- Jim Gilliam
Infobox MLB retired
name=Jim Gilliam
position=Second baseman /Third baseman
bats=Switch
throws=Right
birthdate=October 17 1928
city-state|Nashville|Tennessee
deathdate=death date and age|1978|10|8|1928|10|17
city-state|Inglewood|California
debutdate=April 14
debutyear=by|1953
debutteam=Brooklyn Dodgers
finaldate=September 25
finalyear=by|1966
finalteam=Los Angeles Dodgers
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.265
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=1,889
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=558
teams=
* Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers (by|1953-by|1966)
highlights=
* 2x All-Star selection (1956, 1959)
* 4xWorld Series champion (1955, 1959, 1963, 1965)
* 1953NL Rookie of the Year
* Los Angeles Dodgers #19 retiredJames William Gilliam (
October 17 1928 -October 8 1978 ) was an American second andthird baseman and coach in Negro League andMajor League Baseball who spent his entire major league career with the Brooklyn & Los Angeles Dodgers. He was named the by|1953National League Rookie of the Year, and was a key member of ten NL championship teams from 1953 to 1978. The Dodgers' leadoff hitter for most of the 1950s, he scored over 100 runs in each of his first four seasons and led the NL in triples and walks once each. Upon retirement, he became one of the firstAfrican-American coaches in the major leagues.Career
Negro leagues
Born in
Nashville, Tennessee , he began playing on a local semi-pro team at age 14 and dropped out of high school in his senior year to pursue his career. He was nicknamed "Junior" during his time playing in the Negro leagues with theBaltimore Elite Giants , where he teamed withshortstop Pee Wee Butts and was voted an All-Star three straight years from 1948 to 1950; veteranGeorge Scales taught him to switch hit.Minor leagues
In by|1951 he was signed as an amateur free agent by the
Brooklyn Dodgers , who sent him to play for theirInternational League farm team, theMontreal Royals ; he couldn't play for the Dodgers'Fort Worth Cats affiliate, as blacks were still barred from theTexas League . He led the IL in runs in both 1951 and 1952.Brooklyn Dodgers
MLBBioRet
Name = Jim Gilliam
Number = 19
Team = Los Angeles Dodgers
Year = 1978|Gilliam made his debut with the Dodgers in April by|1953, with the formidable task of taking over second base fromJackie Robinson , who was shifted to the outfield and third base; he proved capable, batting .278 with a team-leading 125 runs for the NL champions. His 17 triples led the NL, and remain the most by a Dodger since 1920; he was second in the league (behindStan Musial ) with 100 walks, and third in the NL with 21stolen base s. For his excellent season he earned NL Rookie of the Year honors, as well as "The Sporting News" Rookie of the Year Award.He continued to play well during the team's Brooklyn years, batting .282 in 1954 with a career-high 13
home run s before slipping to a .249 average for the by|1955 champions; he scored over 100 runs both years, as well as in 1956. With the by|1956 pennant winners, he batted a career-best .300 and made his first major league All-Star team, also finishing fifth in the MVP voting; he was again second in the NL in walks (95, behind teammateDuke Snider ) and steals (21, behindWillie Mays ). OnJuly 21 of that year, he tiedJohn Montgomery Ward 's 1892 major league record of 12 assists in a game. In the Dodgers' last season in Brooklyn in 1957, he batted .250 but led the NL inputout s andfielding percentage and again finished second behind Mays in stolen bases.Los Angeles Dodgers
He continued to star with the team after their by|1958 move to
Los Angeles, California , though he gradually shifted to third base; for the by|1959 champions he led the NL in walks (96), along with 23 steals, and was again an All-Star, hitting a home run in that year's second All-Star Game. During the team's Los Angeles years, he moved back to second base from 1961-63, batting .282 in the by|1963 pennant year and placing sixth in that year's MVP vote; he also relinquished the leadoff role toMaury Wills in the 1960s, instead batting second in the order.Gilliam was named a coach after the 1964 season, and intended to end his playing career, but team injuries resulted in his seeing substantial play at third base in by|1965 and by|1966, with the team again winning the NL championship in both seasons. In 1965 he was part of the major leagues' first all-switch-hitting infield, with shortstop Wills, first baseman
Wes Parker and second basemanJim Lefebvre . OnSeptember 5 , Gilliam hit a 2-run pinch triple in a road game against theHouston Astros , giving the Dodgers a 3-2 lead in the 9th inning; the Los Angeles Rams, playing a preseason game against thePhiladelphia Eagles at the Coliseum, were playing so poorly despite their 10-0 win that the biggest cheer from the stands came from people listening to portable radios tuned to the Dodger game who cheered when Gilliam got the hit. [cite news |first=Sid |last=Ziff |title=Amazing Dodgers |work=Los Angeles Times |page=III-1 |date=1965-09-06 ]He finally retired as a player following the 1966 season with a .265 career batting average, 1889 hits, 1163 runs, 65 home runs, 558 runs batted in, 304 doubles, 71 triples, 1036 walks and 203 stolen bases over 14 seasons.
