Jim Northrup (baseball)

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Jim Northrup (baseball) bigraphy, stories - American baseball player

Jim Northrup (baseball) : biography

November 24, 1939 – June 8, 2011

James Thomas Northrup (November 24, 1939 – June 8, 2011), nicknamed the “Silver Fox” due to his prematurely graying hair, was a Major League Baseball outfielder and left-handed batter who played for the Detroit Tigers (1964–1974), Montreal Expos (1974) and Baltimore Orioles (1974–75).

Life after the Major Leagues

After retiring from baseball, Northrup signed with the Detroit Caesars, a professional softball team and played two seasons (1977–1978). The Caesars played in the American Professional Slow Pitch Softball League (APSPL), winning leagues titles in both seasons with Northrup. The team was owned by Mike Ilitch who would later become the owner of the Detroit Tigers. The Caesars had extensive talent from the amateur softball leagues, and both Northrup and fellow former-Tiger Norm Cash played part-time roles.

From 1985 to 1994, Northrup was a color analyst for the Tigers on the PASS Sports cable television service. He was the CEO of Jim Northrup and Associates, a manufacturer’s representative firm in Southfield, Michigan. He was inducted in the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame (2000), and also has been a supporter of many college activities.

Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles (1974–1975)

In August 1974, the Tigers sold Northrup to the Montreal Expos. Northrup played in only 21 games for the Expos before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles in September. Northrup finished his career in 1975 hitting .274 in 84 games for the Orioles. Northrup retired after the 1975 season. He later noted: “I’d had enough. I’d been away from home too much, and I wasn’t with my kids enough. So that was the end of it.”

Northrup earned $76,000 a year with the Tigers in 1973. Northrup calculated that he earned $418,000 in his 12-year career in the major leagues.

Early years

Northrup was born in Breckenridge, Michigan, a small farm town 25 miles west of Saginaw. Northrup grew up on his grandfather’s farm. Even after the family moved six miles away to St. Louis, Northrup spent his summers and weekends during the winter at his grandparents’ farm.

Once a year, Northrup and his father would make a seven-hour drive (before the expressways) to Detroit when the Boston Red Sox came to town. Ted Williams was Northrup’s idol, the “only idol I’ve ever had.”Mott, Geoff (October 14, 2006) "’’10 Questions with Jim Northrup’’," Saginaw News Northrup, however, never saw a complete game as a boy. Rather than pay full price, his father would “wait until the sixth or seventh inning, because then you could give the guy outside a buck or two and you could go out there and watch Ted play.”

After graduating from the St. Louis High School, Northrup stayed close to home for college, attending Alma College, five miles from St. Louis. At Alma College, Northrup was a five-sport star. He was quarterback of the football team, and was named a small college All-American. He was a forward on the basketball team, ran track, and golfed, but Northrup’s great love was baseball. “I was born to play baseball,” said Northrup.

Northrup reportedly turned down offers from the Chicago Bears and the New York Titans and signed with the Tigers in 1961. Northrup spent four years in the minor leagues (1961–1964), playing for the Duluth-Superior Dukes, Decatur, Iowa, Tennessee Smokies, and the Syracuse Chiefs. He was the International League Rookie of the Year in 1964, as he hit .312 with 18 home runs and 92 RBIs.

1968 Season

Northrup had his most satisfying season in 1968 as he played a key role in the Tigers’ World Series Championship. Northrup played 151 games at all three spots in the Detroit outfield in 1968, including 103 games in right field, many in place of the injured Al Kaline. Northrup had a range factor of 2.17 – well above the league average of 1.80.

But Northrup’s principal value was as a batter. Northrup led the 1968 Tigers in hits with 153 and in RBIs with 90. He was among the American League leaders with 90 RBIs (3rd in the AL), 57 extra base hits (4th in the AL), 259 total bases (5th in the AL), and 29 doubles (5th in the AL).