older sister, May, and two older brothers, Richard, Jr., and Walter. Heilmann's father operated a soap business, ran as a Republican for the office of Supervisor of San Francisco's Ninth Ward in 1896, and died in June 1897 at age 36. As a boy in the 1890s and continuing at least through the time of the 1900 Census, Heilmann lived with his family at 708A Brannan Street in what is now the South of Market district of San Francisco. Heilmann was 11 years old at the time of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that killed approximately 3,000 people and left nearly 75% of the city's population homeless and living in refugee camps. Heilmann's older brother, Walter, was a gifted athlete who attended Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory (then "Sacred Heart College") in San Francisco. On June 3, 1908, a year after the city's devastation by earthquake, Walter died at age 16 while on a sailboat excursion with three schoolmates to visit the battleship USS Connecticut in drydock at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, near the present site of Candlestick Park. The boat capsized in a squall, and Walter drowned while trying to swim to shore; the other three boys were rescued. As of 1910, Heilmann was living with his mother at 112 Sixteenth Street in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco. Heilmann followed his older brother to what is now Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, where he played baseball, track and field, and basketball. He graduated from Sacred Heart in 1912 at age 17 with a collegiate certificate. After graduating from Sacred Heart, Heilmann worked as a bookkeeper for the Mutual Biscuit Company. Professional baseball career Minor leagues Heilmann appeared in a semipro baseball game in 1913 for a team from Hanford, California. While playing for Hanford, he was signed by a scout for the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). After being signed by the Beavers, Heilmann was assigned to the Portland Colts of the Northwestern League. He compiled a .305 batting average in 122 games for the Colts. Detroit Tigers 1914 to 1920 seasons In September 1913, Heilmann was drafted by the Detroit Tigers. He made his major league debut with the Tigers on May 16, 1914, and played in 68 games that year, batting .225 and committing six errors in 31 games in the outfield (29 games in center field) for an .870 fielding percentage. For the