Playoffs
Gilliam played in seven
World Series with the Dodgers, four of them against theNew York Yankees . In the1953 World Series he singled to lead off Game 1, and had a solo homer in the fifth inning batting left-handed. He hit three doubles, scoring once and driving in two runs, in the 7-3 Game 4 victory; he had another homer, this time batting right-handed, in the 11-7 loss in Game 5. In Game 3 of the1955 World Series , he drew a walk with the bases loaded in the second inning to give the Dodgers the lead for good, and he drove in the first run of the 8-5 Game 4 win; the Dodgers won in seven games for their first Series championship. In the1956 World Series , he walked with one out in the tenth inning of Game 6 and scored on a single by Robinson to give the Dodgers a 1-0 victory, tying the Series; in Game 5 he had struck out and grounded out twice in theperfect game pitched by the Yankees'Don Larsen . In the1963 World Series he scored the only run of Game 3 in the first inning after walking and advancing to second base on awild pitch ; after advancing all the way to third base on an error byJoe Pepitone in the seventh inning of Game 4, he scored on a Willie Davissacrifice fly to give the Dodgers a 2-1 win and a Series sweep. He was also on Dodger teams which won the Series in 1959 against theChicago White Sox and 1965 against theMinnesota Twins . His final major league appearance was in Game 2 of the1966 World Series against theBaltimore Orioles .Coach
Gilliam served as a player-coach beginning in 1964, and became a full-time coach in 1967. He continued as a coach with the Dodgers until his death, including three more Dodger pennant teams in by|1974, by|1977 and by|1978; they lost the World Series in each year.
Death
Gilliam suffered a massive
brain hemorrhage at his home onSeptember 15 , by|1978, and following surgery lapsed into acoma from which he did not recover. He died inInglewood, California at age 49, one day after the Dodgers clinched their tenth pennant during his tenure in the1978 National League Championship Series . His uniform number 19 was retired by the Dodgers two days after his death, prior to Game 1 of the1978 World Series . He is interred in theInglewood Park Cemetery .Legacy
Gilliam was widely beloved for his personal qualities and sportsmanship, in addition to his playing ability, over his 28-year career with the Dodgers. Quotations about him include the following:
*"What a great team player he was. He'd hit behind Maury, take pitch after pitch after pitch. And when Maury got to second, he'd give himself up by hitting the ball to the right side, even with two strikes, which most hitters won't do." - teammateJeff Torborg , describing Gilliam as the ideal #2 hitter [http://www.simplyfamily.com/display.cfm?articleID=000328_elements_game.cfm]
*"He didn't hit with power, he had no arm, and he couldn't run. But he did the little things to win ballgames. He never griped or complained. He was one of the most unselfish ballplayers I know." - managerWalter Alston
*"Father, friend, and locker room inspiration that will never be forgotten." -Davey Lopes , Dodgers second baseman from 1972-81The book "" (2004) includes short stories from former Dodger pitcher
Carl Erskine . Gilliam is prominent in many of these stories.ee also
*
List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
*List of Major League Baseball triples champions External links
*baseball-reference|id=g/gilliji01
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/G/Gilliam_Jim.stm BaseballLibrary] - career highlights
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=gilliji01 Baseball Almanac]References
* "Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia" (2000). Kingston, NY: Total/Sports Illustrated. ISBN 1-892129-34-5.
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