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Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams Photo Gallery
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Another Edition Of:
Do You Have a Funny Caption For This Photo?
Now that we are in the “lull” between Christmas and New Years Eve, I thought it was a good time to have some fun with another edition of Do you have a funny caption for this photo?
In this great pic, we see Jimmie Foxx scratching his head as he holds the biceps of his young teammate, Ted Williams. Here’s the caption I came up with for this photo. It’s Jimmie speaking to Ted:
“How in the hell do you manage to hit all those home runs with those scrawny arms?”
Alternative:
“Jimmie, I’d take you more seriously if you pulled up your fly!”
Haha! It sure looks like that’s what Jimmie is saying! If you can come up with another good one, just post it in the comments below. Jimmie just can’t seem to figure it out…and looking at Ted Williams’ biceps, I’m wondering the same thing! How did he manage to hit 521 home runs with such puny arms? I think mine are bigger than that. On the other hand, Jimmie Foxx, with his sculpted 6’0″, 195-pound physique, looks like he might have been put together by a welder. He’s always been regarded as one of the game’s strongest hitters.
Lefty Nails It!
The great Yankee pitcher and noted baseball quipster, Lefty Gomez, once said of him, “Jimmie Foxx has muscles in his hair.”
In 1937, Foxx hit a ball off Gomez that disappeared into the third deck of the left-field stands at Yankee Stadium, a rare and powerful blow. When asked how far it went, Gomez just shrugged his shoulders and quipped, “I have no idea…but I do know it took somebody 45 minutes to go up there and get it back!”
How does about 500 feet sound, Lefty! He once got off another great line:
“When Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon, he and all the other space scientists were puzzled by an unidentifiable white object. I knew immediately what it was. That was a home run ball hit off me by Jimmie Foxx in 1933!”
The Great Career of Jimmie Foxx
Of course, this gives me a chance to say a few words about the great slugger Jimmie Foxx:
A native of Sudlersville, Maryland, Jimmie Foxx dropped out of high school to join a minor league team managed by former Philadelphia Athletics great Frank “Home Run” Baker, who in turn alerted his former manager, Connie Mack, about this young sensational player. On Baker’s recommendation, Foxx was soon a member of the Athletics, making his major league debut on May 1, 1925.
“Double X” had no chance of replacing the great Mickey Cochrane behind the plate, but Mr. Mack knew he had to find a spot in the lineup for his potent bat. By 1927 he was splitting time between catching, first base, and the outfield. After three solid years (1926-’28) in which he hit .313, .323, and .328 respectively, Jimmie had a breakout year in 1929. In his first truly great season, he hit .354 with 33 home runs and 118 RBIs, earning him an appearance on Time magazine. It was now obvious to all that Jimmie Foxx was a superstar in the making.
Jimmie quickly developed into one of the game’s great sluggers. His glory years were with the Athletics (1925-1936) and the Red Sox (1936-1942), but he also played for the Cubs (1942, 1944), and Phillies (1945). Some of his stats are “off-the-charts.” Over his 20-year career, he hit .325, with 2645 hits, 534 home runs (19th all-time),1922 RBIs (10th all-time), 1751 runs, .428 on-base percentage (10th all-time), .609 slugging average (4rd all-time, behind only Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Lou Gehrig), and 4956 total bases. In 18 post-season games, all with the A’s from 1929-1931, Jimmie hit .425 with four home runs and 11 RBIs.
In addition, the nine-time all-star had 30 or more home runs in 12 consecutive years, and 100 RBIs in 13 consecutive years. He was a two-time American League batting champion, three-time MVP, four-time home run champion, and a Triple Crown Winner.
Jimmie had so many great seasons, it’s hard to say which one was his best, but 1932, his first MVP year, certainly stands out. That year, Jimmie hit .364, with 213 hits, 58 home runs, 169 RBIs, and a .469 on-base percentage. In addition, he led the American League in all the following categories: slugging percentage (.749), runs (151), OPS (1,218), OPS+ (207), and total bases (438). What a year!
When the Depression hit in the early 1930s, cash-strapped Athletics owner Connie Mack was unable to pay his stars their worth and sold Foxx to the Red Sox for $150,000. In Boston, where he eventually teamed up with a rookie named Ted Williams, he went on to have more great seasons, including an MVP year in 1938.
“The Beast,” Foxx’s nickname, fits his batting style, but not his personality. Famed baseball photographer George Brace got to know Jimmie well:
“He was a murderous hitter but too nice for his own good. He would always tip us, and everybody else. He was way too generous with his money. By the time of his death in 1967, he was nearly broke.”
What Brace was referring to was a series of poor investments that left Foxx on the verge of destitution by 1958. The Red Sox tried to help their former star by naming him hitting coach of their Triple-A affiliate, the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association. This was followed by a series of menial jobs, including being a greeter at a steak joint in Galesburg, Illinois.
At the time of his retirement, his 534 home runs was second only to Ruth on the all-time list, and first among right-handed hitters. 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. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.
So let’s take moment to shine our baseball spotlight on “Double X,” Jimmie Foxx, one of the game’s all-time greats!
Gary Livacari
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Information: Excerpts edited from the Jimmie Foxx Wikipedia page
