Date of birth: 22 October 1907
Primary position: First Baseman
Elected to Red Sox Hall of Fame: 1997
Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame: 1951
Jimmie Foxx was already a seasoned ballplayer when Athletics owner Connie Mack traded him to Boston from Philadelphia. Twice an MVP and winner of the Triple Crown in 1933, Foxx was a welcome addition to a club that had not had much to celebrate since winning the World Series in 1918. Although the team still finished with a losing record and sixth in the American League standings, the first baseman has an immediate impact for the Red Sox, hitting 41 home runs for the Red Sox in his first season with the club while collected 143 RBI and batting .338.
Two years later, Foxx enjoyed his best season with Boston, clubbing 50 home runs and driving in 175 runs, both team records to this day, while batting .349, just missing his chance for a second Triple Crown thanks to “Hammerin’ Hank” Greenberg, who left the yard 58 times that year. However, his efforts did earn him the distinction of being named the AL MVP that season, his third such honor. Foxx would be named an All-Star in each of his six full seasons with Boston between 1936 and 1941 and remained with the Red Sox until the Chicago Cubs claimed him off waivers in June of 1942.
His numbers with the organization place him seventh all-time in club history in batting average at .320, third all-time in slugging percentage at .605, seventh all-time in home runs with 222, and sixth all-time in RBI with 788. Foxx retired after the 1945 season and was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1951 on his fourth ballot.
Career Batting Statistics through 2018 Season
| Season | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | BB | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | 585 | 130 | 198 | 41 | 143 | 105 | 13 | .338 |
| 1937 | 569 | 111 | 162 | 36 | 127 | 99 | 10 | .285 |
| 1938 | 565 | 139 | 197 | 50 | 175 | 119 | 5 | .349 |
| 1939 | 467 | 130 | 168 | 35 | 105 | 89 | 4 | .360 |
| 1940 | 515 | 106 | 153 | 36 | 119 | 101 | 4 | .297 |
| 1941 | 487 | 87 | 146 | 19 | 105 | 93 | 2 | .300 |
| 1942 | 100 | 18 | 27 | 5 | 14 | 18 | 0 | .270 |
| TOTAL | 3288 | 721 | 1051 | 222 | 788 | 624 | 38 | .320 |
Awards and Recognition with Boston
Batting Champion (.349), 1938
Home Run Champion (35), 1939
Most Valuable Player Award, 1938
RBI Champion (175), 1938
Memorable Moments for Jimmie Foxx
- 10 December 1935 - Philadelphia trades future Hall-of-Fame player Jimmie Foxx to Boston along with Johnny Marcum in exchange for Gordon Rhoades, George Saviano, and $150,000.
- 28 April 1938 - Boston ends a 6-1 win over New York at Yankee Stadium with a triple play. The base runners off with the pitch, the batter lines out to first baseman Jimmie Foxx, who them throws to Joe Cronin at second base for the second out. Cronin then fires back to Foxx at first to complete the trifecta.
- 16 June 1938 - Jimmie Foxx is walked six times in six plate appearances during a nine-inning game, tying a major league record.
- 1 October 1938 - Jimmie Foxx sets a Boston club record by hitting his 49th and 50th home runs of the season in a 9-2 win over the Yankees at Fenway Park.
- 2 October 1938 - Sitting out the final day of the season, Jimmie Foxx wins the American League batting title with a .349 average, six percentage points ahead of Cleveland's Jeff Heath.
- 2 November 1938 - Jimmie Foxx becomes the first player to win three Most Valuable Player awards as the Red Sox first baseman receives 19 of 22 first-place votes. Foxx also won the award with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1932 and 1933.
- 21 May 1940 - One day after hitting a grand slam at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Jimmie Foxx duplicates the feat against the Tigers, the only player in franchise history to hit grand slams in back-to-back games.
- 9 July 1940 - Red Sox player-manager Joe Cronin manages the American League to a 4-0 loss against the National League after Yankees manager Joe McCarthy declines the honor. Red Sox All-Stars include Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Finney, and Doc Cramer.
- 16 August 1940 - Jimmie Foxx (495 home runs) passes Lou Gehrig (493) for second all-time in career home runs with two round-trippers, the second being of the walk-off variety for a 7-6 win over the Senators.
- 21 September 2006 - David Ortiz surpasses former Red Sox slugger Jimmie Foxx with his 51st and 52nd home run of the season in a 6-0 shutout over the Twins at Fenway Park. "Big Papi" would finish the season with a club-record 54 home runs.
- 31 May 2008 - Manny Ramirez hits the 500th home run of his career of Orioles pitcher Chad Bradford as Boston best Baltimore 6-3 at Camden Yards. Ramirez becomes the third player to hit number 500 with the Red Sox after Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams.
- 12 September 2015 - At Tampa, David Ortiz hits career home runs number 499 and 500, becoming the 27th player in major league history to reach that mark, in a 7-4 win for the Red Sox over the Rays. He is also the fourth player to reach the mark in a Boston uniform, joining Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, and Manny Ramirez.