Hall of Famer Gehringer, 89, Dies : Baseball: Former Tiger second baseman, who batted .320, had been in a nursing home since suffering a stroke.

DETROIT —  Charlie Gehringer, a Hall of Fame second baseman who spent his entire 19-year career with the Detroit Tigers, has died at 89.

His wife, Josephine, said he had been in a nursing home since suffering a stroke last month. He died Thursday.

Gehringer, who played for the Tigers from 1924-42, won the American League’s Most Valuable Player award in 1937, when he led the league with a .371 batting average. He also played in the 1934, 1935 and 1940 World Series, averaging .321.

Friends of Gehringer remembered him as a craftsman on the field and a gentleman at all times.

“He’s the epitome of one of the great outstanding players in the history of the game,” said Hal Newhouser, a Hall of Fame pitcher who played with Gehringer for four seasons. “He was the type of fellow (who) when he played you didn’t even know he was around. Everything was done with precision.”

Gehringer, a left-handed hitter, finished with a .320 batting average and 2,839 hits. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1949, and was the Tigers’ general manager from 1951-53.

Gehringer gave Tiger owner Mike Ilitch his start in baseball. Ilitch remembered being fresh from the Marines when Gehringer, Detroit’s general manager at the time, asked to meet him.

“He called up and asked me to bring my scrapbook to Tiger Stadium,” Ilitch said. “I got out of the streetcar and I couldn’t believe I was going to see him. It was one of the thrills of a lifetime.”

Ilitch said he never did find out why Gehringer wanted to see his scrapbook of newspaper clippings.

“He just took it upon himself to look at it,” Ilitch said. “I was too scared to ask him any questions.”

Gehringer later sent a scout to sign Ilitch for salary and bonus totaling $5,000.

“He was very low profile and let his actions on the playing field and in business and in life do the speaking,” Ilitch said. “If there was a perfect example of leading by example . . . I think he was the epitome of it.”

Hall of Fame outfielder Al Kaline said fame never went to Gehringer’s head.

“It was surprising to have someone as great of an athlete and as great of a ballplayer as he was to have that modesty,” Kaline said.

Gehringer and Hank Greenberg were the Tigers’ two big stars of their era. Their numbers were retired together in 1983.

Charlie Gehringer

Career totals for the Hall of Fame second baseman who died Thursday at 89:

* Seasons: 19

* Team: Detroit Tigers

* At-Bats: 8,860

* Runs: 1,774

* Hits: 2,839

* Home Runs: 184

* Runs batted in: 1,427

* Batting average: .320