Jim Hickman (1960s outfielder)

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James Lucius Hickman (born May 10, 1937 in Henning, Tennessee) is a former Major League Baseball player.

An outfielder who batted and threw right-handed, Hickman played for the New York Mets (1962-1966), Los Angeles Dodgers (1967), Chicago Cubs (1968-73) and St. Louis Cardinals (1974).

Hickman was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent prior to the 1956 season. He spent six seasons in the Cardinals’ farm system until he was selected by the New York Mets in the expansion draft. In his five seasons with the Mets, with whom he played 624 games, Hickman batted .241 with 60 home runs with 210 RBI.

Hickman has four places in Mets history. He was the first Met to hit for the cycle, against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 7, 1963. A month later, on September 18, he hit the last ever home run at the Polo Grounds, a solo against Chris Short of the Philadelphia Phillies in a 5-1 Mets' loss, in the final game ever played at that stadium. Hickman was also the first Met to hit three home runs in one game, on September 3, 1965, in a 6-3 road victory over the Cardinals. All three home runs were hit off Ray Sadecki. Finally, he was the last of the Original Mets when he was traded to the Dodgers (along with infielder Ron Hunt) for outfielder Tommy Davis on November 29, 1966.

Perhaps the best season of Hickman’s career was 1970 while with the Cubs. After playing in only 198 games from 1966-1968 and batting only .237 in 1969, he hit .315 with 162 hits, 33 doubles, 32 home runs, 115 runs batted in, 102 runs scored and 93 walks—all career highs which won him the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award and placed him 8th in the NL Most Valuable Player balloting. He also made his only All-Star appearance at the newly opened Riverfront Stadium where, in the 12th inning, his RBI single drove in Pete Rose for the winning run, Rose barreling over Cleveland Indian catcher Ray Fosse to score the run. Like Hickman, the pitchers of record were also Tennessee natives: Claude Osteen, Hickman's Dodger teammate in 1967, was the winning pitcher, while Hickman collected the walk-off single off Clyde Wright—his eventual 1970 American League Comeback Player of the Year counterpart.

In his 13-year career, Hickman batted .252 with 159 home runs and 560 RBIs in 1421 games played.

[edit] Trivia

• Hickman helped rookie relief pitcher Earl Stephenson earn his first big league win by hitting a 2-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th inning against the San Diego Padres. Stephenson had given up a run in the top of the 10th. {Wrigley Field -- May 16, 1971 (1)}

[edit] See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• Hitting for the cycle
• Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game

[edit] External links

• Baseball Reference
• Retrosheet