Jimmie Foxx
Jimmie Foxx | |
---|---|
Miami, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
May 1, 1925, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 23, 1945, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .325 |
Hits | 2,646 |
Home runs | 534 |
Runs batted in | 1,922 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Member of the National | |
Baseball Hall of Fame | |
Induction | 1951 |
Vote | 79.2% (seventh ballot) |
James Emory Foxx (October 22, 1907 – July 21, 1967),
Considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, Foxx became the ninth player to win a
Early years
Foxx was born in rural
Foxx had hoped to pitch or play third base, but since the team was short on catchers, Foxx moved behind the plate, a position he had played in high school and on summer all-star teams.[10] He immediately drew interest from the Philadelphia Athletics (A's) and New York Yankees. In July 1924, A's owner Connie Mack purchased Foxx's contract from the Farmers for $2,000[11] and Foxx stated that he would finish out the season with Easton before joining the Athletics. He traveled to Philadelphia later in the 1924 season and sat in the dugout during games, and never appeared in one.[11] Foxx, who at this time was a senior in high school, was forbidden by Mack from participating in any school athletics for fear that this might "jeopardize his baseball future."[12] Foxx would drop out of school, and joined the Athletics for spring training in Fort Myers, Florida. As a result, he did not graduate, but he did receive a certificate which designated him an honorary member of the class.[11]
Major league career
Philadelphia Athletics
During spring training in 1925, Foxx split duties at catcher with Mickey Cochrane and Cy Perkins, and when the season started he played the role of third-string catcher. On May 1, 1925, in a game against the Washington Senators, he recorded his first career hit off Vean Gregg.[13] In June, Mack optioned Foxx to the Providence Grays to accumulate time and practice hitting at a higher level instead of sitting on the bench in Shibe Park.[13][14] In the next season, Foxx appeared in a few more games, mostly as a pinch hitter or a replacement catcher.[15] In 1927, Foxx signed a contract for $3,000 (equivalent to $53,336 in 2023);[16] however, because future Baseball Hall of Fame member Mickey Cochrane was still the primary catcher, he remained in a backup role, but had started to transition to first base. He recorded his first home run on May 31, 1927, against Urban Shocker of the New York Yankees,[17] and finished the season batting .323 over 61 games.[1]
In 1929, installed as the A's regular first baseman, Foxx had a breakthrough year. On May 1, he recorded the first 5-hit game of his career[18] as well as the first multi home run game of his career, one of three such games that season. By early July, he was batting over .400 until a slump later in the season caused his average to drop. He finished the year with 20 games where he collected 3 or more hits[19] and finished with a .354 average with 33 home runs.[4][1] During that year, Foxx appeared on the cover of Time magazine.[20] A strong start to the 1930 season showed that Foxx was a hitter to be feared, and on May 30, he recorded the first six-hit game of his career,[21] against the Senators. By the end of June, after hitting 11 home runs in both May and June, he had 22 on the season and was batting .360. A slow end to the season lowered his season numbers, however, he still hit over 30 home runs for the second time in his career and finished with a .335 batting average. The 1931 season was hampered by injuries and a sinus infection,[4] marking his first season where he did not hit above .300. He still managed to hit 30 home runs, extending his streak to 3 straight seasons.[1]
The 1932 season would be Foxx's first truly outstanding year. In a sign of games to come, he recorded three hits and a home run during his first game,
After an uncharacteristically slow start to the 1933 season that saw him hitting only .301 with 7 home runs by June 6, he started hitting home runs again, with his second three home run game against the New York Yankees.[28] During the month of June, he hit 13 home runs, scored 37 runs, and batted over .380 in 31 games played. On August 14, he hit for the cycle and set a then-AL record 9 runs batted in.[29] He would hit multiple home runs in seven games[30] and collect four or more hits in five games. He finished the season leading the American league in home runs, RBI, and batting average, which secured him the ninth Triple Crown in MLB history.[31] He also finished with 403 total bases, leading the American League and making him the third player in history to record 400 total bases in back-to-back seasons, with Lou Gehrig and Chuck Klein being the others. As a result of his phenomenal season, he was awarded his second MVP award at the end of the year.[1]
His 1934 season saw Foxx continue to terrorize American League pitchers. He finished the season with 44 home runs, 130 runs batted in and a .334 average. While his numbers were down compared to his previous two seasons, he still finished in the top 5 in several batting categories. This also marked the third straight season where he hit 40 or more home runs.[1] At the end of the season, during an exhibition game in Winnipeg, he got hit by a pitch in the head and was knocked unconscious.[4] After the incident, he suffered sinus problems for the rest of his career. In late 1934, Foxx, along with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Charlie Gehringer, among others, went on a tour of Japan and played 18 games against Japanese teams.[32] The start of the 1935 season saw Foxx return to his original position at catcher because of the loss of Mickey Cochrane to the Detroit Tigers.[4] After poor performance and a series of injuries to the other Athletic infielders, Connie Mack placed Foxx back at first base.[32] Even after finishing the season leading the American League in home runs for the 3rd time[1] and finishing in the top 10 in most batting categories, it was still not enough for the Athletics to finish above last place. Connie Mack sold Foxx to the Boston Red Sox along with Johnny Marcum for $150,000 (equivalent to approximately $3,293,525 in 2023 dollars[33]).[4][34]
