Hemus batted left-handed and threw right-handed; he stood 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall, weighing 165 pounds (75 kg).[1] During his 11-year MLB playing career (1949–1959), Hemus was primarily a shortstop (472 games and 3,745 innings played), although he also saw significant time as a second baseman (211 games, 1,6352⁄3 innings).[3] Hemus compiled a lifetime batting average of .273 in 961 games and collected 736 hits, with 137 doubles, 41 triples, 51 home runs and 263 RBI. He led National League batters in being hit by pitched balls three times (1952, 1953, 1958).
Manager and coachedit
Hemus was a hard-nosed player and manager known for battling with opponents and umpires; he was ejected 30 times between 1952 and 1965.[3] When he was traded to the Phillies in May 1956, Hemus wrote a letter to Cardinals owner Gussie Busch, expressing his pride in being a Cardinal and his gratitude to the baseball club. Nearing the end of his playing career, he was reacquired by the Cardinals on September 29, 1958 — one day after the regular season ended — and named St. Louis' player-manager by Busch, who admired Hemus' fiery personality and remembered his letter from 2+1⁄2 years before.[4] Hemus took over the Cardinals in time to lead them on an October 1958 "good will" tour of Hawaii and Japan.[5]
As a player in 1959, Hemus appeared in 24 games — mostly as a pinch-hitter — before concentrating on his managerial responsibilities. His Cardinals were inconsistent. Hemus' first club lost 15 of its first 20 games and stumbled to a seventh place (71–83) finish in 1959. That was followed by a 15-game improvement (86–68) and a leap to third place in his second season (1960).[1] The Redbirds followed with a mediocre start in 1961 and were mired in sixth place on July 5 (at 33–41), when Hemus was replaced by one of his coaches, Johnny Keane.[6] His career managing record was 190–192 (.497).[1] He was thrown out of 11 of the 382 games he managed, comprising over one-third of his career MLB ejections.[3]
During his tenure in Philadelphia, Hemus made history when he was removed for pinch runnerJohn Kennedy at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey, during a league game against the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 22, 1957. It marked the Major League debut of Kennedy, the first African-American player in the Phillies' history.[13][14] In 2011, Hall-of-Famer Bob Gibson indicated that racial prejudice on Hemus' part had intruded on his later role as the Cards' manager when Hemus disparaged both Gibson and teammate Curt Flood by telling them they were not good enough to make it as Major Leaguers and should try something else.[15][16] Hemus' replacement, Keane, was a Gibson supporter who had managed the pitcher in the minor leagues.[17]
Deathedit
Hemus died at 94 following a long illness in Houston, on October 3, 2017.[15]
solly, hemus, solomon, joseph, hemus, april, 1923, october, 2017, american, professional, baseball, infielder, manager, coach, played, major, league, baseball, louis, cardinals, philadelphia, phillies, hemus, select, group, league, players, have, held, dual, r. Solomon Joseph Hemus April 17 1923 October 2 2017 was an American professional baseball infielder manager and coach who played in Major League Baseball MLB for the St Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies 1 Hemus is one of a select group of big league players to have held a dual role as a player manager Solly HemusHemus in about 1953Shortstop Second baseman ManagerBorn 1923 04 17 April 17 1923Phoenix Arizona U S Died October 2 2017 2017 10 02 aged 94 Houston Texas U S Batted LeftThrew RightMLB debutApril 27 1949 for the St Louis CardinalsLast MLB appearanceJune 14 1959 for the St Louis CardinalsMLB statisticsBatting average 273Home runs51Runs batted in263Managerial record190 192Winning 497TeamsAs playerSt Louis Cardinals 1949 1956 Philadelphia Phillies 1956 1958 St Louis Cardinals 1959 As managerSt Louis Cardinals 1959 1961 As coachNew York Mets 1962 1963 Cleveland Indians 1964 1965 Hemus was born in Phoenix Arizona and raised in San Diego where he graduated from Saint Augustine High School He served in the United States Navy during World War II 2 and began his professional playing career in the Cardinals farm system as a 23 year old in 1946 Contents 1 Baseball career 1 1 Player 1 2 Manager and coach 2 Death 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksBaseball career editPlayer edit Hemus batted left handed and threw right handed he stood 5 feet 9 inches 1 75 m tall weighing 165 pounds 75 kg 1 During his 11 year MLB playing career 1949 1959 Hemus was primarily a shortstop 472 games and 3 745 innings played although he also saw significant time as a second baseman 211 games 1 6352 3 innings 3 Hemus compiled a lifetime batting average of 273 in 961 games and collected 736 hits with 137 doubles 41 triples 51 home runs and 263 RBI He led National League batters in being hit by pitched balls three times 1952 1953 1958 Manager and coach edit Hemus was a hard nosed player and manager known for battling with opponents and umpires he was