Jack Edwin Hamilton (December 25, 1938 – February 22, 2018) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

, who played in

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(MLB), from –, for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

, and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

Professional career

Originally signed by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, Hamilton debuted in MLB as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

for the Phillies in 1962 and posted a 9–12 record with an

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 5.09. Pitching for the Mets on May 4, 1966, Hamilton tossed a one-hitter against the Cardinals in St. Louis; the one hit being a bunt single by opposing pitcher

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. He showed more promise pitching out of the bullpen, and spent most of his career as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

until his retirement in 1969, although he was converted back to a starting pitcher for the 1966 and 1967 seasons. In 1967, Hamilton was traded by the Mets to the Angels.

Tony Conigliaro beaning incident

On August 18, the Angels were playing the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in a game that would have important implications for the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL) pennant race. While facing

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Tony Conigliaro Anthony Richard Conigliaro (January 7, 1945 – February 24, 1990), nicknamed "Tony C" and "Conig", was a Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox (1964–1967, 1969–1970, 1975) and California ...

, Hamilton hit him with a pitch on his left cheekbone that fractured both his cheekbone and eye socket, and severely damaged his retina. Conigliaro nearly died, and the damage to his vision kept him off the field the remainder of the year and all of 1968. Conigliaro made a promising-but-brief comeback in 1969–1970, until his vision problems returned, which eventually forced his early retirement from baseball in 1975 at age 30. Hamilton retired in 1969, finishing his career with the White Sox.

Personal life

Hamilton lived in

Branson, Missouri Branson is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is situated in Taney County, with a small portion in the west extending into Stone County. Branson is in the Ozark Mountains. The community was named after Reuben Branson, postma ...

with his wife, Jan. Together, they had a son and two daughters. After his retirement from baseball, Hamilton owned and operated several restaurants in Iowa and Southwest Missouri. He died on February 22, 2018, at age 79.Former MLB pitcher Jack Hamilton dies at 79
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References

* 1958 Baseball Guide, published by

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

, p. 349. * 1968 Baseball Register published by

. * Passan, Jeff,
Accidental villain
(August 17, 2007), ''

Yahoo! Sports Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. Bef ...

''. Retrieved on August 17, 2007.

External links

Jack Hamilton
at Ultimate Mets Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Jack 1938 births 2018 deaths Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from Iowa California Angels players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Decatur Commodores players Detroit Tigers players Keokuk Cardinals players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Chickasaws players New York Mets players People from Burlington, Iowa People from Branson, Missouri Philadelphia Phillies players Seattle Angels players Syracuse Chiefs players Tucson Toros players Williamsport Grays players Winston-Salem Red Birds players Wytheville Cardinals players York White Roses players