Joseph Robert Cunningham Jr. (August 27, 1931March 25, 2021) was an American
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
and
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 ...
who played 12 seasons in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB) for 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 hav ...
,
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 ...
, and
Washington Senators from 1954 to 1966. He batted and threw
left-handed
In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...
, and was a two-time
All-Star.
Cunningham
batted .291 with 980
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
over 1,141 career
games
A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...
. He finished his career with more
walks (599) than
strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
s (369).
Early life
Cunningham was born in
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[Saddle Brook, New Jersey
Saddle Brook is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 13,659, reflecting an increase of 504 (+3.8%) from the 13,155 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in t ...]
).
[Russo, Neal]
"Mrs. Cunningham: Great Catch by Joe"
''St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-Dem ...
'', February 14, 1965. Accessed December 28, 2017. "When Kathy Dillard was driving Joe Cunningham to meet her parents in Mammoth Spring, Ark., for the first time, she knew that Joe was a big city boy even though his home town in New Jersey was Saddle River Township. Big Hackensack is close to Saddle River." He attended
Lodi High School in nearby
Lodi and was signed as an amateur free agent 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 hav ...
before the 1949 season.
Professional career
Cunningham played four seasons in the minor leagues from 1949 to 1951, and the first part of the 1954 season.
He served in the military for two years during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
.
He made his MLB debut on June 30, 1954, at the age of 22,
[ batting 2-for-5 with his first major league ]home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
and five runs batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...
(RBI) in a 11–3 win over the Cincinnati Redlegs
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
. In his first four major league games, Cunningham became the first Cardinals player to hit at least two home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s. This feat was equaled 62 years later on April 6, 2016, when Jeremy Hazelbaker
Jeremy Philip Hazelbaker (born August 14, 1987) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks, and in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) fo ...
also hit two home runs in his first four games.
Cunningham's 1959 season was arguably his best individual year. He led the National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
in on-base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
at .453 and batted .345 to finish second to Hank Aaron
Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...
for the NL batting title
In baseball, batting average (AVG) is a measure of a batter's success rate in achieving a hit during an at bat. In Major League Baseball (MLB), it is calculated by dividing a player's hits by his at bats (AB). In MLB, a player in each league wins ...
. He was selected to both the first
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
All-Star game that season.[
Cunningham was traded from the Cardinals to the ]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 ...
after the 1961 season in exchange for long-time star Minnie Miñoso
Orestes "Minnie" Miñoso (, ; born Saturnino Orestes Armas Miñoso Arrieta; November 29, 1923 – March 1, 2015), nicknamed "The Cuban Comet" and "Mr. White Sox", was a Cuban professional baseball player. He began his baseball career in the Neg ...
.[ Although his first season as the White Sox first baseman was successful,][ Cunningham would never fully recover from a broken collarbone suffered in a collision on June 3, 1963. He played only 89 games in 1964 and 95 games in 1965, with his batting average dropping to .231 and .229, respectively. He played his final major league game on April 17, 1966, at the age of 34.][
In a 12-season career, Cunningham posted a .291 ]batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
(980-3362) with 64 home runs
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
, 525 runs scored
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...
, and 436 RBI in 1141 games played
Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.
Basebal ...
. His on-base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
was .403 (#48 all time) and slugging percentage
In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...
was .417. He compiled a .989 fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...
. His primary position was first base, in which he played in 608 games. He also played in the outfield, appearing in 404 games in right field and 46 games in left field.[ Cunningham collected 599 walks in his career and struck out only 369 times.
]
Post-playing career
After retiring as a player, Cunningham returned to the Redbirds and managed in their farm system
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
at the Class A level from 1968 to 1971.[ He was subsequently appointed as director of sales of the Cardinals in 1972. In that capacity, he oversaw the establishment of the group and season ticket departments. He was also influential in starting up team programs such as community nights and high school games at ]Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium II, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 through 2005.
The stadium served as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals National League b ...
. He went on to work as a coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Co ...
for the Cardinals during the 1982 season.
Cunningham acted as the Cardinals' community relations director in the early 1990s. He collaborated closely with schools in the St. Louis area and in devising the "Say No To Drugs" program (which later became the Fredbird
Fredbird is the official mascot for the St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball team. He is an anthropomorphic cardinal wearing the team's uniform. Fredbird can always be found entertaining young children during baseball games at Busch Stadium ...
& Friends Elementary School Program). In recognition of his work for the franchise, the Cardinals dedicated a new section of Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) f ...
as "Cunningham Corner" in 2015.
Personal life
Cunningham was married to Kathe Dillard for 60 years until his death.[ One of their two sons, Joe III, played in the minor leagues from 1984 to 1988 and also worked as a batting instructor and manager in the Cardinals' ]farm system
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
.
Cunningham died on March 25, 2021, at his home in Chesterfield, Missouri
Chesterfield is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is a western suburb of St. Louis. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,999, . The broader valley of Chesterfield was originally referred to as "Gumbo Flats", derived ...
.[ He was 89.]
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Joe
1931 births
2021 deaths
Baseball players from Paterson, New Jersey
Chicago White Sox players
Johnson City Cardinals players
Lodi High School (New Jersey) alumni
Major League Baseball first basemen
Major League Baseball outfielders
Minor league baseball managers
National League All-Stars
Omaha Cardinals players
People from Saddle Brook, New Jersey
Rochester Red Wings players
St. Joseph Cardinals players
St. Louis Cardinals coaches
St. Louis Cardinals players
Sportspeople from Paterson, New Jersey
Washington Senators (1961–1971) players
Winston-Salem Cardinals players