total Chances per Game: 6.0
Fielding Avg: .833

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References:
encyclopedia of JEWS in sports, by Bernard Postal, Jesse Silver, and Roy Silver (New York: Bloch Publishing Co., 1965)
The Big Book of Jewish Baseball: An Illustrated Encyclopedia and Anecdotal History, by Peter S. Horvitz and Joachim Horvitz (New York: S.P.I. Books, 2001)