Johnny Temple

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For the blues musician, see Johnny Temple (musician). For the American bassist, see Johnny Temple (bassist).
Johnny Temple
Runs batted in
395
Teams
Career highlights and awards

John Ellis Temple (August 8, 1927 – January 9, 1994) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman from 1952 to 1964, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, where he was the leadoff hitter and starting second baseman for six seasons.[1]

A six-time

double-play combinations of the 1950s.[2]

He also played for the

Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1965.[2]

Early baseball career

Temple was born in Lexington, North Carolina where he attended Reed High School, now known as West Davidson High School.[1][3] When he was 16-years-old, he suffered a broken leg and severe burns on his left leg while escaping a house fire, causing him to wear a protective shin guard over the injuries while participating in sports.[3] At Reed High School, he served as captain of the school's baseball and basketball teams and graduated as the class valedictorian in 1945.[3]

Temple excelled as a high school basketball player and he received an athletic scholarship to play basketball for Duke University however, as a poor farm boy, he felt out of place at the prestigious university and left the school after two weeks.[3] Instead, he decided to enroll at Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina.[3] He then joined the United States Navy and served on the aircraft carrier USS Randolph toward the end of the Second World War.[3] While playing for Navy baseball teams, Temple discovered that he enjoyed playing baseball enough to try to make a professional career out of it.[3]

In 1948, Temple signed a contract to play for the Cincinnati Reds after attending a Reds tryout camp in Mooresville, North Carolina. He was assigned to play for the Morganton Aggies of the Western Carolina League where he produced a .316 batting average in 59 games.[4] In 1949, he hit .400 while playing in 116 games for the Ogden Reds of the Pioneer League.[4]

By the 1951 season, he had progressed to the top of the

minor league ladder with the Tulsa Oilers where the presence of the superb-fielding shortstop Roy McMillan forced Temple to convert to playing as a second baseman.[3][4]

Major leagues

Temple made his major league debut with the Reds on April 15,

1954 through the 1959 season to become the second longest double play combination in the NL since 1900.(The longest was Joe Morgan and Dave Concepción of the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970s.).[5] Throughout his career, he walked more often than he struck out, compiling an outstanding 1.92 walk-to-strikeout ratio (648-to-338) and a .363 on-base percentage. Temple also had above-average speed and good instincts on the base paths. Quietly, he had 140 steals
in 198 attempts (71%).

In

ballot stuffing campaign by Redlegs fans. Bell remained on the team as a reserve, but Post was taken off altogether. Bell and Post were replaced as starters by Hank Aaron and Willie Mays
.

Temple in 1957

Temple enjoyed his best year in

hits (186), at-bats (598), doubles (35) and triples (6). At the end of the season he was sent to Cleveland for Billy Martin, Gordy Coleman and Cal McLish.[6]

Temple also played with Baltimore and Houston, and again with Cincinnati for his last major season, where he was a part-time coach. In August 1964, he cleaned out his locker after having a fight with fellow coach, Reggie Otero.[7] When Fred Hutchinson had to leave the Reds due to his health, Cincinnati management decided to go with only two coaches and not reinstate Temple.[8]

After his baseball career was over, Temple worked as a television newsman in

Houston, Texas and got involved with a business that sold boats and RVs. The business failed causing Temple to lose everything, including his home.[9] In 1977, Temple was arrested and charged with larceny of farm equipment.[10] Through the efforts of his wife, who wrote a public letter to The Sporting News, Temple got legal assistance. He gave testimony to the South Carolina assembly against his criminal partners.[11]

Temple died in Anderson, South Carolina in 1994 at the age of 66.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Johnny Temple Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame at MLB.com". mlb.com. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trostler, Bob. "The Baseball Biography Project: Johnny Temple". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Johnny Temple minor league statistics". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  5. ^ Miller, Richard. "The Baseball Biography Project: Roy McMillan". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  6. ^ Reds trade Temple for Martin, pair
  7. ^ Scout, coach have fight
  8. ^ Hutchinson on leave of absence
  9. ISBN 9781439106938
    .
  10. ^ Johnny Temple is arrested
  11. ISBN 9781439106938
    .
  12. ^ Temple dies at 66

External links

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