Harry Arthur “Cookie” Lavagetto (December 1, 1912 - August 10, 1990) retired in memorable fashion as he collected the final hit of his career when he hit a pinch-hit double in the bottom of the ninth with two outs to break up New York Yankees Bill Bevens’ no-hitter in Game 4 of the 1947 World Series. Bevens nearly became the first player to pitch a no hitter in postseason play, a feat only accomplished by the Yankees Don Larsen in 1956 and the Philadelphia Phillies Roy Halladay in 2010. The game is known as The Cookie Game. Cookie came up with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1934 to play second base alongside Hall of Fame shortstop Arky Vaughn and third baseman Pie Traynor. Lavagetto played three seasons for the Bucs and in 1936 was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers where he enjoyed his best years. He was an All-Star each year from 1938 to 1941, having his best year in 1939 when he batted .300 with 176 hits including ten home runs, scored 93 runs and drove in 87 more. Cookie lost four years to military duty during World War II, but returned to play two more years for the Dodgers. In all, he played ten years with the Pirates (1934-1936) and the Dodgers (1937-1941, 1946-1947). He played in two World Series (1941, 1947) and lost both to the rival New York Yankees each time. Cookie Lavagetto finished his career with a .269 batting average, 945 hits, 487 runs and 486 RBI. Lavagetto managed for five years in the big leagues with the Washington Senators (1957-1960) and the Minnesota Twins (1961-1962) compiling a 271-384 record in 657 games.
