Jim Bottomley

James Leroy Bottomley (April 23, 1900 – December 11, 1959) was an American professional baseball player, scout and manager.

Bottomley was born on April 23, 1900, to Elizabeth (née Carter) and John Bottomley in Oglesby, Illinois.

His family later moved to Nokomis, Illinois, where Bottomley enrolled in grade school and Nokomis High School.

He dropped out when he was 16 years old in order to help support his family financially.

Bottomley worked as a coal miner, truck driver, grocery clerk, and railroad clerk.

The Cardinals decided to invite Bottomley to a tryout in late 1919, and signed him to a $150-a-month ($0 in current dollar terms) contract.

His younger brother, Ralph, died in a mining accident in 1920.

Bottomley also played semi-professional baseball for several local teams to make additional money, earning $5 a game ($0 in current dollar terms).

A police officer who knew Branch Rickey, the general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, saw Bottomley play, and recommended Bottomley to Rickey.

Rickey dispatched scout Charley Barrett to investigate Bottomley.

Bottomley began his professional career in minor league baseball in 1920.

That year, Bottomley played for the Mitchell Kernels of the Class-D South Dakota League, posting a .312 batting average in 97 games, as Barrett continued to scout him.

He also played six games for the Sioux City Packers of the Class-A Western League.

During his time in the minor leagues, the media began to call Bottomley "Sunny Jim", due to his pleasant disposition.

The next season, Bottomley played for the Houston Buffaloes of the Class-A Texas League.

Bottomley suffered a leg injury early in the season which became infected, and impeded his performance during the season.

Bottomley managed only a .227 batting average in 130 games and struggled with his fielding.

Unable to sell Bottomley after the season to Houston for $1,200 ($0 in current dollar terms), Rickey sold Bottomley to the Syracuse Chiefs of the Class-AA International League for $1,000 ($0 in current dollar terms).

He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1922 to 1937, most prominently as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals where he helped lead the team to four National League pennants and two World Series titles.

Born in Oglesby, Illinois, Bottomley grew up in Nokomis, Illinois.

He dropped out of high school at the age of 16 to raise money for his family.

While he was playing semi-professional baseball, the Cardinals scouted and signed Bottomley before the season.

Fully recovered from his leg injury in 1922, Bottomley batted .348 with 14 home runs, 15 triples, and a .567 slugging percentage for the Chiefs.

After the season, the Cardinals purchased Bottomley from the Chiefs for $15,000 ($0 in current dollar terms).

Bottomley made his Major League Baseball debut for the St. Louis Cardinals on August 18, 1922.

Replacing Jack Fournier, Bottomley batted .325 in 37 games.

The Cardinals named Bottomley their starting first baseman in 1923.

As a rookie, Bottomley batted .371, finishing second in the National League (NL) behind teammate Rogers Hornsby, who batted .384.

His .425 on-base percentage also finished second in the NL behind Hornsby, while he finished sixth in slugging percentage, with a .535 mark.

He became an integral member of the Cardinals batting order, driving in 100 or more runs batted in between 1924 and 1929 as the team's cleanup hitter.

In, he established a major league record for driving in 12 runs in a nine inning game.

In he led the National League (NL) in runs batted in and total bases, helping the Cardinals win their first World Series championship.

Bottomley was named the NL's Most Valuable Player in after leading the league in home runs, runs batted in and total bases.

He won another World Series with the Cardinals in.

Bottomley hit above .300 nine times and had accumulated a .310 career batting average by the end of his sixteen-year major league career.

He also played for the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Browns and also served as player-manager for the Browns in 1937.

After finishing his playing career with the Browns, Bottomley joined the Chicago Cubs organization as a scout and minor league baseball manager.

After suffering a heart attack, Bottomley retired to raise cattle with his wife in Missouri.

Bottomley was nicknamed "Sunny Jim" because of his cheerful disposition.

Bottomley was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 by the Veterans Committee and to the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.