Jim Delsing

James Henry Delsing (November 13, 1925 – May 4, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder who is most remembered for having been the pinch runner for 3 ft-tall Eddie Gaedel on August 19, 1951.

Delsing was born to Ben and Barbara Delsing in Rudolph, Wisconsin, on November 13, 1925.

He was raised on a dairy farm with his sister, Clairbel.

At Rudolph High School, Delsing played guard on the basketball team.

"Basketball was our big sport," Delsing recalled.

"We did not have enough guys for baseball. We didn't even have football. Our conference had about a half-dozen schools from other towns. I played guard, because I could run."

He was skilled at handling the ball and dribbling, but Delsing also got the chance to play baseball with a semi-pro team in Stevens Point, as well as the Moland Truckers of the Wisconsin Valley League, where he competed against Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, who went on to be a star in the National Football League.

Delsing signed his first professional contract at the age of 16 in 1942 for the Green Bay Bluejays in the Wisconsin State League.

After two years of Minor League Baseball, he joined the Army Medical Corps and served for over a year in Europe during World War II.

Delsing caught the eye of scout Eddie Kotal, who signed the 16-year-old to a contract for the Green Bay Bluejays of the Class D Wisconsin State League in 1942.

Once his junior year of high school ended, Delsing finished Green Bay's season playing shortstop for the team.

"They thought I was a shortstop, because that's what I was playing in semipro," he recalled.

"The only reason I played shortstop for Stevens Point was because nobody else could handle it. But I made a lot of errors. I either kicked the ball away, or I threw it away. I think I made more errors throwing than I did any other way, and it was a tough learning experience."

He made 28 errors in 49 games and batted .249 with three home runs and 30 runs batted in (RBI).

Green Bay finished a half-game back of the Sheboygan Indians for the league pennant.

Delsing graduated high school in 1943 and played for another Class D team, this time the Lockport Cubs of the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (PONY League).

He started his season as the third baseman but asked to be moved to the outfield after making 17 errors.

Delsing batted .312, tenth in the league by players who participated in at least 50 games, and he had eight home runs and 69 RBI.

In 1944, the Milwaukee Brewers of the Class AAA American Association purchased his contract; Delsing made the team but would not play for two years, as the United States Army drafted him for service in World War II.

He resumed his baseball career in 1946 and made his major league debut with the White Sox in 1948.

When he was able to resume playing in 1946, he failed to get much playing time in spring training because the Brewers had a lot of outfielders, so he asked to be reassigned and was sent to play for the Eau Claire Bears of the Class C Northern League.

He batted what would be a career-high .377 in 65 games with 61 RBI, earning a promotion to Milwaukee, where he batted .318 with 20 RBI.

This caught the interest of the Chicago White Sox, who obtained him from the Brewers after the season.

Delsing attended spring training with the White Sox in 1947 but was assigned to the Hollywood Stars of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, with whom he had a good season.

In 153 games, he batted .316 with 92 runs scored, 181 hits, five home runs, and 53 RBI.

Delsing was part of the White Sox roster to begin the 1948 season.

In 1949, he was acquired by the Yankees, filling in for Joe DiMaggio for a few games late in the year while DiMaggio recovered from a virus.

He was traded to the Browns in 1950 and became an everyday player in St. Louis for the next three seasons.

In August 1952, he was traded to the Tigers.

He also was the centerfielder replaced by Hall of Famer Al Kaline in Kaline's major league debut on June 25, 1953.

During his career, which spanned 822 games over 10 seasons, Delsing played for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, and Kansas City Athletics.

His best year in the major leagues came in 1953, when he had a batting average of .288 and hit 11 home runs.

Delsing led American League left fielders with a .996 fielding percentage in 1954, but his batting average declined, and in 1955, he began losing playing time to Charlie Maxwell.

In 1956, he started very few games, used mainly as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement for the Tigers and the White Sox, who reacquired him in May.

He spent the next three seasons in the minor leagues, winning the American Association pennant with the Charleston Senators in 1958.

In 1960, after several of their outfielders suffered injuries, the Athletics added Delsing to their roster in August; he finished his professional career playing 16 games for Kansas City.

Since his time with the Browns, Delsing had resided in the St. Louis.

He continued to live there after his baseball career, serving as an advertising salesman for the St. Louis Review for over thirty years, helping out with Catholic charities, and participating in the St. Louis Browns Fan Club.

Assigned to the 95th Evacuation Hospital of the Army Medical Corps, he spent over a year in Europe.

He died of cancer on May 4, 2006.