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Jim Umbricht

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Jim Umbricht
Pitcher
Born: (1930-09-17)September 17, 1930
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died: April 8, 1964(1964-04-08) (aged 33)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
debut
September 26, 1959, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last appearance
September 29, 1963, for the Houston Colt .45s
Career statistics
Win–loss record9–5
Earned run average3.06
Strikeouts133
Teams
Career highlights and awards

James Umbricht (September 17, 1930 – April 8, 1964) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed relief pitcher, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) five seasons from 1959 to 1963 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Colt .45s. He was best known for his public year-long battle with malignant melanoma.[1]

Nicknamed "Big Jim" because of his dominating 6'4" size,[2] Umbricht was born in Chicago but grew up in Georgia. He started his professional career in 1953, making the majors in 1959. Over the next several seasons, Umbricht played between the Pirates and its farm team. Umbricht was drafted by the Colt .45s in 1962 where he became one of the National League's top relievers. He was diagnosed with melanoma in his leg prior to the 1963 season. His battle with melanoma made national headlines and encouraged research on the disease. He pitched the entire 1963 season, sometimes in excruciating pain. His health quickly deteriorated soon after the season ended and Umbricht died in a Houston area hospital at the age of 33.[2] His ashes were then spread throughout the Astrodome construction site.[3] The Colt .45s honored Umbricht by retiring his jersey number, and wearing black wristbands for the 1964 season.

Early career

Umbricht was born in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up inspiring to become a professional baseball player, practicing every day in a baseball field by his house.[4] He attended the University of Georgia and was a member of both the baseball and basketball teams.[2] He was named a member to the first team All-SEC as a shortstop in 1951.[2] After graduating from Georgia, Umbricht participated in a local try-out camp for the Waycross Bears in the Class D Georgia-Florida League, a low level minor league affiliate within the Milwaukee Braves organization that was trying to sign players.[1][4] He managed to make the team, starting his professional baseball career as a pitcher and infielder. That year Umbricht pitched for the Bears appearing in 10 games, starting in eight of them. Umbricht finished with a 4-3 win–loss record and a 2.87 earned run average.[5] He was the only player from the 1953 squad to ever appear in a Major League Baseball game.[6] He soon missed the 1954 and 1955 seasons while serving in the United States Army, pitching for the Fort Carson baseball squad during his stint there.[7] After finishing his service in 1956, Umbricht appeared with the Baton Rouge Rebels of the Evangeline League, where he had a 15-15 win–loss record in 32 games for a team that finished with a 53-70 record.[5] He led the league with 27 complete games.[7] He was promoted to the Topeka Hawks of the Western League in 1957.[5] That season he went 13-8 with a 3.24 earned run average in 28 games pitched.[5] In 1958 he played for the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association where one of his teammates was future broadcaster Bob Uecker.[5] He went 6-10 with a 4.06 earned run average in 55 games, mostly as a relief pitcher.[5] Umbricht was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates organization for Emil Panko prior to the 1959 season.[8] The Pirates assigned Umbricht to its Triple A affiliate, the Salt Lake City Bees in the Pacific Coast League. While with the Bees Umbricht had a 14-8 record with a 2.78 earned run average in 47 games, mostly in relief.[5]

Major League career

Pittsburgh Pirates

For his effort with the Bees, Umbricht was promoted to the Pittsburgh Pirates roster at the end of the 1959 season. He appeared in only one start, a 7-6 loss against the Cincinnati Reds.[9] He pitched seven innings, giving up five earned runs, including home runs to Johnny Temple, Frank Thomas and Buddy Gilbert, while striking out three.[8] Umbricht left the game in position for the win, as the Pirates were leading 6-5, but reliever Don Gross gave up two earned runs in the ninth inning for the blown save and the loss.[9]

1960

Two spots in the starting rotation were available by the time the Pirates started their 1960 season. In the beginning of spring training, Umbricht competed against fellow rookies Bennie Daniels and Joe Gibbon for these two spots.[10] The Pirates had a good start in spring training, winning 11 in a row at one point.[11] Against the Detroit Tigers, Umbricht combined with Daniels on throwing a no-hitter.[11] Manager Danny Murtaugh was impressed with Umbricht's pitching ability and expected him to become the Pirates fourth starter by opening day. He won the spot and on his first start of the season against the Reds on April 17, he gave up six earned runs in 5.1 innings, getting charged with the 11-3 loss.[12] In his next start against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 21, Umbricht gave up three runs, while having terrible control, walking five batters in 2.1 innings.[13] After those two starts, where he gave up nine runs in seven innings of work, Umbricht was moved to the bullpen.[8] He made a last minute start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitching against Don Drysdale on May 25, earning the loss. After an off-day and a postponed game because of rain, the Pirates faced the Phillies at home on May 28.[14] After the game went to extra innings, Umbricht pitched the thirteenth inning. The Pirates managed to win in the later half of the inning, earning his first career win.