Boston Red Sox
His first season with the Red Sox was another standout campaign as he led the team in every batting category except stolen bases. He finished in the top 10 in most offensive categories by the end of the season and hit over 40 home runs for the fourth time in his career.[1] The following season was the first time where health problems had a large effect. He fell ill with the flu during spring training in 1937 and was admitted to the hospital with pain in his forehead and vision problems.[35] He missed the first handful of games in the season before returning with the club. He still continued to hit home runs that would leave the ballpark, including one that left Fenway Park by the center field flagpole.[4] Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Gomez once joked about a home run hit off him, stating "I knew immediately what it was. That was a home-run ball hit off me in 1937 by Jimmie Foxx" in response to Apollo astronauts finding objects on the Moon.[36] There is no record of Foxx hitting a home run off Gomez that season, but Foxx had hit 14 home runs off Gomez during his career.[37]
In 1938, Foxx put on an offensive showcase during the months of May, June, and September, recording at least 10 home runs and 30 RBI in each of those three months, [38] including over 40 in the final month of the season. On June 16, 1938, he tied an American League record when he walked six times in a game.[4] His totals at the end of the year set many Red Sox single-season team records. His 175 RBI that year remain a Boston Red Sox record, his 50 home runs were a record until Hall of Famer David Ortiz surpassed it in 2006 with 54,[4][39] and his 398 total bases were most by a Red Sox until Jim Rice collected 406 total bases in 1978. Foxx was awarded his third and final MVP award at the end of the season, leading the AL in most categories, with only Hank Greenberg's 58 home runs surpassing Foxx's own total of 50.
In 1939, health problems popped up again for Foxx. Early in the season, he sought treatment for pain caused by his presumed sinus problem on a road trip from Chicago to Washington.
Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies
With the Cubs in 1942, he split time between first base and pinch hitting duties, and by the end of the season, it was clear that his career was in sharp decline. Over 100 games, he hit .226 and had only eight home runs, by far the lowest totals of his career since his first full season in 1929. He sat out all of 1943 and returned as a pinch hitter in 1944, playing only 14 games.[1] Foxx joined the Phillies in 1945 and was a two-way player. Between hitting and pitching, he hit 7 home runs over 89 games and compiled a 1–0 record and 1.59 earned run average (ERA) over 222⁄3 innings.[1] He retired at the end of the season.
Foxx finished his 20-year career with 534 home runs, 1,922 runs batted in, 1,751 runs scored, 2,646 hits, 458 doubles, 125
Post-playing career
Foxx worked as a minor league manager and coach after his playing days ended, including managing the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League for one season in 1952.[42] He took the team to the playoffs where they lost in the first round 2 games to 1 against the Rockford Peaches. The character of Jimmy Dugan in the 1992 movie A League of Their Own, played broadly by Tom Hanks, is loosely based on Foxx, though his players remember Foxx as having behaved significantly more gentlemanly to them, rather than the brusque manner Hanks showed his team. Foxx served as head coach for the University of Miami baseball team for two seasons, going 9–8 in 1956 and 11–12 in 1957, before being let go following the 1957 season.[4]
A series of bad investments left Foxx broke by 1958.
Death
Foxx died in 1967 at age 59 in
Legacy
Known as one of the greatest power hitters of all time, Ted Williams was quoted as saying in response to a question about Foxx breaking Babe Ruth's home run record, "What a man. And I'll bet he does it, too!"[35] However, long-standing chronic health problems, injuries, heavy drinking, and a marriage of constant abuse and harassment from his first wife all caused his career to be cut short in his 30s.[4] In 1940, Hall of Famer Joe Cronin said, "He's a marvel, isn't he? Tell me: who was a better all-around ball player than Foxxie? Why right now I'd say he was the best catcher in the American League…They can talk all they want to about some of those old time ball players being able to play different positions. I'll take Foxxie. They don't come any better."[35]
A statue of Foxx was erected in his hometown of Sudlersville, Maryland, on October 25, 1997. In 1999, he ranked number 15 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players,[46] and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
Tom Hanks's character Jimmy Dugan in the movie A League of Their Own was largely based on Foxx and Hack Wilson, although the producers took a number of liberties in creating the role.[43]
Foxx is mentioned in the poem "Line-Up for Yesterday" by Ogden Nash:
X is the first
Of two x's in Foxx
Who was right behind Ruth
With his powerful soxx.
