Books and articles about Jim Turner

RELATED LINKS Book Excerpts » "[Stengel] brought in Jim Turner, who had pitched for him in Boston after having McKechnie's tutelage, as his pitching coach -- and put him in charge": Leonard Koppett » Breaking the Slump: Baseball in the Depression Era by Charles C. Alexander Around the Web » Jim Turner from baseball-reference.com Jump directly to Library content from any website!

In 1937, 33-year-old rookie Jim Turner and 30-year-old rookie Lou Fette each won 20 games for the fifth-place Boston Bees (Braves). Turner's 2.38 ERA and 24 complete games led the NL. At one point he threw 31 consecutive scoreless innings; he and Fette tied for the league lead with five shutouts. Relying on control and a low curveball, he remained in Boston's rotation through 1939, then went 14-7 for the 1940 World Champion Reds. He relieved for the Yankees until he was forty-two, saving a league-high ten games in his final season, 1945. "He knows all there is to know about pitching," said skipper Joe McCarthy. After managing in the minors for three years, he served as a pitching coach for the Yankees (1949-59, 1966-73) and Reds (1961-65). He was credited with developing Vic Raschi into a winner and convincing Ed Lopat that his inability to win in the spring was 100% mental. In all, he spent over a half century in a pro baseball uniform. Milkman Jim worked for his family's dairy in the winters. (NLM)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » October 2, 1937: Thirty-four-year-old rookie Jim Turner of the Boston Bees wins his 20th game. The next day, fellow first-year pitcher Lou Fette will also win his 20th. » December 6, 1939: The Bees are busy clearing their pitching staff. Jim Turner goes to the Reds for 1B Les Scarsella and cash, while Johnny Lanning is sent to Pittsburgh for P Jim Tobin and cash. On December 8th, P Danny MacFaydan joins Tobin in a trade for P Bill Swift. » June 2, 1940: Bucky Walters wins his 9th in a row, 11–1 over the Bees, then Boston stings the Reds in game 2, winning 2–0. Dick Erickson applies the whitewash, though he is nearly matched by ex-Bee Jim Turner. Turner faces just 18 batters in the first six innings. Brooklyn takes a pair from the Cubs to move two games in back of the first place Reds. » October 4, 1940: Detroit bombs nine hits for 19 bases in the 7th and 8th innings off Jim Turner and successors to win 7–4 in the first game at Briggs Stadium. Tommy Bridges gives up 10 hits but goes the distance. » April 17, 1945: Steady rain holds the crowd at Yankee Stadium to 13,923 as Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia throws out the first ball for the opener against the Red Sox. The Yanks' lone score until the 7th inning is a homer by rookie Russ Derry in the 3rd off Rex Cecil. Meanwhile the Red Sox jump on Atley Donald for three runs in the 1st inning and another in the 7th on Ben Steiner's solo homer. But helped by four Boston errors, and another homer by Russ Derry—this one a grand slam, New York scores seven runs in the 7th inning to finish the scoring at 8–4. Sox first baseman George Metkovich makes a record three errors in the frame on a missed tag, bad throw, and fumble. Forty-one-year old Jim Turner pitches the last two innings for New York. » August 12, 1945: In the lid lifter at Briggs Stadium, pitcher Jim Tobin, acquired on waivers, pitches three scoreless innings against New York and clubs a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 11th to win, 9–6. Another former Brave, Jim Turner, serves up the homer. The Tigers win the nitecap, 8–2, behind Hal Newhouser's 18th win.