Jimmie Foxx
Jimmie Foxx, born on October 22, 1907, in Sudlersville, Maryland, was a renowned American professional baseball player celebrated for his powerful batting and impressive physique. Growing up on a farm, he developed his strength through hard labor, which contributed to his success as a major league athlete. Foxx began his professional career at a young age, making his debut with the Philadelphia Athletics at just seventeen. Throughout his career, he earned the nickname "Double X" and became a prominent figure in baseball, racking up numerous accolades, including three MVP awards and induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Foxx was known for his extraordinary hitting ability, famously coming close to breaking Babe Ruth's home run record in 1932. He achieved the triple crown in 1933, solidifying his status as one of the game's elite players. His later years included stints with the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs, though age and injuries eventually took their toll. After retiring from playing, Foxx had a brief career in coaching and managing in the minor leagues. Despite facing financial difficulties later in life, he remained a beloved figure in baseball history until his passing in 1967. His legacy endures, marked by his impressive career statistics, including 534 career home runs.
Jimmie Foxx
Baseball Player
- Born: October 22, 1907
- Birthplace: Sudlersville, Maryland
- Died: July 21, 1967
- Place of death: Miami, Florida
Sport: Baseball
Early Life
Jimmie Foxx was born on October 22, 1907, in Sudlersville, Maryland. He grew up on a farm on Maryland’s East Shore. When he was ten years old, Jimmie ran away from home and attempted to enlist in the Army, just as his grandfather had done during the Civil War. Jimmie longed to break out of the obscurity of his small town and become a person to whom others looked up. Jimmie’s strong physique was developed largely as a result of working on his father’s farm. According to legend, Jimmie developed his broad shoulders and muscular arms from milking cows and carrying milk pails.
The Road to Excellence
Jimmie’s professional baseball career began when a scout who had watched him play for Sudlersville High School asked him to try out with Easton of the Eastern Shore League. Jimmie signed his first contract when he was only sixteen years old. He started as a catcher because he was so big. His first season with Easton was so impressive that he attracted the attention of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1924. Even though he was only seventeen years old, Jimmie played ten games with Philadelphia and collected his first major-league hit.
Jimmie played very few games for the next two years. In 1927, he was finally given a chance to prove himself—he hit his first 3 home runs and batted .323. The next year, Jimmie was shifted between catcher and first base because of his fearsome throwing arm; his hitting was not affected, however. He improved his batting average to .328 and hit 13 home runs. He hit his most famous home run in the 1930 World Series with St. Louis, when he drove in two runs and won the game.
The Emerging Champion
Even though Jimmie helped the Athletics win the pennant in 1929, 1930, and 1931, he was largely overlooked by the media at awards time. In 1932, he had his finest season and was rewarded accordingly. Now known to his fans as “Double X,” he led the league with 169 RBI and earned the first of his three most valuable player (MVP) awards. At that time, Jimmie nearly broke Babe Ruth’s record of 60 home runs, which had been set five years before. He ended the year with 58 home runs, only two short of Ruth’s record. He might have broken the record but for two circumstances. He lost 2 home runs because of a rainout and was robbed of approximately 5 homers because of the newly erected screen in St. Louis’s Sportsman’s Park.
Undaunted by his failure to hit 60 home runs, in 1933, Jimmie went on to prove that he was still at the pinnacle of his game. Not only did he repeat his home run and RBI titles, but he also won the batting title. As a result, he earned the triple crown and the MVP award. By this time, Jimmie was the only star left on a team composed mostly of aging veterans.
Even though Jimmie averaged .334 in 1934 and .346 in 1935, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox. Boston’s short left-field wall enabled him to regain some of his stature as a home-run hitter. He belted 41 home runs in 1936, 36 home runs in 1937, and 50 in 1938. Even though Hank Greenberg deprived him of another triple crown in 1938, Jimmie won his third MVP award. In 1939, Jimmie won his fourth and final home run title.
Continuing the Story
In 1942, Jimmie was traded by the Red Sox to the Chicago Cubs. Age and injuries were catching up with him. Because of a fractured rib and pulled cartilage, he ended the year with only 8 home runs and a .226 batting average. Disappointed by his poor performance, Jimmie went to work for an oil company at the end of the year. In 1944, the Cubs invited him back because many of the team’s best players were in the military, but Jimmie did even worse, with only a .050 batting average. Jimmie played his last year as a professional with the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1945, the Phillies were last in the standings, but Jimmie did not let his team’s poor record get him down. His average climbed to .268 over eighty-nine games. In the last game that Jimmie played, he showed the pluck that had made him hall-of-fame material. Even though he had not pitched since he was a teenager, Jimmie filled in on the mound and threw a no-hitter for 5 innings.
After leaving the Phillies, in 1947, Jimmie managed the St. Petersburg club in the Florida International League and Bridgeport of the Colonial League in 1949. He ended his baseball career in 1958, as a coach with Minneapolis of the American Association. Jimmie was much better managing teams than he was managing his own finances. He also missed out on baseball’s pension plan, which went into effect one year after he stopped playing. Eventually this generous man went bankrupt in the 1960’s. He then retired to Cleveland and died in 1967, in Miami, Florida, after choking on a piece of meat.
Summary
Jimmie Foxx began his career as a teenager who rarely played and ended it as one of baseball’s most powerful players. His muscular arms made him one of the all-time greatest first basemen. He ranks among Major League Baseball leaders in career home runs, with a total of 534. Though fate prevented him from breaking Babe Ruth’s record, Jimmie never became bitter. He preferred to relive the victories in his memory and laugh at the failures.
Bibliography
Daniel, W. Harrison. Jimmie Foxx: The Life and Times of a Baseball Hall of Famer, 1907-1967. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2004.
Millikin, Mark R. Jimmie Foxx: The Pride of Sudlersville. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2005.
Roberts, Russell. One Hundred Baseball Legends Who Shaped Sports History. San Mateo, Calif.: Bluewood Books, 2003.