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“Double X” Jimmie Foxx Photo Gallery
The Great “Double X” Jimmie Foxx Receives Third MVP Award!
Sportswriter to Lefty Gomez: “How far did that home run Jimmie Foxx hit off you go?”
Lefty Gomez to sportswriter: “I have no idea…but I do know it took somebody 45 minutes to go up there and get it back!”
Me to Lefty: How does 500 feet sound Lefty!!
As we extend our congratulations to the Dodgers for their victory in the exciting 2025 Word Series, here’s a few words about the great slugger Jimmie Foxx. On this day 87 years ago, November 2, 1938, in a season in which he hit .349 with 50 home runs and 175 RBIs, Jimmie became the first player to win the MVP award three times. He had won back-to-back MVP’s in 1932 and 1933.
(Featured photo of Jimmie Foxx beautifully colorized by Don Stokes)
With his sculpted 6’0″, 195-pound physique, Jimmie Foxx looked like he might have been put together by a welder. He’s always been regarded as one of the game’s strongest hitters. The great Yankee pitcher Lefty Gomez – in addition to the quote above – once said of him, “Jimmie Foxx has muscles in his hair.” (Baseball History Comes Alive readers are invited to check out the MLB shop).
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’s Great HOF Career
Jimmie Foxx is unquestionably one of the greatest sluggers in major league history. His glory years were with the Philadelphia Athletics (1925-1936) and the Red Sox (1936-1942), but he also played for the Cubs (1942, 1944), and Phillies (1945). Over his 20-year career (1925-1945), Foxx hit .325, with 2646 hits, 1751 runs, 458 doubles, 125 triples, 534 home runs, 1922 RBIs, .428 on-base percentage, .609 slugging average, and 4956 total bases. His 163 OPS+ places him among baseball’s elite players.
A few others of Jimmie Foxx’s career highlights include: nine All-Star selections, three pennant winners (1929, 1930, 1931), two World Series champions (1929, 1930), two-time American League batting champion, four-time American League home run champion, three-time American League RBI champion, and Triple Crown winner (1933).
In 1932, Foxx hit .364, with 58 home runs and 169 RBIs, missing the Triple Crown by just three points in batting average. Foxx did win the Triple Crown the next year with a batting average of .356, 163 RBIs, and 48 home runs. When the Great Depression fully hit in the early 1930s, A’s owner Connie Mack was unable to pay the salaries of his stars. After a 1936 contract dispute, Mack sold Foxx’s contract to the Boston Red Sox for $150,000.
After his playing days ended, Foxx worked as a minor league manager and coach, including managing the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Foxx served as head coach for the University of Miami baseball team for two seasons. His son, Jimmie Foxx, Jr., was an outstanding football player at at Kent State University.
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 inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.
Gary Livacari
Photo Credits: All from Google search; Featured photo colorized by Don Stokes
Information: Excerpts edited from the Jimmie Foxx Wikipedia page and Baseball Reference.com
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Love me some Jimmie Foxx Gary! I think he was the model Tom Hanks used for portraying the manager in “A League of Their Own”
Thanks Mark…I think you’re right about that!
Yup, Fort Wayne Daisies in 1952., in the waning last years of the league and the year after his induction into the HOF.
It shows how writers had a higher standard for entrance in the hallowed halls as it took seven years for Fox to garner the necessary votes.
Wow…that’s incredible that he had to wait seven years!