Hall of Fame Major League Baseball Player. For seventeen seasons (1928 to 1944), he played primarily as a right fielder with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. Born Charles Herbert Klein, the son of a steel mill worker, he marked his major league debut on July 30, 1928 and appeared in 64 games, recording 91 hits with a .360 batting during that year with the Phillies. Klein established himself as one of the National League's prolific hitters during his era. In the course of his career, he reached or topped 200 hits five consecutive years (1929 to 1933, including league leader twice 1932 with 226 and 1933 with 223), was home run champion four times (1929 with 43, 1931 with 31, 1932 with 38 and 1933 with 28), exceeded the century mark in RBIs six times (including league leader twice with 121 in 1931 and 120 in 1933) and was batting champion in 1933 with a .368 average. In 1933, he was the Triple Crown winner and shared the distinction with his American League hometown rival Jimmie Foxx (Philadelphia Athletics), who also won that honor the same year, thus becoming the only time in major league history there were two players who accomplished this feat from the same city in one season. Klein was highly regarded for his all-around skills, leading the league in stolen bases in his 1932 MVP season and possessing the most respected throwing arm in the game. After the 1933 season Klein was dealt to the Cubs and would experience playing in the 1935 World Series, as he recorded 4 hits with a .333 average (the Cubs would be defeated by Detroit in the Series). After a brief stint with Pittsburgh, he was reacquired by the Phillies (third time with them) in 1940 and remained in Philadelphia for the remainder of his career. In 1,753 regular season games, he amassed 2,076 hits, with 300 home runs, 1,201 RBIs and a lifetime .320 batting average. In addition, he was a two-time All-Star (1933 and 1934) with the distinction of playing in the very first All-Star Game contest in 1933. Klein, who was a heavy drinker, suffered a stroke in 1947 that left one leg paralyzed. Giving up drinking entirely after his stroke, he was sober for the last 11 years of his life. He eventually moved in with his brother and mother who became his caregivers. He passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage on March 28, 1958 at the age of 53. He was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980. His 243 home runs hit while with the Phillies places him fifth on the team's all-time career home run list.