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James Lucius Hickman
Chicago Cubs
Outfield
Born: May 10, 1937, Henning, TN
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent before 1956 season
Major League Teams: New York Mets 1962-1966; Los Angeles Dodgers 1967; Chicago Cubs 1968-1973; St. Louis Cardinals 1974
Died: June 25, 2016, Jackson, TN (age 79)
Jim Hickman spent six seasons in the Cardinals' minor league system before being left unprotected and selected by the Mets in the 1961 expansion draft. With the Mets, he entered the franchise's record books as their first player to hit for the cycle (August 7, 1963) and the first to hit three home runs in a game (September 3, 1965). He was the last player to hit a home run at the Polo Grounds, off the Phillies' Chris Short (#395) on September 18, 1965. Finally, he was the last of the original Mets, departing the organization on November 29, 1966 with Ron Hunt (#664), traded to the Dodgers for Tommy Davis (#135) and Derrell Griffith.
Hickman enjoyed his best season in 1970 with the Cubs, winning the N.L. Comeback Player of the Year award, playing in that year's All-Star Game and setting career highs in batting average (.315), home runs (32) and RBIs (115). It was his 12th inning single in the All-Star Game that drove home Pete Rose (#120) with the winning run as Rose barreled over catcher Ray Fosse (#244) at the plate. Hickman appeared in 1,421 games over 13 seasons, batting .252 with 159 home runs and 560 RBIs.
Jim Hickman spent six seasons in the Cardinals' minor league system before being left unprotected and selected by the Mets in the 1961 expansion draft. With the Mets, he entered the franchise's record books as their first player to hit for the cycle (August 7, 1963) and the first to hit three home runs in a game (September 3, 1965). He was the last player to hit a home run at the Polo Grounds, off the Phillies' Chris Short (#395) on September 18, 1965. Finally, he was the last of the original Mets, departing the organization on November 29, 1966 with Ron Hunt (#664), traded to the Dodgers for Tommy Davis (#135) and Derrell Griffith.
Hickman enjoyed his best season in 1970 with the Cubs, winning the N.L. Comeback Player of the Year award, playing in that year's All-Star Game and setting career highs in batting average (.315), home runs (32) and RBIs (115). It was his 12th inning single in the All-Star Game that drove home Pete Rose (#120) with the winning run as Rose barreled over catcher Ray Fosse (#244) at the plate. Hickman appeared in 1,421 games over 13 seasons, batting .252 with 159 home runs and 560 RBIs.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #115
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
1969 Season
The best stretch of Hickman's career was about to begin, although he took only a slight step forward in 1969. He was the Cubs' opening day right fielder, and made 82 starts overall in right with Billy Williams (#450) most regularly in left field and a bunch of different players switching in and out of the center field position. Hickman batted .237 with 21 home runs and 54 RBIs the year before winning Comeback Player of the Year in 1970.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #598
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1962-1967, 1969-1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #54
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 56 in the Beckett online database as of 6/4/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set. That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon. I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.
This is the 38th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York. My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside. After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far. With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298. The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me $1.25. If I stick to composing posts five times a week, I should go through the stack and be caught up by the end of January. But as the summer begins, that's becoming a bigger If.
The Card / Cubs Team Set / Accuracy Index -8
Topps isn't fooling anyone here, as Hickman is clearly wearing a Dodgers uniform. The red #35 he wore with the Dodgers during the 1967 season is visible, and Topps might have wanted to crop this photo a little closer. His three home run game with the Mets in 1965 is celebrated in cartoon form on the back. The write-up on the back gives a summary of how Hickman found himself on the Cubs. Hickman and Phil Regan (#535) went from Los Angeles to Chicago in exchange for Jim Ellis and Ted Savage (#471) on April 23, 1968. Topps notes Hickman is able to play third base if needed for the Cubs, but in six seasons in Chicago he never found his way over there.
Accuracy Index: Hickman scores a fairly standard -8 for the Dodgers uniform (-5) and the smudged out hat (-3).
1969 Season
The best stretch of Hickman's career was about to begin, although he took only a slight step forward in 1969. He was the Cubs' opening day right fielder, and made 82 starts overall in right with Billy Williams (#450) most regularly in left field and a bunch of different players switching in and out of the center field position. Hickman batted .237 with 21 home runs and 54 RBIs the year before winning Comeback Player of the Year in 1970.
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First Mainstream Card: 1962 Topps #598
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1962-1967, 1969-1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #54
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 56 in the Beckett online database as of 6/4/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
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