James Lucius Hickman (May 10, 1937 – June 25, 2016), nicknamed "Gentleman Jim", was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played 13 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

, and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

Career

Hickman was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

prior to the 1956 season; he spent six seasons in the Cardinals’

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

until he was selected by the New York Mets in the

1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft The 1961 MLB Expansion Draft was held by Major League Baseball on October 10, 1961, to fill the rosters of the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s, the new franchises which would enter the league in the 1962 season. The pool of players out of w ...

New York Mets

Hickman played 624 games with the Mets, from 1962 through 1966. He batted .241 with 60

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 210 RBI. Hickman has earned several places in Mets history. He was the first Met to

hit for the cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League B ...

, accomplishing the feat in a 7–3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

on August 7, 1963; it is one of the few

natural cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League B ...

s in Major League history. A month later, on September 18, he hit the last home run ever hit at the Polo Grounds, a solo against Chris Short of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in a 5–1 Mets' loss, in the final game ever played at that stadium. Hickman was also the first Met to hit three home runs in one game, at

Sportsman's Park Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri. All but one of these were located on the same piece of land, at the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street, on th ...

on September 3, 1965, in a 6–3 victory over the Cardinals. All three home runs were hit off

Ray Sadecki Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gr ...

. Finally, he was the last of the original Mets, when he was traded to the Dodgers (along with infielder Ron Hunt) for outfielder Tommy Davis on November 29, 1966. Hickman also set a pair of

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

firsts, earning the team's first walk and first batter

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

, both accomplished in the team's inaugural game at the stadium, a 4–3 loss to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

on April 17, 1964.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Hickman spent 1967 with the Dodgers, batting just .163 in 65 games played, with no home runs and 10 RBIs.

Chicago Cubs

In April 1968, Hickman was traded to the Cubs. During the 1968 season he hit .223, and in 1969 he hit .237. Hickman then had his best season in 1970, when he hit .315 with 162 hits, 33 doubles, 32 home runs, 115 RBIs, 102 runs scored, and 93 walks — all career highs. His performance won the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

Comeback Player of the Year Award and placed him 8th in the NL

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

balloting. Hickman made his only All-Star appearance on July 14, 1970, at the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

' newly opened

Riverfront Stadium Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball from 1970 Major League Baseball season, 1970 throug ...

where, in the 12th inning, his RBI single drove in hometown favorite

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...

for the winning run, Rose barreling over Cleveland Indian catcher

Ray Fosse Raymond Earl Fosse (April 4, 1947 – October 13, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from 1967 to 1979, most prominently as an All-Sta ...

to score the run. Like Hickman, the pitchers of record were also Tennessee natives;

Claude Osteen Claude Wilson Osteen (born August 9, 1939), nicknamed "Gomer" because of his resemblance to television character Gomer Pyle, is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cinc ...

, Hickman's Dodger teammate in 1967, was the winning pitcher, while Hickman collected the walk-off single off Clyde Wright, his eventual 1970

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

Comeback Player of the Year counterpart. In his six seasons with Chicago, Hickman batted .267 with 97 home runs and 336 RBIs in 682 games played.

St. Louis Cardinals

In March 1974, Hickman was traded to the Cardinals. He played in 50 games for them, batting .267 with two home runs and four RBIs. On July 16, 1974, he was released. In his 13-year major league career, Hickman batted .252 with 159 home runs and 560 RBIs in 1421 games played.

Later years

Hickman was inducted into the

Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame is an American hall of fame which honors athletes, teams, coaches, sports writers, and sports executives for their contributions to sports in the state of Tennessee. The Hall of Fame inducted its first class in ...

in 1996. He died on June 25, 2016, aged 79.

References

External links

Hickman's 1970 All-Star Game RBI
via

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hickman, Jim 1937 births 2016 deaths People from Henning, Tennessee Baseball players from Tennessee National League All-Stars Chicago Cubs players New York Mets players Los Angeles Dodgers players Albany Cardinals players Portland Beavers players Spokane Indians players Tacoma Cubs players Billings Mustangs players Rochester Red Wings players Winston-Salem Red Birds players Dallas Rangers players St. Louis Cardinals players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball first basemen Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players