Umbricht continued to struggle in the bullpen and was demoted alongside Daniels on June 27 to the Columbus Jets of the International League as pitchers Tom Cheney and Earl Francis were promoted to the main squad.[15] Between June 27 and September 9, Umbricht appeared in 19 games, 15 of them starts, earning an 8-5 record, two shutouts and a 2.50 earned run average.[5] With his strong pitching performance at Columbus, Umbricht was re-promoted to the main roster in early September to help the Pirates in their pennant race.[8] On September 27 against the Reds, Umbricht struck out three batters in two innings in relief, as the Pirates broke a team record by striking out 19 batters in a 16 inning victory.[16] The Pirates managed to win the pennant but Umbricht wasn't named in the final roster for the World Series, which the Pirates won in seven games.[8] Overall during the 1960 season, Umbricht appeared in 17 games for the Pirates, where he compiled a 1-2 record with a 5.09 earned run average and 26 strikeouts.

He only appeared in one game during the 1961 season, pitching three innings in relief. Instead Umbricht spent most of the season at Columbus, where he was used as a full time starter.[5] In 22 games, Umbricht had a 9-6 win–loss record with a 2.35 earned run average in 142 innings pitched.[5]

Houston Colt .45s

Jim Umbricht's number 32 was retired by the Houston Astros in 1965.

Umbricht was selected by the Houston Colt .45s as the 35th pick in the 1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft.[8] Houston's general manager Paul Richards selected Umbricht to give him a better chance of pitching in the Majors.[17] They were friends since Umbricht was at Waycross in 1953, immediately impressing Richards with his no nonsense attitude.[17] With the Colts, Umbricht quickly became one of the best relievers in the National League.[18][19] Umbricht started the season on the Colts roster, but was demoted to the Oklahoma City 89ers of the American Association in order to make room for veteran pitcher Don McMahon.[5][17] He appeared in 23 games for the 89ers, earning a 3-4 win–loss record with a 3.39 earned run average, mostly in relief.[5] He rejoined the Colts roster in the middle of the 1962 season as a relief specialist.[8] He appeared in 34 games that season, earning a 4-0 win–loss record with a solid 2.01 earned run average.[8] He struck out 55 batters, while walking only 17.[8]

His arsenal included four different pitches, fastball, curveball, slider and the changeup.[7] He was used primarily as a setup pitcher during his brief tenure with the Colts. According to former teammate and roommate Ken Johnson, Umbricht was used by the Colts mainly to control damage caused by a starting pitcher after they were removed from the game. In his five-year Major League Baseball career, Umbricht compiled a 9-5 win–loss record, while recording 133 strikeouts, three saves and a 3.06 earned run average in 88 games.[8]

Cancer and early death

Cancer diagnosis and 1963 season

At the beginning of spring training 1963 season, Umbricht noticed that he had a small black lump in his leg, near the thigh area while playing golf with Richards.[17] He originally ignored it, but the lump was growing at a rapid pace and Richards told Umbricht to have it checked by a doctor back in Houston.[17] The doctors confirmed it was a melanoma tumor, which had spread to his groin area.[17] He underwent a six-hour surgery to remove the tumor from the leg in March 1963 and soon learned that he had a slim chance of survival and kept it a secret outside his immediate family.[2][3] Umbricht was persistent to return to pitch for the Colt .45s and was in uniform by opening day.[2] The surgery took a toll on his leg: he required over 100 stitches and blood was coming out from the wound while he pitched at times.[3] That year Umbricht posted a 4-3 won-loss record and a 2.61 earned run average in 35 games.[8] He played his last game on September 29, 1963, the final day of the regular season.[8] By that time, Umbricht's cancer had started to spread throughout his body and he had to be sedated at times from the pain of the cancer.[1] In November Umbricht learned that the cancer was incurable, and was given a few months to live.[3] He was released by the Colts on December 16.[8] His battle with cancer made national headlines. Several sportswriters named Umbricht as the "Most Courageous Athlete" of the year.[3]

