| Thurman Tucker | |
|---|---|
 Tucker in 1950 | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born:(1917-09-26)September 26, 1917 Gordon, Texas, U.S. | |
| Died: May 7, 1993(1993-05-07) (aged 75) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 14, 1942, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 29, 1951, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .255 |
| Home runs | 9 |
| Runs batted in | 179 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Thurman Lowell Tucker (September 26, 1917 – May 7, 1993) was an American professionalbaseball player. Acenter fielder, Tucker played inMajor League Baseball for nine seasons in theAmerican League with theChicago White Sox andCleveland Indians. In 701 career games, Tucker recorded abatting average of .255 and accumulated 24triples, ninehome runs, and 179runs batted in (RBI). Due to his resemblance of the film comedianJoe E. Brown, Tucker was nicknamed "Joe E.".[1]
Born and raised in Texas, Tucker first played professionally with theSiloam Springs Travelers. After gradually progressing throughminor league baseball, he signed with the Chicago White Sox before the 1941 season. His major league debut came the following year and he spent two years as the White Sox's starting center fielder until he enlisted in the armed forces during World War II. Upon his return, Tucker played two more seasons for the White Sox. Subsequently, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians, for whom he played four years, and continued to play minor league baseball throughout the 1950s. After his retirement, he became a major league scout and insurance agent.
Thurman Tucker was born on September 26, 1917, and raised inGordon, Texas. In high school, he was a three-sport athlete, playing baseball (where he was asecond baseman),basketball, andtrack and field. After graduating in 1935, he played semi-professional baseball and enrolled in a baseball school located inHot Springs, Arkansas. In 1936, at age 18, Tucker signed as a professional with theFayetteville Bears of theArkansas–Missouri League, but left the team after only two weeks, without playing a game. Soon after, he was signed by theSiloam Springs Travelers of the same league, where he began his professional career.[2]
In 1936, his first season with the Travelers, Tucker changed fielding positions and became an outfielder.[2] In 117 games, he had a .319batting average and 25doubles.[3] The following year, he was to play for theEl Dorado Lions of theCotton States League, but a back injury caused him to miss nearly the entire season.[2] After recovering from the injury, Tucker continued to progress through the minors, spending 1938 with two separate clubs; he played 55 games for theAbbeville A's of theEvangeline Baseball League and 50 games for theGreenville Bucks of the Cotton States League.[3] He remained in the Cotton States League for 1939, playing for theClarksdale Red Sox, at the time a minor league affiliate of theBoston Red Sox. In 136 games for Clarksdale, Tucker had a .298 batting average and 10triples.[3] During his first few years in the minor leagues, one manager asked him to take upclowning due to his resemblance toJoe E. Brown and his nickname as a result, Joe E. Tucker objected due to his serious nature and the idea was later dropped.[2]
Tucker's breakthrough minor league year came in 1940, his second with Clarksdale. By the end of June, he was leading the Cotton State League with a batting average of .374.[4] After playing in 97 games, finishing with an average of .390, Tucker was promoted and played in 40 games for theOklahoma City Indians.[3] At the end of the season, Chicago White Soxfarm manager Billy Webb was impressed enough to purchase Tucker's contract from Oklahoma City.[5] At the beginning of the 1941 season, Tucker failed to win the final outfield spot on the White Sox roster fromDave Short,[6] and consequently spent 1941 at Oklahoma City, where he was coached byRogers Hornsby.[7] In 141 games for the Indians, Tucker had a batting average of .246 and 12 triples.[3]
At spring training for the 1942 season, Tucker competed againstDave Philley for the final outfield spot.[8] White Sox management liked Tucker's defensive abilities, leading to them adding Tucker to their 1942 major league roster; Tucker made his major league debut on April 14, 1942.[9] After playing two games for the White Sox, Tucker was sent down to theFort Worth Cats of theTexas League,[10] where he spent most of the season and hit .313 in 144 games.[3] When the minor league season ended, Tucker returned to the major league squad, and finished the year having played seven games for the White Sox.[9]
Of the Chicago White Sox outfielders at the beginning of the 1943 season, onlyWally Moses was assured of a place on the team. During spring training, managerJimmy Dykes was impressed by Tucker, who was competing for the starting center fielder position alongsideMoose Solters.[11] Consequently, after spring training Tucker became the starting center fielder for 1943, and the team'sleadoff hitter.[12] Partway through the season, Tucker's performance caught the eye of American League PresidentWill Harridge, who noted him as someone the public came out to watch in the absence of stars serving in World War II.[13] Among Tucker's achievements during the year were awalk-off home run on July 26 to win a game against theNew York Yankees 2–1.[14] Tucker finished the season with a .235 batting average, six triples, and 79walks in 135 games. He also stole 29 bases, the third best total in the AL, and was caught stealing 17 times, which was second in the league.[9]
Tucker passed a physical examination for theUnited States Navy before the 1944 season began. Although expected to be called up to serve in the war that year,[15] he was able to play the entire season for the White Sox. Tucker hit very well during the first month of 1944; he had a .403 batting average on May 16, which led the American League.[16] His hitting and fielding abilities impressed critics: sportswriterFred Lieb noted him as a breakout performer that year,[17] and manager Jimmy Dykes called Tucker the finest defensive outfielder in the American League.[18] Tucker andDixie Walker led their respective leagues in batting average throughout June; at the end of the month, Tucker had an average of .369 in the American League while Walker had an average of .377 in the National League.[19] Owing to his achievements, Tucker was added to the 1944All-Star roster for the only time in his career.[20] He was the leadoff hitter in the1944 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, but went hitless in four at-bats.[21]
