Jimmie Foxx

Jimmie Foxx
First baseman
Born: (1907-10-22)October 22, 1907
Sudlersville, Maryland
Died: July 21, 1967(1967-07-21) (aged 59)
Miami, Florida
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
Inducted 1951
Vote 79.2% (first ballot)

James Emory "Jimmie" Foxx (October 22, 1907 – July 21, 1967), nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was an American baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Phillies.[1] His most productive years were with the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox, where he hit 30 or more home runs in 12 consecutive seasons and drove in more than 100 runs in 13 consecutive years.

Foxx became the second player in MLB history to hit 500 career home runs, after Babe Ruth. Attaining that plateau at age 32 years 336 days, he held the record for youngest to reach 500 for sixty-eight years, until superseded by Alex Rodriguez in 2007. His three career Most Valuable Player awards are tied for second all-time. Foxx was inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.[2]

Early years

Foxx was born in Sudlersville, Maryland on October 22, 1907 to Dell and Mattie Foxx, who were farmers. Dell Foxx had played baseball for a town team when he was younger. Jimmie Foxx did well in school but excelled in sports, particularly soccer, track, and baseball. He played all three sports at Sudlersville High School.

Foxx dropped out of high school early to join a minor league team managed by former Philadelphia Athletics great Frank "Home Run" Baker. Foxx had hoped to pitch or play third base, but since the team was short on catchers, Foxx moved behind the plate. He immediately drew interest from the Athletics and New York Yankees. Foxx signed with the A's and made his major league debut in May 1925 at age 17. He was still in his junior year of high school at the time.[3]

Major league career

Philadelphia Athletics

1933 Goudey baseball card

The A's catching duties were already filled by future Baseball Hall of Fame member Mickey Cochrane, so by 1927, Foxx was splitting time between catching, first base, and the outfield. In 1929, installed as the A's regular first baseman, Foxx had a breakthrough year, batting .354 and hitting 33 home runs. That year, Foxx appeared on the cover of Time.[4]

In 1932, Foxx hit .364, with 58 home runs with 169 RBIs, missing the Triple Crown by just three points in batting average. Foxx actually hit 60 home runs that year, which would have tied Babe Ruth's record, but two of the home runs were hit in games that ended up being rained out, so the home runs didn't count. Boston Red Sox first baseman Dale Alexander hit .367, but in just 454 plate appearances; he would not have won the batting title under current rules, which are based upon 3.1 plate appearances per team games played. Foxx did win the Triple Crown the following season, with a batting average of .356, 163 RBIs, and 48 home runs. He won back-to-back MVP honors in 1932 and 1933.

Foxx with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Al Simmons

Foxx was one of the three or four most feared sluggers of his era. The great Yankee pitcher Lefty Gomez once said of him, "He has muscles in his hair."

In 1937, Foxx hit a ball into the third deck of the left-field stands at Yankee Stadium in New York City, a very rare feat because of the distance and the angle of the stands. Gomez was the pitcher who gave it up, and when asked how far it went, he said, "I don't know, but I do know it took somebody 45 minutes to go up there and get it back."

When the Great Depression fully hit in the early 1930s, A's owner Connie Mack was unable to pay the salaries of his highly paid stars, and was obliged to sell off a number of them. After a 1936 contract dispute, Mack sold Foxx's contract to the Boston Red Sox for $150,000.

Boston Red Sox

Seven of the American League's 1937 All-Star players, from left to right Lou Gehrig, Joe Cronin, Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio, Charlie Gehringer, Jimmie Foxx, and Hank Greenberg. All seven were elected to the Hall of Fame.

Foxx played six years for Boston, including a 1938 season in which he hit 50 home runs, drove in 175 runs, batted .349, won his third MVP award, and again narrowly missed winning the Triple Crown. Foxx is one of nine players to have won three MVPs; only Barry Bonds (7) has more.

On June 16, 1938, he set an American League record when he walked six times in a game. In 1939 he hit .360, his second-best all-time season batting average. His 50 home runs would remain the single-season record for the Red Sox until David Ortiz hit 54 in 2006.

Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies

Foxx's skills diminished significantly after 1941. Some sources attribute this to a drinking problem, while others attribute it to a sinus condition.

He split the 1942 season between the Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, playing mostly a reserve role. He sat out the 1943 season and appeared only in 15 games in 1944, mostly as a pinch hitter.

He wound up his career with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945, filling in at first and third, pinch hitting, and pitching nine games, including two as the starting pitcher. He compiled a 1–0 record and 1.59 ERA over 222⁄3 innings. Foxx was often called the right-handed Babe Ruth, but his career was the opposite of Ruth in this regard. Ruth began his big-league career as a pitcher; Foxx ended his big-league career as one.

Foxx finished his 20-year career with 534 home runs, 1,922 runs batted in, and a .325 batting average. His 12 consecutive seasons with 30 or more home runs was a major league record until it was broken by Barry Bonds in 2004. At the end of his career, his 534 home runs placed him second only to Ruth on the all-time list, and first among right-handed hitters. He retained these positions until Willie Mays passed Foxx for second place in 1966. Foxx was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.

Post-baseball 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.[5] He took them to the playoffs where they lost in the first round 2 games to 1 against the Rockford Peaches. Foxx did not return for the 1953 season.

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.

A series of bad investments left Foxx broke by 1958.[6] He retired to suburban Cleveland in Lakewood, and was employed by the Lakewood Recreation Department. His two children, a daughter and son, also lived in Lakewood. His son, Jimmie Foxx, Jr., was an outstanding football player at Lakewood High School and at Kent State University.

Foxx had a city baseball field named in his honor. The dedication ceremony included Foxx's son, grandchildren and several former members of the Cleveland Indians, including Herb Score and Mike Hegan. TV announcer Casey Coleman, son of announcer Ken Coleman, served as master of ceremonies of the event. A plaque commemorating Foxx's community service remains there today.

Death

Foxx died in 1967 at age 59 in Miami, Florida.[7] He became ill while eating dinner with his brother and was taken to a hospital, where resuscitative efforts failed. An autopsy showed that Foxx had choked on a piece of food. The year before, Foxx's second wife, Dorothy, had also died of choking.[8] Foxx is buried at Flagler Memorial Park in Miami.

Legacy

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,[9] and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Tom Hanks' 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.[6]

Foxx is mentioned in the poem "Line-Up for Yesterday" by Ogden Nash:

Line-Up for Yesterday

X is the first
Of two x's in Foxx
Who was right behind Ruth
With his powerful soxx.

— Ogden Nash, Sport magazine (January 1949)[10]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Jimmie Foxx Statistics and History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  2. ↑ "Jimmie Foxx". Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  3. ↑ "Jimmie Foxx". Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  4. ↑ "Jimmie Fox: July 29, 1929". Time. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  5. ↑ James E. Foxx AAGPBL Player/Profile
  6. 1 2 espn.com, Reel Life: 'A League of Their Own', accessed August 19, 2013.
  7. ↑ Foxx choked to death at dinner
  8. ↑ Edes, Gordon (September 12, 2006). "Foxx news channeling: Ortiz's run prompts a glance into history". Boston Globe. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  9. ↑ 100 Greatest Baseball Players by The Sporting News : A Legendary List by Baseball Almanac
  10. ↑ "Baseball Almanac". Retrieved 2008-01-23.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jimmie Foxx.
Preceded by
Ty Cobb		 American League Triple Crown
1933 		Succeeded by
Lou Gehrig
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