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Jim Hickman Photo Gallery
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Tribute to Jim Hickman
The passing of Jim Hickman yesterday had special significance for us here at Old-Time Baseball Photos. Jim was both an Original Met and a star player for the Cubs; and since my OTBP’s partner Ron is a Met fan, and I’m a Cub fan, we both felt like we wanted to say a few words about this fine ball player.
Thanks to Ron for finding this great featured photo of Jim Hickman as a Met with his manager, Casey Stengel at Wrigley Field.
Over his 13 year career in the majors (1962-1974), the outfielder/ first baseman hit .252, with 159 home runs and 560 RBIs in 1421 games. He played for the Mets (1962-66), Dodgers (1967), Cubs (1968-73), and Cardinals (1974).
In his five seasons with the Mets, Hickman hit .241 with 60 home runs and 210 RBIs. During this time, he earned several places in Mets’ history: He was the first Met to hit for the cycle (August 7, 1963), which is currently one of only 14 “natural cycles” in major league history; he hit the last home run at the Polo Grounds in the final game played at that park (September 18, 1963); he was the first Met to hit three home runs in one game (September 3, 1963 at Sportsman’s Park); and he was the last of the Original Mets when he was traded to the Dodgers, along with Ron Hunt, for Tommy Davis (November 29, 1966). Hickman also has a couple of Shea Stadium firsts: He recorded first walk and first batter hit by pitch, which occurred in the Mets’ first game at Shea on April 17, 1964
Cub fans remember Jim Hickman as an exceptional clutch hitter with numerous walk-off home runs. In one memorable game in 1969, Hickman hit two home runs against the Astros with a grand slam in the 7th inning that put the game out of reach. Ron Santo was so happy he nearly choked Hickman as he crossed the plate. On another occasion that year, Hickman hit a walk-off two-run homer which capped a four-run ninth inning rally against the Expos. In 1970, Hickman had what was by far his best season when he hit .315 with 162 hits, 33 doubles, 32 home runs, 115 RBIs, 102 runs, and 93 walks – all career highs – which won him National League Comeback Player of the Year. He made his only All-Star game appearance that year and is remembered for his 12th inning game-winning RBI single that drove in Pete Rose with the winning run, with Rose barreling over Cleveland Indian catcher Ray Fosse.
Jim Hickman passed away yesterday at his hometown of Henning, Tennessee at age 79.
-Gary Livacari
Information: Excerpts edited from the Jim Hickman Wikipedia page. Read more at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Hickman_%281960s_outfielder%29
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