Final months and death

By early 1964, Umbricht was going in and out of the hospital on a constant basis for further treatment. He returned to the hospital permanently on March 16, where his health steadily declined.[1] During his final hospital stay, the Colts' management, his family and the hospital staff agreed not to release any further details about his illness, though word had leaked that he was dying.[2] Umbricht succumbed to the disease on April 8, 1964 in the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.[2] Umbricht's death came on the eve of the 1964 season for the Colts. Several members of the team attended the funeral, with manager Harry Craft and teammate Dick Farrell among the six pallbearers.[1] Teammate Russ Kemmerer gave the eulogy during the service, and Umbricht's body was cremated.[19] Construction of the Astrodome, the Colts' future ballpark had just started when Umbricht died. Umbricht's family decided to spread his ashes on the future stadium, so "it could be his headstone".[3] His brother Ed flew over the construction site right after the funeral service and scattered his ashes throughout its grounds.[3]

Aftermath and legacy

The day after his death the Colts decided to honor their teammate by wearing black wristbands for the entire 1964 season.[19] Umbricht uniform number (32) was immediately retired by the team; the first time the club retired a uniform number, and only the ninth time in Major League history a number was ever by a team.[3] In the Colts' opening day match against the Cincinnati Reds, starting pitcher Ken Johnson dedicated his victory in Umbright's memory. In 1965, the Houston Colt .45s became known as the Houston Astros. The Astros' MVP award was also named in his honor.[20] The back of Umbricht's 1964 Topps baseball card was updated to mention his death right before printing.[20] Umbricht's number retirement had their share of critics however. Former teammate Jimmy Wynn mentioned in his autobiography that Walt Bond, a former Astros player who was African-American, died from leukemia while he was still active. His jersey number was not retired by the club after his death despite appearing in more games in an Astros uniform than Umbricht.[21] Journalists criticizing the retired number process sometimes uses Umbricht as an example of a name whose number was retired but is unfamiliar to baseball fans.[22]

Umbricht's death from melanoma helped alert the general public about the disease. Former Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jack Pardee credited Umbricht's battle with melanoma for saving his life in 1965.[23] Pardee, a Pro Bowl linebacker, had been ignoring a mole on his armpit for a while. After hearing about Umbricht's battle with cancer, and that his mole was similar to Umbricht's, he went to the team doctor which diagnosed him with melanoma.[23] While Pardee's melanoma had also spread throughout his body, he managed to make a complete recovery.[23]

Bibliography

  • Cushing, Rick (2010). 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates: Day by Day: A Special Season, an Extraordinary World Series. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Dorrance Publishing Co. ISBN 9781434904980.
  • Zimniuch, Frank (2007). Shortened Seasons: The Untimely Deaths of Major League Baseball's Starts and Journeymen. Lanham, Maryland: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 9781589793637.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e United Press International. "Jim Umbricht Dies of Cancer". The Pittsburgh Press. April 8, 1964. p. 29. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Associated Press (April 8, 1964). "Umbricht Victim of Cancer". The Miami News. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Zimniuch, p. 135
  4. ^ a b Zimniuch, p. 133
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Jim Umbricht Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  6. ^ "1953 Waycross Bears statistics". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  7. ^ a b c Zimniuch, p. 132
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Jim Umbricht Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Sep 26, 1959, Pirates at Reds Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  10. ^ Cunning, p. 84
  11. ^ a b Cunning, p. 81
  12. ^ "Apr 16, 1960, Reds at Pirates Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  13. ^ "Apr 21, 1960, Phillies at Pirates Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  14. ^ Cunning, p. 406
  15. ^ Cunning, p. 142
  16. ^ Cunning, p. 246
  17. ^ a b c d e f Zimniuch, p. 134
  18. ^ Graczyk, Michael (June 13, 1999). "Astros Have Suffered Health Problems". APOnline. Associated Press (HighBeam Research). {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  19. ^ a b c Associated Press (April 9, 1964). "Colts to Wear Black Armbands for Jim Umbricht". The Day. p. 14. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  20. ^ a b Estelle, Bob (June 25, 2006). "Playing the (jersey) numbers game". Post-Tribune (IN). Sun-Times News Group (HighBeam Research). {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  21. ^ Wynn, Jimmy; McCurdy, Bill (2010). Toy Cannon: The Autobiography of Baseball's Jimmy Wynn. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc. p. 91. ISBN 9780786458561. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  22. ^ Heller, Dick (April 18, 1997). "Idea of retiring No. 42 adds up to big fat zero". The Washington Times. News World Communications, Inc via HighBeam Research. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  23. ^ a b c Buck, Ray (September 5, 2003). "Off NFL merry-go-round, Pardee enjoys life on the ranch". Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via HighBeam Research. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

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