was so severe that he was hospitalized for a time in the spring. He ended up missing the entire 1931 season. In January 1932, Heilmann was reported by the Reds to be in "great shape". He trained himself in Hot Springs and reported in late February that he believed himself ready. However, he appeared in only 15 games for the Reds, primarily as a pinch hitter and in five games as the team's starting first baseman. He compiled a .258 batting average in 31 at bats and appeared in his last major league game on May 31, 1932. He was released by the Reds on June 6, 1932. It was reported at the time that his arthritic wrist had "lost its snap, and the power of his bat and throwing arm was gone." Radio career Heilmann worked in the insurance business in Cincinnati while he played for the Reds. After retiring from baseball in 1932, Heilmann returned to Detroit and continued there in the insurance business. He also ran in 1933 for the office of Detroit City Treasurer, losing decisively to Charles L. Williams by a margin of 138,478 votes for Williams to 68,695 for Heilmann. He also played sandlot baseball briefly for the Tool Shop team in the Detroit Amateur Baseball Federation. On June 4, 1933, a crowd of more than 20,000 spectators watched Heilmann's return to baseball, as Heilmann had an RBI single in the first inning and made a "big league catch" in right field before a thunderstorm forced the cancellation of the game in the second inning. After a few games with Tool Shop, Heilmann organized his own team, known as Harry Heilmann's All-Stars and consisting of former major league players, including Bobby Veach, Oscar Stanage, "Leaping Mike" Menosky, Marty Kavanagh, and Frank Fuller, which played games throughout Michigan and Ohio in July, August and September 1933, including a game against an African-American team from Akron. In 1934, Heilman was hired by WXYZ to handle the play-by-play responsibility on broadcasts of Detroit Tigers games for the Michigan Radio Network. At the start of the 1934 season, he was paired with Harold True, but became a solo broadcaster by the end of the season and thereafter. During the Tigers' 1935 championship season, Heilmann broadcast all home games for the Tigers, while out-of-town games were relayed by telegraph with play-by-play being read by Bob Longstreet from the WXYZ