During Babe Ruth's baseball career there was only one player who could compete for his home run records ‒ Jimmie Foxx (Hall of Fame, class of 1951). Foxx was twelve years younger and many considered him "the next Babe Ruth." When he retired in 1945, Foxx's career home run total was 534, second only to Babe Ruth's 714.
After retirement, Foxx coached and managed teams in the minor leagues. During the 1952 season he was manager of the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Tom Hank's character Jimmy Duggan ("there's no crying in baseball") in the movie "A League of Their Own" is loosely based on Jimmie Foxx.
In 1939, Jimmie Foxx became the face of the the Jungle Golf Course ‒ the same course that was first made famous by Babe Ruth.
Like Ruth and other ballplayers, Jimmie loved to play golf during the off-season. In 1939, he became involved in an ill-advised partnership with former major league pitcher turned golf course architect Harold Paddock. Foxx, still an active player with the Boston Red Sox, invested most of his savings to lease and manage two golf courses in St. Petersburg ‒ in Shore Acres and the Jungle. Substantial improvements were made to both courses.
Within six months, the partnership with Paddock fell apart. Jimmie had put up $5000 for his share of the operation, but Paddock reneged on his share. Foxx sued and won, acquiring full ownership of the golf course leases.
The Jungle course was scheduled to host the 1942 tourney, but Foxx did not renew the golf course lease and the tournament was moved to the Miami Country Club.
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In 1939, Jimmie Foxx became the face of the the Jungle Golf Course ‒ the same course that was first made famous by Babe Ruth.
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| Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx (colorized) |
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| Jimmie Foxx lines up a putt. Source: baseballhall.org. (colorized) |
Within six months, the partnership with Paddock fell apart. Jimmie had put up $5000 for his share of the operation, but Paddock reneged on his share. Foxx sued and won, acquiring full ownership of the golf course leases.
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| Des Moines Tribune, Feb 10, 1941 |
In 1941, the Florida Baseball Players Golf Tournament was played on Foxx's Jungle course. Many famous ballplayers participated in the event, leaving their footprints on Jungle land that is now the Azalea neighborhood ‒ Merv Shea, Lloyd Brown, Wes Farrell, Peewee Reese, Jack Russell, Leo Durocher, Paul Derringer, Paul Waner, Joe Medwick, George Selkirk, Johnny Murphy, Schoolboy Rowe, Tommy Bridges, Burt Shotten, Gerald Walker, Ted McGrew, Roger Peckinpaugh, Whitey Witt, Rick Ferrell, Jimmie Foxx, Roy Cullenbine, Gee Walker, Al Simmons, Jack Gordon, Myril Hoag, Heinie Manush, Billy Sullivan, Doc Painter, Roy Spencer, Milt Shoffner and others.
History of the Professional Baseball Players Golf Tournament:
In February 1936, the first annual Baseball Players Golf Tournament was held at the Bobby Jones Golf Club in Sarasota. Babe Ruth, in his first year of retirement, was one of the entrants, listing his occupation as "unemployed." He came in sixth place.
1936 - Bobby Jones Golf Club, Sarasota
- Champion: Wes Farrell; Hudlin, Cochrane, Braxton tied for second.
1937 - Bobby Jones Golf Club, Sarasota
- Champion: Sammy Byrd; Wes Farrell, Paul Derringer tied for second.
1938 - Bobby Jones Golf Club, Sarasota
- Champion: Paul Waner; Jack Russell second.
1939 - Lakeland
- Champion: Wes Ferrell; Paul Waner second
1940 - Palma Ceia, Tampa
- Champion: Wes Ferrell; Jack Russell second.
1941 - Jungle Country Club, St. Petersburg
- Champion: Merv Shea; Lloyd Brown second.
1942 - Miami Country Club, Miami
- Champion: Ray Lenahan; Merv Shea second
1943 - no teams training in Florida, tournament became a war casualty.
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| St. Petersburg Times, Feb 6, 1941 |
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| 1941: Jimmie Foxx and Al Lang on the practice green at the Jungle course. |
There was very little activity on the Jungle Golf Course in 1942 as the country prepared for war. The next year, much of the course was bulldozed when the Army Air Forces leased the land and built a tent city for 10,000 WWII recruits. In 1944, the hotel and golf course property was purchased by Admiral Farragut Academy. The golf course land was sold to real estate developers in the 1950's and the Azaleaville residential neighborhood sprang up on the golf property.
Beloved by players and fans, Foxx's legacy was tarnished by drinking problems which intensified during his financial difficulties with the Jungle course, but compassionate accounts of his life point out that Foxx suffered chronic injuries from his baseball career and alcohol alleviated some of the pain.
Jimmie Foxx
"Jimmie Foxx is often caricatured as a drunken failure. That is wrong. Jimmie drank heavily toward the end of his career, but there is no evidence that he was anything more than a moderate drinker until around 1940, when extreme adversity pushed him in the wrong direction. It is also true that life was often unkind to Foxx after his playing days, but, until near the end of his career, he was one of baseball’s greatest success stories. Jimmie always did his best, and did so with grace and charm. He should primarily be remembered for his joyful demeanor and Olympian talent."
‒ Bill Jenkinson, The Real Jimmie Foxx
9-time AL All-Star (1933-1941)
3-time AL MVP (1932, 1933 & 1938)
AL Triple Crown (1933)
2-time AL Batting Average Leader (1933 & 1938)
AL Runs Scored Leader (1932)
AL Total Bases Leader (1932, 1933 & 1938)
4-time AL Home Runs Leader (1932, 1933, 1935 & 1939)
30-Home Run Seasons: 12 (1929-1940)
40-Home Run Seasons: 5 (1932-1934, 1936 & 1938)
50-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1932 & 1938)
100 RBI Seasons: 13 (1929-1941)
100 Runs Scored Seasons: 11 (1929, 1930 & 1932-1940)
Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1951
References:
St. Petersburg Times
