James William Archer (May 25, 1932 – September 9, 2019) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who played for two seasons with the

Kansas City Athletics The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became the ...

. He threw left-handed and batted right. Archer was eighteen years old when he was signed as an amateur free agent in 1951 by the New York Yankees. He did not make the major leagues till 1961. In between Archer spent seven years in the minor league farm systems of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

. Before the 1961 season began, Archer was part of an eight-player trade that brought him to Kansas City. Archer made his first major league appearance on April 30. He soon became a starting pitcher for Kansas City and finished the 1961 season with a record of 9–15 with a 3.20

Earned Run Average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. Archer pulled a leg muscle in spring training the next year. Favoring the leg, he soon developed tendinitis in his throwing arm. He appeared in just 18 games for Kansas City in 1962. By 1964 Archer was out of professional baseball. After his playing days were over, Archer served as a city commissioner in

Tarpon Springs, Florida Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. Downtown Tarpon Springs has long been a focal point and underwent beautification in 2010. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 25,117 at the 2020 census. As of ...

. Archer served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He died on September 9, 2019.

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1932 births 2019 deaths Kansas City Athletics players Hawaii Islanders players Portland Beavers players Miami Marlins (International League) players San Antonio Missions players Knoxville Smokies players Vancouver Mounties players Columbus Foxes players Pulaski Counts players LaGrange Troupers players York White Roses players Baseball players from Wythe County, Virginia Military personnel from Virginia American expatriate baseball players in Colombia American expatriate baseball players in Canada 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1930s-stub