Johnny Temple
| Johnny Temple | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Second baseman | |||
|
Born: August 8, 1927 Lexington, North Carolina | |||
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Died: January 9, 1994 (aged 66) Anderson, South Carolina | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| April 15, 1952, for the Cincinnati Reds | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| July 8, 1964, for the Cincinnati Reds | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .284 | ||
| Hits | 1,484 | ||
| Runs batted in | 395 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
John Ellis Temple (August 8, 1927 – January 9, 1994) was a Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Redlegs/Reds (1952–59; 1964); Cleveland Indians (1960–61), Baltimore Orioles (1962) and Houston Colt .45s (1962–63). Temple was born in Lexington, North Carolina. He batted and threw right-handed.
Temple was a career .284 hitter with 22 home runs and 395 RBI in 1420 games. A legitimate leadoff hitter and four-time All-Star, he was a very popular player in Cincinnati in the 1950s. Throughout his career, he walked more often than he struck out, compiling an outstanding 1.92 walk-to-strikeout ratio (648-to-338) and a .363 on-base percentage. Temple also had above-average speed and good instincts on the base paths. Quietly, he had 140 steals in 198 attempts (71%).
In 1957, Temple and six of his Redleg teammates—Ed Bailey, Roy McMillan, Don Hoak, Gus Bell, Wally Post and Frank Robinson—were voted into the National League All-Star starting lineup, the result of a ballot stuffing campaign by Redlegs fans. Bell remained on the team as a reserve, but Post was taken off altogether. Bell and Post were replaced as starters by Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.
Temple enjoyed his best year in 1959, with career-highs in batting average (.311), home runs (8), RBI (67), runs (102), hits (186), at-bats (598), doubles (35) and triples (6). At the end of the season he was sent to Cleveland for Billy Martin, Gordy Coleman and Cal McLish.[1]
Temple also played with Baltimore and Houston, and again with Cincinnati for his last major season, where he was a part-time coach. In August 1964, he cleaned out his locker after having a fight with fellow coach, Reggie Otero.[2] When Fred Hutchinson had to leave the Reds due to his health, Cincinnati management decided to go with only two coaches and not reinstate Temple.[3]
After his baseball career was over, Temple worked as a television newsman in Houston, Texas and got involved with a business that sold boats and RVs. The business failed causing Temple to lose everything, including his home.[4] In 1977, Temple was arrested and charged with larceny of farm equipment.[5] Through the efforts of his wife, who wrote a public letter to The Sporting News, Temple got legal assistance. He gave testimony to the South Carolina assembly against his criminal partners.[6]
Temple died in Anderson, South Carolina in 1994 at the age of 66.[7]
References
- ↑ Reds trade Temple for Martin, pair
- ↑ Scout, coach have fight
- ↑ Hutchinson on leave of absence
- ↑ James, Bill. The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. Simon & Schuster. p. 517.
- ↑ Johnny Temple is arrested
- ↑ James, Bill. The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract. Simon & Schuster. p. 518.
- ↑ Temple dies at 66
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube