Jimmie Foxx was a very powerful fellow. He was a right-handed hitter and a low-ball hitter, and could hit a ball a mile. He was a very good friend of mine.

Jimmie hit knuckleballs very well, and it was tough for the infielders and outfielders to catch the vicious line drives off his bat because the baseball, when hit, did not rotate at all. Some of those balls flew past the infielders or outfielders as if Hoyt Wilhelm had thrown the ball himself. Jimmie hit 58 home runs one year and he hit balls farther than anyone. He was a dangerous hitter and an excellent first baseman as well. He had a lifetime batting average of .325. He compiled an incredible .428 on-base percentage and a career .609 slugging percentage, finishing with 534 career home runs, 1,351 runs scored, and 1,922 RBIs.

Most of all, however, Jimmie Foxx was a likable guy. I don’t think Jimmie had any enemies. He died fairly young, and his nickname “Double X” was because his last name had two x’s in it. Jimmie had a son who played in the same league I managed, the American Amateur Baseball Congress League in Lakewood, Ohio, for college boys. He was a third baseman, a tall kid, taller than his dad, but not as powerful or as muscular.

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