—
See also
- List of Major League Baseball home run records
- 500 home run club
- 50 home run club
- List of Major League Baseball runs batted in records
- List of Major League Baseball individual streaks
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career total bases leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career batting average leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career on-base percentage leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career slugging percentage leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career extra base hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career total bases leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career OPS leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career bases on balls leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career putouts leaders
- Triple Crown
- List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
- Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Jimmie Foxx Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
- ^ "September 24, 1940 Game Log". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "Jimmie Foxx". Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Jimmie Foxx at the SABR Baseball Biography Project , by John Bennett, Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ Daniel, H. Harrison, pp. 1
- ^ a b Millikin, Mark R., pp. 14
- ^ Daniel, H. Harrison, pp. 3
- ^ Millikin, Mark R., pp. 15
- ^ Daniel, H. Harrison, pp. 8
- ^ Millikin, Mark R., pp. 13
- ^ a b c Daniel, H. Harrison, pp. 12-14
- ^ Daniel, H. Harrison, pp. 4
- ^ a b Millikin, Mark R., pp. 48-49
- ^ Daniel, H. Harrison, pp. 21
- ^ Millikin, Mark R., pp. 54
- ^ Millikin, Mark R., pp. 57
- ^ "May 31, 1927 Game Log". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "May 1, 1929 Game Log". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "1929 Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "Jimmie Fox: July 29, 1929". Time. Archived from the original on June 28, 2006. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
- ^ "May 30, 1930 Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "1932 Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "Major League League Leaders". Indianapolis Times. June 1, 1932. p. 8. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "July 10, 1932 Game Log". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "Contest Abounds in Unusual Feats". Evening Star. July 11, 1932. p. 11. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "1932 AL Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "Foxx and Klein to get Player Awards". Henderson Daily Dispatch. October 19, 1932. p. 8. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "June 8, 1933 Game Log". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "Foxx, New Ruler of Swat, Far Shy of Ruth in Personality, but a Greater Terror at Bat". Evening Star. August 15, 1933. p. C-1. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "1933 Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ Jordan, David M., pp. 118
- ^ a b Jordan, David M., pp. 121-122
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Jordan, David M., pp. 123
- ^ SABR. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ Freedman, Lew, pp. 64
- ^ "Jimmie Foxx Home Run Log". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ "1938 Batting Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ "Red Sox Single Season Records". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ "Bosox, A's on Slugging Spree". Evening Star. September 25, 1940. p. A-14. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ "MLB Records by Decade". MLB.com. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ a b "James E. Foxx AAGPBL Player/Profile".
- ^ a b espn.com, Reel Life: 'A League of Their Own', accessed August 19, 2013.
- ^ "Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
- ^ Edes, Gordon (September 12, 2006). "Foxx news channeling: Ortiz's run prompts a glance into history". Boston Globe. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- ^ "100 Greatest Baseball Players by The Sporting News : A Legendary List by Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com.
- ^ "Baseball Almanac". Retrieved 2008-01-23.
- Millikin, Mark R. (2005). Jimmie Foxx: The Pride of Sudlersville. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9781461660064. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- Daniel, H. Harrison (2004). Jimmie Foxx: The Life and Times of a Baseball Hall of Famer, 1907-1967. McFarland. ISBN 9780786418671. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- Jordan, David M. (1999). The Athletics of Philadelphia: Connie Mack's White Elephants, 1901-1954. McFarland. ISBN 9780786406203. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- Freedman, Lew (2014). The Day All the Stars Came Out: Major League Baseball's First All-Star Game, 1933. McFarland. ISBN 9780786457755. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
Further reading
- Bennett, John. "Jimmie Foxx". SABR.
- Nack, William (August 19, 1996). "Lost In History". Sports Illustrated.
From 1929 to 1931, the Philadelphia A's were the best team in baseball, with four future Hall of Famers and a lineup that dominated Babe Ruth's legendary Yankees. So why hasn't anyone heard of them?
External links
- Jimmie Foxx at the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Jimmie Foxx at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
- Jimmie Foxx at Baseball Almanac
- Jimmie Foxx at Baseball Biography
- Jimmie Foxx at Hall of Stats
- Jimmie Foxx at The Deadball Era at the Wayback Machine (archived January 23, 2020)
- Jimmie Foxx at Find a Grave