| Joe Cunningham | |
|---|---|
Cunningham in 1960. |
|
| First baseman / Outfielder | |
| Born: August 27, 1931 Paterson, New Jersey |
|
| Batted: Left | Threw: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| June 30, 1954 for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 17, 1966 for the Washington Senators | |
| Career statistics | |
| Batting average | .291 |
| Hits | 980 |
| RBI | 436 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Joseph Robert Cunningham, Jr. (born August 27, 1931 in Paterson, New Jersey) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and left-handed batter who played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1954-1961), Chicago White Sox (1962–1964), and Washington Senators (1964–1966).
The best season for Cunningham was in 1959, when he batted .345 to finish second to Hank Aaron for the National League batting title. He finished his career with a .291 batting average over 1,141 games spread over a 12-year career.
Cunningham was traded from the Cardinals to the White Sox after the 1961 season in exchange for long-time star Minnie Miñoso. Although his first season as the White Sox first baseman was successful, Cunningham would never fully recover from a broken collarbone suffered in a collision on June 3, 1963.
His son, also named Joe, worked as a batting instructor in the Cardinals' farm system.