Jimmie Foxx

James Emory Foxx (October 22, 1907 – July 21, 1967), nicknamed "Double X" and "the Beast", was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Phillies. A tremendous power hitter, Foxx retired with the second most home runs, behind only Babe Ruth, and fifth-most runs batted in (RBI). His greatest seasons were with the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox, where he hit a then-record 30 or more home runs in 12 consecutive seasons and drove in more than 100 runs in 13 consecutive years.

Considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, Foxx became the ninth player to win a Triple Crown and set a then-record for most MVP awards with three. His 58 home runs hit in 1932 were third-most all-time in a season at the time, his 438 total bases collected that same season are still fifth most all time, and he is one of only seven batters to accumulate over 400 total bases in a season more than once. Foxx won two American League (AL) batting titles, led all of baseball in home runs four times, and batted over .300 in eleven full seasons. For nearly 67 years, he held the record for the youngest major leaguer to reach 500 home runs. His 534 home runs are currently 19th all time, and his 1,922 RBI are tenth all time. With a career batting average of .325 and slugging percentage of .609, he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.

Early years

James Emory Foxx was born on October 22, 1907, in rural Sudlersville on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, to tenant farmers Dell and Mattie Foxx. 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, and set the state record in both the 220 and 80 yard dash in 1923. So great were his athletic exploits he was regarded as "the most promising athletic prospect in the State of Maryland", In April 1924, Foxx met with Frank "Home Run" Baker, a former member of Philadelphia Athletics, and then manager of the minor league Class D level Easton Farmers. Baker offered Foxx a contract to play for the Farmers for $100 a month.

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. 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 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. 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. 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. In the next season, Foxx appeared in a few more games, mostly as a pinch hitter or a replacement catcher. In 1927, Foxx signed a contract for $3,000 (); 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, and finished the season batting .323 over 61 games. 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 and finished with a .354 average with 33 home runs. 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, 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, the first of 20 games where he would record three or more hits that season. By the end of May, he had recorded 17 home runs, 49 runs batted in, and had a batting average of .417, leading the American League in every major hitting category. On July 10, Foxx had his first 3 home run game, against the Cleveland Indians, he also collected 6 hits, including a double in an 18-inning game. Although a thumb and wrist injury in August slowed his pace, Even though Foxx actually hit 60 home runs that year, two were hit in games that were rained out, erasing them from the official batting records, causing him to narrowly miss Babe Ruth's Major League record 60 home runs. In October, Foxx would receive 75 out of the maximum 80 possible MVP votes, giving him his first MVP award in his career.

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. 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. He would hit multiple home runs in seven games 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. He also finished with 403 total bases, leading the American League and making him the second player in history at the time to record 400 total bases in back-to-back seasons, with Lou Gehrig being the first and Todd Helton later becoming the third. As a result of his phenomenal season, he was awarded his second MVP award at the end of the year. 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.

Boston Red Sox (1936–1942)

thumb|right|400px|Seven of the American League's [[1937 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|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 would be elected to the Hall of Fame.]]

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. 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. 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.

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,

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. 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. becoming the second member of the 500 Home Run Club after Babe Ruth. He suffered a broken toe during spring training in 1942 and broke a rib during batting practice later in the season. Six years after retirement, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951. 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. 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. Foxx is buried at Flagler Memorial Park in Miami.

Legacy

Foxx was 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!" Lefty Gomez joked that Foxx "had muscles in his hair" and that "He wasn't scouted—he was trapped."

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, 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.

There is a Jimmie Foxx Street in San Antonio, Texas.

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

References

External links

Jimmie Foxx at Baseball Almanac

Early years

Boston Red Sox (1936–1942)

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links