Tucker's form faded after the All-Star Game; in early July, he had a hitless streak of 28 at-bats, causing his batting average to shrink from .375 to .327, resulting in losing his status as league leader.[22] When his average fell to .320 after recording one base hit in 35 at-bats, he was removed from the starting lineup for a weekend matchup against theDetroit Tigers in an attempt to halt his decline.[23] Tucker returned to the starting lineup shortly after being removed, and finished the season with a batting average of .287 and six triples.[9] At the end of July that season, both Tucker andGeorge Case participated in a 75-yard dash as part of the White Sox's annual benefit for the war effort; Tucker lost the race to Case by a yard.[24] After the season ended, Tucker formally joined the Navy, and spent the 1945 season serving in the war.[25]
When the players returned to their teams at the end of the war, Tucker was slated to be the starting center fielder for the 1946 season, working alongside Wally Moses andTaffy Wright.[26] Unlike the previous season, he struggled with the bat at first, and was relegated to his original status on the White Sox roster as a good fielder but a poor hitter.[27] At the end of June, Tucker had a batting average of .229, nearly 150 points lower than his average at the same point in 1944.[28] His form recovered in the second half of the season and he finished the year with a batting average of .288 and 20 doubles, both career highs.[9] As the1947 Chicago White Sox season began, Tucker remained in his center field position after hitting .400 in the last month of the 1946 season, while rookie Dave Philley played in left field and Taffy Wright andBob Kennedyplatooned in right field.[29] However, he started the year by missing some playing time due to a stomach ailment, and did not play regularly for the White Sox until the middle of May.[30] After returning to regular play, Tucker alternated playing time with Philley, and he finished the season with a .236 batting average in 89 games.[9]
On January 27, 1948, Tucker was traded to theCleveland Indians forRalph Weigel; the Indians front office regarded Tucker as "the finest defensive player in baseball."[31] He started off the year as the starting center fielder for the Indians, and in one early matchup against the Detroit Tigers, was the only player not to record a hit in an 8–2 victory.[32] He missed three weeks of playing time in June after breaking a finger when he was hit by a pitch.[33] Upon returning to the lineup, Tucker spent most of the second half of the season as afourth outfielder, splitting time withAllie Clark and playing in the outfield alongsideLarry Doby andDale Mitchell.[34] He finished the season with a .260 batting average and 52 runs in 83 games, and ended the season with a perfectfielding percentage of 1.000.[9] Tucker participated in game six of the1948 World Series, scoring a run in the sixth inning on awalk en route to a 4–3 win for the Indians.[35]
The Indians planned to use Tucker as their fourth outfielder for the 1949 season when he served mostly as backup to Doby.[36] He was relegated mostly topinch hitting duties, and finished the season with a .244 batting average in 20 games and under 200 at-bats.[9] Due to his hitting struggles, Indians managerLou Boudreau tried converting Tucker to aswitch hitter to start off the 1950 season.[37] Tucker was again set to be a backup outfielder in 1950. His performances during the year included hitting a home run, the only one he hit that season, in an 8–5 victory over theBrooklyn Dodgers; the teams raised $60,000 in that game to benefitsandlot teams in Cleveland.[38] Tucker finished the season with a .178 batting average in 54 games, the lowest mark of his career.[9]
Tucker and Allie Clark both attempted to make the Indians roster to begin the 1951 season, as the additions ofHarry Simpson andMinnie Miñoso made it likely that one or both of them would be traded or released.[39] Tucker played only one game for the Indians, on April 29 when he recorded a strikeout in his lone at-bat.[9] In early May, the Indians sent him to theirTriple-A minor league affiliate, theSan Diego Padres of thePacific Coast League; his last major league game was April 29.[9][40]
After being sent to the Padres, Tucker completed the 1951 season with them. In 88 games, Tucker had two triples and a .222 batting average.[3] In the offseason, Tucker operated his own taxicab in Texas, and he contemplated retirement from baseball during a contract dispute in February 1952.[41] He eventually played 47 games for the now-unaffiliated Padres, hitting .225 in the process.[3] In mid-June, the Padres sold his contract to the Oklahoma City Indians.[42] Tucker played in 72 games for the Indians that season, hitting .263. He retired from baseball before the 1953 season, and did not play with any professional team during that time.[3]
Tucker returned to baseball in 1954 to play for theLubbock Hubbers of theWest Texas–New Mexico League. He played part-time for the team, serving as a replacement when players needed time off, whether through injury or to spend time with their families.[43] He hit .360 in 25 games for the Hubbers.[3] The following year, he served as player-manager for theCarlsbad Potashers of theLonghorn League. Tucker hit .275 in 114 games for the Potashers, including 25 doubles and eight home runs.[3][44] He continued as player-manager for the Potashers in 1956, but the management considered firing him during a 14-game losing streak.[45] He finished the year with a .306 batting average in 128 games. The following season, he was the player-manager of the Hobbs Sports, but only played in 16 games for them, hitting .273.[3] In 1958, he ended his playing career, and became the general manager of the Hobbs team.[46]
After retiring, Tucker became an insurance agent and lived inOklahoma City. He married and had four children; his son Ronald served in theVietnam War.[1] In 1962, he also became one of theHouston Astros' firstscouts.[47] Tucker died on May 7, 1993, in Oklahoma City and is buried at Gordon Cemetery in his hometown of Gordon, Texas.[9]
· Baseball Almanac
Media related toThurman Tucker at Wikimedia Commons