Charlie Maxwell

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Charles Richard Maxwell (born April 8, 1927 in Lawton, Michigan) is a former Major League Baseball player. An agile left fielder and a competent first baseman as well, Maxwell played for the Boston Red Sox (1950-54), Baltimore Orioles (1955), Detroit Tigers (1955-62) and Chicago White Sox (1962-64). He batted and threw left-handed.

Maxwell made the American League All-Star team in 1956 and 1957, and led the league outfielders in fielding average in 1957 and 1960. His most productive season came in 1956 for the Tigers, when he hit 28 home runs (5th in the AL) and batted a career-high .326, finishing fourth in the race for the batting crown, behind Mickey Mantle (.353), Ted Williams (.345) and Harvey Kuenn (.332).

In 1959 Maxwell posted career-highs in home runs with 31 (tied for fourth in the AL) and RBI with 95 (fifth in the AL). He also hit 24 homers in 1957 and in 1960. In that season, he also set a major league season-record for most home runs in an extra-inning game (five times).

In a 14-season career, Maxwell was a .264 hitter with 148 home runs and 532 RBI in 1133 games.

[edit] Trivia

Maxwell's nicknames included "Paw Paw", for his unusually named hometown of Paw Paw, Michigan, and "Sunday Charlie", for his propensity for hitting home runs on Sundays. In 1959, beginning with homers in four consecutive at-bats during a May 3 doubleheader, Maxwell hit 12 of his 31 homers on Sundays.
Former Tiger Announcer The Late Van Patrick gave Maxwell the nickname "Paw Paw."