Ferris Fain

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Ferris Roy Fain (May 29, 1921 - October 18, 2001) was a Major League first basemen for the Philadelphia Athletics (1947-1952), Chicago White Sox (1953-1954), and in 1955, his last season, the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians.

Fain was born in San Antonio, Texas. The lefty was a top prospect and had 461 at bats in his rookie season, playing full-time. That year, he batted a solid .291 with 7 home runs and 71 RBIs.

Fain broke through in 1951 batting .344 with 6 homers and 57 RBIs, although he only had 425 at-bats due to a broken foot. That year and the following, he finished sixth in Most Valuable Player Award voting. Yogi Berra won in '51 and teammate Bobby Shantz took the prize in 1952. Fain took home batting titles in both seasons.

He had an off-year in 1953 after getting into a brawl in a Maryland café with White Sox fans. Fain was fined $600 by the White Sox, and was then sued for $50,000. After suffering a knee injury the following year, he never really got back on track. He ended having had an on-base percentage over .400 every full year that he played. He was in the top 10 in that category seven times in his career, while being in the top 10 in walks eight times in his career. His ability to get on base helped him to five straight All-Star Games (1950-1954).

In a 9-season career, he batted .290 with 48 home runs and 570 RBIs. He had 213 career doubles and a career .424 on-base percentage. He had 1139 career hits in 3930 at bats. Fain was regarded by some as the best fielding 1B in the majors until Vic Power showed up.

He died in Georgetown, California of leukemia along with other complications. He was 80 years old.