Foxx, Jimmie

Jimmie Foxx, in full James Emory Foxx, also called Double X and the Beast, (born October 22, 1907, Sudlersville, Maryland, U.S.—died July 21, 1967, Miami, Florida), American professional baseball player, the second man in major league history to hit 500 home runs. (Babe Ruth was the first.) A right-handed hitter who played mostly at first base, he finished with a total of 534 home runs. His career batting average was .325.

Foxx was a sensational schoolboy athlete, playing with a semiprofessional baseball team in the summer after his junior year of high school. He was so successful that the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) purchased his contract, and Foxx left high school during his senior year to join the team at spring training. He played sparingly from 1925 to 1927 before becoming a regular in the team’s lineup in 1928.

The next season, Foxx had the first of his 13 years with at least 100 runs batted in (RBIs): he drove in 113 runs as the Athletics ran away with the AL pennant en route to a World Series title. Philadelphia won a second championship in 1930, which was highlighted by Foxx hitting the game-winning home run in the top of the ninth inning of game five. In 1932 he hit 58 home runs, his highest single-season output, batted a career-high .364, led the league with 169 RBIs, and won his first Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Foxx won the Triple Crown in 1933 by leading the AL in batting average (.356), home runs (48), and RBIs (163), which resulted in another AL MVP award. His strong play continued through the next two years, but struggling Philadelphia traded him to the Boston Red Sox soon after the 1935 season.

Foxx played with Boston from 1936 to mid-1942. His best season with the team came in 1938, when he hit 50 home runs, drove in 175 runs, and was named MVP for a third time. In 1940 he hit his 500th career home run, but his play quickly deteriorated after his last all-star-quality season in 1941. Foxx was let go by Boston and then claimed by the Chicago Cubs early in the 1942 season. He announced his retirement at the end of the year after batting .205 in 70 games with the Cubs, but he returned to the sport for short stints with the Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies in 1944 and 1945, respectively, before permanently retiring in 1945.

Foxx’s postbaseball life was plagued by alcoholism and financial troubles, and he held a number of odd jobs in addition to several positions as a minor league coach until his death at age 59. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951.