929-30 w463 exhibit card.PHILADELPHIA Light wear on edges and back. Nice shape overall includes
James Emory “Jimmie” Foxx (October 22,
1907 - July 21, 1967) was not only one of the most imposing figures in
baseball, but he backed it up with versatility, durability and strength.
Jimmie grew up on a farm in Sudlersville, Maryland, where his extensive
and often grueling chores helped to define and build his tremendously
powerful physique. After his grandfather regaled 10-year old Jimmie with
tales of his exploits during the Civil War, Foxx attempted to run away
and join the Army, but was turned away. He had to settle for school,
where he proved to be a good student and in athletics where he excelled
in track and field and soccer as well as baseball. Expansion of the
Eastern Shore League to nearby Easton brought manager and Hall of Famer
Frank “Home Run” Baker to Foxx’s neck of the woods and Baker took notice
of the strapping farm boy’s power, signing the high school junior
immediately. Though Foxx returned to finish his senior year, he dropped
out to attend the Philadelphia Athletics spring training, but was
eventually sent to the Providence Grays of the Eastern League for
seasoning, considering he was only 17. Jimmie returned to Philadelphia
in 1926, but road the bench for much of the 1926 and 1927 seasons. The
1928 season offered more opportunity for Foxx as he played regularly
either at first or third.
By 1929, Double-X, as dubbed by the press, settled in at first and
Connie Mack surrounded the powerful slugger with Hall of Fame talent
including Al Simmons, Lefty Grove, Eddie Collins and Mickey Cochrane
while also acquiring Ty Cobb from Detroit. Foxx finished fourth batting
average hitting .354, but added 33 home runs and 118 RBI as he helped
lead the A’s to the American League pennant, winning by 18 games over
the New York Yankees. Philadelphia then dispatched the Chicago Cubs in
five games to win their first title since 1913. Foxx hit .335 with 37
home runs and 156 RBI as the A’s repeated as AL champs before beating
the St. Louis Cardinals for back-to-back World Series titles. Though
Philadelphia returned to the World Series for a third straight year in
1931, the Gas House Gang-led Cardinals avenged them winning in seven
games. 1932 proved to be Jimmie’s best year to date as he led the AL in
runs (151), home runs (58), RBI (169) and slugging percentage (.749) –
still among the highest in the history of the Major Leagues, while
missing the Triple Crown by only three points as he batted .364. Jimmie
launched an assault Babe Ruth’s incredible record of 60 home runs as he
tagged 58, despite playing through a thumb a wrist injury. He won his
first of back-to-back AL MVP awards that season, but could not eclipse
Ruth’s number. He was voted to the first Major League All-Star Game in
1933 and won his second MVP award the following year upon completing the
rare Triple Crown with a .356 average, 48 home runs and 163 RBI.
Unfortunately, in 1935, the cashed strapped Athletics and
owner/manager traded Foxx, the last of his corps of veterans, to the
Boston Red Sox, after 11 years in the City of Brotherly Love
(1925-1935). Once again, The Beast unleashed his power, drilling 41 home
runs in 1936, but he was beaned in an exhibition game and suffered a
severe sinus injury that would nag him for the remainder of his career.
In 1938, as critics and fans feared that his best years were behind him,
Jimmie burst out of the gate with 10 home runs and 35 RBI in May and
finished with 50 for the season, 35 or which were clouted at his home
field of Fenway Park. To go along with his 50 dingers, Foxx led the
league in average at .349 and with 175 runs batted in, and was once
again named the AL's Most Valuable Player. He edged out Detroit’s Hank
Greenberg who hit 58 home runs trying to make him own run at Ruth’s
elusive mark. Despite this career year, Jimmie's health was failing as
his eyesight was considerably weakened due to the beaning. Being away
from family and friends in Philadelphia didn't help the situation as he
was often down on himself due to the fading skills and tended to visit
every watering hole from Fenway back to his home after each game.
The player, who was once described as "having muscles in his hair,"
for his muscular physique and tremendous power, was still an excellent
RBI man, but the power numbers fell with each passing year. After seven
years in Boston (1936-1942) in 1942, The Beast was sent to the Chicago
Cubs where he played parts of two seasons (1942, 1944) before finishing
his career in Philadelphia, this time with the Phillies (1945). Jimmie
Foxx was a 9-time All-Star selection, was a two-time World Series
champion with the Athletics (1929, 1930) and was a three-time American
League Most Valuable Player (1932, 1933, 1938). Jimmie Foxx retired with
2,646 hits, 1,922 RBI, 534 home runs and a .325 career batting average.
Jimmie Foxx was the second player in history, behind Babe Ruth, to hit
over 500 home runs. From 1929-1940, Foxx blasted 30 or more home runs in
each of the twelve consecutive seasons. James Emory “Jimmie” Foxx was
elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951. Sadly, Jimmie’s
heavy drinking affected him for the duration of his life and died
virtually bankrupt. In 1992, Tom Hanks portrayed Jimmy Dugan, a retired
ballplayer turned manager of a women’s baseball team of the All-American
Girls Professional Baseball League, which was loosely based on Jimmie
Foxx, in A League of Their Own
.
Gordon Stanley “Mickey” Cochrane (April 6, 1903 - June 28, 1962)
continues to sit atop the list of the greatest catchers in Major League
Baseball history. Cochrane helped lead the Philadelphia Athletics to
three American League pennants and two World Series championships (1929,
1930) and the Detroit Tigers to two pennants and one World Series title
(1935). Mickey Cochrane compiled a .320 batting average, had 1,652 hits
and drove in 832 runs in his 13-year career the Philadelphia Athletics
(1925-1933) and Detroit Tigers (1934-1937). He was considered one of the
best catchers in the game at the plate and behind the plate and retired
with a .985 career fielding percentage. Cochrane’s career was halted
when he was hit in the head by a pitch that nearly killed him in 1937.
Gordon Stanley Cochrane was elected tot the National Baseball Hall of
Fame in 1947.
George William “Mule” Haas (October 15, 1903 - June 30, 1974) was a
victim of Connie Mack’s gutting of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1932 in
order to keep the franchise from folding. Mule was shipped to the
Chicago White Sox with All-Star Jimmy Dykes and Hall of Famer Al Simmons
for cash. Haas came up briefly in with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1925,
before returning to the bigs for good with Philadelphia in 1928. He
played centerfield and first for the Athletics (1928-1932, 1938) and the
White Sox (1933-1937). During his 12-year career, he hit .300 or better
three times and had over 150 hits four times. Haas was a member of two
Philadelphia Athletics World Series champions in 1929 and 1930. Mule
blasted two series changing home runs in the 1929 World Series against
the Chicago Cubs to help the A’s capture the title. Mule Haas finished
his career following the 1938 season with 1,257 hits including 254
doubles, 706 runs, 496 RBI and a .292 batting average.
Robert Moses “Lefty” Grove (March 6, 1900 - May 22, 1975) was a highly
successful minor league pitcher, winning 111 games in five years,
primarily with the Baltimore Orioles who continued on to become one of
the greatest left-handed pitchers in Major League Baseball history.
Grove played in the American League with the Philadelphia Athletics
(1925-1933) and Boston Red Sox (1934-1941). He had the highest win-loss
percentage five times, each over .750% and finished his career with a
.680 win-loss percentage. Lefty Grove twice won pitching’s Triple Crown,
appeared in three World Series assisting the Athletics in capturing two
(1929, 1930) and was the American League’s Most Valuable Player in
1931. Lefty Grove ended his 17-year career with exactly 300 wins, 2,266
strikeouts and a 3.06 earned run average. Robert Moses “Lefty” Grove was
elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947.