ejected 30 times between 1952 and 1965 3 When he was traded to the Phillies in May 1956 Hemus wrote a letter to Cardinals owner Gussie Busch expressing his pride in being a Cardinal and his gratitude to the baseball club Nearing the end of his playing career he was reacquired by the Cardinals on September 29 1958 one day after the regular season ended and named St Louis player manager by Busch who admired Hemus fiery personality and remembered his letter from 2 1 2 years before 4 Hemus took over the Cardinals in time to lead them on an October 1958 good will tour of Hawaii and Japan 5 As a player in 1959 Hemus appeared in 24 games mostly as a pinch hitter before concentrating on his managerial responsibilities His Cardinals were inconsistent Hemus first club lost 15 of its first 20 games and stumbled to a seventh place 71 83 finish in 1959 That was followed by a 15 game improvement 86 68 and a leap to third place in his second season 1960 1 The Redbirds followed with a mediocre start in 1961 and were mired in sixth place on July 5 at 33 41 when Hemus was replaced by one of his coaches Johnny Keane 6 His career managing record was 190 192 497 1 He was thrown out of 11 of the 382 games he managed comprising over one third of his career MLB ejections 3 Hemus then served as a coach with the New York Mets 1962 1963 and Cleveland Indians 1964 1965 He was on manager Casey Stengel s coaching staff when the 1962 Mets expansion team ended up with a record of 40 120 still the most losses by a Major League team in a single season since the nineteenth century 7 8 9 10 He managed the Mets top farm club the Jacksonville Suns of the Triple A International League 11 in 1966 before leaving baseball and entering the oil business in his adopted home city of Houston Texas 12 During his tenure in Philadelphia Hemus made history when he was removed for pinch runner John Kennedy at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City New Jersey during a league game against the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 22 1957 It marked the Major League debut of Kennedy the first African American player in the Phillies history 13 14 In 2011 Hall of Famer Bob Gibson indicated that racial prejudice on Hemus part had intruded on his later role as the Cards manager when Hemus disparaged both Gibson and teammate Curt Flood by telling them they were not good enough to make it as Major Leaguers and should try something else 15 16 Hemus replacement Keane was a Gibson supporter who had managed the pitcher in the minor leagues 17 Death editHemus died at 94 following a long illness in Houston on October 3 2017 15 See also editList of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders List of Major League Baseball player managersReferences edit a b c d Solly Hemus Stats Baseball Reference com Sports Reference LLC 2019 Retrieved June 5 2019 Corbett Warren Solly Hemus Society for American Baseball Research Retrieved 8 August 2022 a b c Information at Retrosheet Solly Hemus Given Raise in 1961 St Louis Contract The Spokesman Review Associated Press September 23 1960 p 26 Retrieved August 28 2011 Berenback Adam Author Wiggen Goes East Jim Brosnan and the 1958 Cardinals Tour of Japan Society for American Baseball Research 1961 St Louis Cardinals Schedule Box Scores and Splits at Baseball Reference com Sheehan Joe October 3 1961 Mets Appoint Lavagetto and Hemus Coaches as Stengel Returns The New York Times p 48 Mets Bank On Return Of Stengel Hartford Courant Associated Press October 11 1963 p 21 Loomis Tom April 6 1964 Hot Seat Won t Burn Strickland Toledo Blade p 19 Retrieved August 31 2011 Dick Sisler Gets Post With Cards Pittsburgh Post Gazette Associated Press October 20 1965 p 26 Retrieved August 31 2011 Former Mets Named to New Jobs The New York Times Associated Press January 4 1966 Anderson Dave March 28 1982 World of baseball hasn t forgotten Ken Boyer St Petersburg Times p 4C Phillies Find New Shortstop Star News Associated Press 26 March 1957 p 1 Brooklyn Dodgers 5 Philadelphia Phillies 1 Retrosheet Boxscore and Play by Play for April 22 1957 a b Solly Hemus last Cardinals player manager dies at 94 St Louis Post Dispatch October 3 2017 HBO The Curious Case of Curt Flood Home Box Office Inc Archived from the original on 2 September 2011 Retrieved 1 October 2011 Gibson Bob Wheeler Lonnie 1994 Stranger to the Game New York Viking pp 65 ISBN 978 0 670 84794 5 External links editCareer statistics and player information from MLB or ESPN or Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or Baseball Reference Minors or Retrosheet Solly Hemus managerial career statistics at Baseball Reference comPreceded byFranchise created New York Mets third base coach1962 1963 Succeeded byDon HeffnerPreceded byGeorge Strickland Cleveland Indians third base coach1964 Succeeded byGeorge StricklandPreceded byElmer Valo Cleveland Indians first base coach1965 Succeeded byReggie OteroPreceded byGrover Resinger Jacksonville Suns manager1966 Succeeded byBill Virdon Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Solly Hemus amp oldid 1171556667, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
