Jim Rivera

Jim Rivera
Jim Rivera
Runs batted in	422
Teams
	St. Louis Browns (1952); Chicago White Sox (1952–1961); Kansas City Athletics (1961);
Career highlights and awards
	AL stolen base leader (1955);

Manuel Joseph "Jungle Jim" Rivera (July 22, 1921 – November 13, 2017) was an American

Kansas City Athletics

(1961).

Career

Rivera was born to

sports writer Edgar Munzel.^[1] This was due largely to his unorthodox playing style, and for his highly extroverted personality. Rivera threw and batted left-handed; he stood 6 feet tall and weighed 196 pounds during his playing days. In 1944, Rivera was charged with raping and assaulting an Army officer's daughter while in the military. He was found guilty of attempted rape and sentenced to life in prison. Rivera's sentence was later reduced, and he was paroled in 1949.^[2] In 1953, he led the American League in triples (16) and in 1955 in stolen bases with 25. He was a sparkplug for the 1950s Go-Go White Sox team which eventually won the American League pennant in 1959

.

A smart and fast runner, Rivera ran the bases with abandon, sliding into bases on his belly before it was fashionable, and made many a game-saving catch playing right field. A

ground ball hitter, he used his speed to full advantage and was a much tougher in clutch situations. However, in that year's World Series, which the White Sox lost in six games to the Los Angeles Dodgers

, Rivera went hitless in 11 at-bats.

Rivera had a .256 lifetime

fielding average

.

At age 40, Rivera appeared in 64 games for the Kansas City A's during the 1961 season, hitting .241 to cap his career. Rivera said Whitey Ford was the "toughest" pitcher he ever faced and he liked it when he was called "Big Jim."

Rivera would go on to be a part-owner and manager for both the

men's professional softball leagues.^[3]^[4]

Rivera died on November 13, 2017, at the age of 96.[5]