Olaf Henriksen - Life

Life

Olaf Henriksen was born in the Danish village Kirkerup on Western Zealand in 1888. Not much is known about the reason for his immigration to the United States. His baseball talents were first discovered by the Boston Americans while he played for their minor league affiliate Brockton in the New England League, and he debuted in the Major Leagues on August 11, 1911 at the age of 23. Boston lost the game 5–11 to the Philadelphia Athletics.

At the beginning of the 1912 season rumour had it that Olaf Henriksen and his teammate Hugh Bradley were to be traded to the New York Highlanders in exchange for star player Hal Chase. The New York Times described it as "one of the most important trades of recent years", but the deal was never finalized. The public began to take notice of Henriksen, as evidenced by this preseason analysis of Boston's roster:

The outfield will remain about the same for Speaker, Lewis and Hooper are a trio that is hard to beat. Olaf Henricksen, however, is going to give Lewis a fight for his job. Henricksen, until he was injured, was going at a great clip, and all pitchers looked alike to him. —Harry Casey, Baseball Magazine, January 1912

His last game was against the Washington Senators on June 27, 1917. Three days later Olaf Henriksen was released from the team and sent back to the minor leagues, but he refused to report. A year later the New York Times reported that the Brooklyn Robins was attempting to sign Henriksen with the intention of letting him reassume his familiar role as a pinch hitter, but the negotiations apparently stalled. After his own professional career ended, Olaf Henriksen became the manager of the baseball team at Boston College.

Henriksen's family included his wife Mary and daughter Catherine. On October 17, 1962 Olaf Henriksen died in Norwood, Massachusetts. He is buried in St. Mary Cemetery in the town of Canton, Massachusetts.