James Barton "Mickey" Vernon (April 22, 1918 – September 24, 2008) was an American

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)

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 ...

who played for the Washington Senators (1939–1948, 1950–1955),

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 Fi ...

(1949–1950, 1958),

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 eigh ...

(1956–1957), Milwaukee Braves (1959) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1960). He also was the first

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

in the history of the expansion edition of the Senators (now the Texas Rangers), serving from 1961 through May 21, 1963, and was 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 four MLB teams between 1960 and 1982. Vernon retired as a player in 1960 with 2,495 hits, and holds the major league record for career double plays at first base (2,044). He has 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) record for career games (2,227), putouts (19,754), assists (1,444) and

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

(21,408). The lanky Vernon was listed as tall and ; he batted and threw left-handed.

Early life

Mickey Vernon was born in

Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania Marcus Hook is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,397 at the 2010 census. The current mayor is Gene Taylor. The borough calls itself "The Cornerstone of Pennsylvania". The 2005 film ''One Last Thing''... was set an ...

, and attended

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Penns ...

, before making his major league debut on July 8, 1939. He was the father of Gay Vernon. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, missing the 1944 and 1945 seasons. He served with major league players

Larry Doby Lawrence Eugene Doby (December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who was the second black player to break baseball's color barrier and the first black pl ...

and

Billy Goodman William Dale Goodman (March 22, 1926 – October 1, 1984) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) infielder who played 16 seasons for the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, and Houston Colt .45s, from 1947 through 1962. Go ...

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the larges ...

in the South Pacific in 1945; both Goodman and Vernon personally inspired Doby to become a major league baseball player; Doby became the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

to break the

baseball color line The color line, also known as the color barrier, in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Major League Baseball and its affiliated Minor Leagues until 1947 (with a few notable exceptions in the 19th century before the l ...

in the

in 1947 with the Cleveland Indians.

Baseball career

Playing career

Vernon played for 14 full major league seasons (400 at bats or more) in his 20-year career. He wound up

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

over .335 twice, over .300 five times, and over .290 nine times. He was a two-time

batting champion. In , his .353 batting mark eclipsed

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1 ...

' .342 by 11 points. Then, in , Vernon's .337 average denied Cleveland's

Al Rosen Albert Leonard Rosen (February 29, 1924 – March 13, 2015), nicknamed "Flip" and "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American baseball third baseman and right-handed slugger for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball for ten seasons in the 194 ...

(.336) the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

by just one one-thousandth of a point. The following year, , Vernon had a career-high 20 home runs, 97 RBIs, and 14 triples. He led the AL with 33 doubles and 67 extra-base hits. He also had 294

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, whil ...

, which was second in the AL, behind

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 ...

. Over time, Vernon became one of the best-liked ballplayers, mainly through his unique personality and charismatic, but quiet, style. On September 1, 1960, after a season spent as the Pittsburgh Pirates' first-base

, Vernon was placed on the active list when MLB rosters expanded to 40 men. He appeared in nine regular-season games as a pinch hitter for Pittsburgh, notching an RBI single and an

intentional walk In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by ''IBB'', is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the ...

in his nine plate appearances to become one of only 29 players in baseball history to have appeared in a major league game in four decades. By his final game played, on September 27, 1960, he was, at 42, the oldest player in 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 ...

by almost a year, and one of the most popular figures in the game. He appeared in 2,409 MLB games without playing in the postseason, third most in history behind

Ernie Banks Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between ...

and

Luke Appling Lucius Benjamin "Luke" Appling (April 2, 1907 – January 3, 1991), nicknamed "Old Aches and Pains" was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Chicago White Sox (1930–1950). He was elected to the Base ...

. Notably, on September 25, 1960, during Vernon's time on the active list, the Pirates clinched the NL pennant; but he was not on the Pirate playing roster for the

1960 World Series The 1960 World Series was played between the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League (NL) and the New York Yankees of the American League (AL) from October 5–13, 1960. In Game 7, Bill Mazeroski hit the series winning ninth-inning home run, ...

, resuming his full-time coaching duties. He earned a World Series ring when the Bucs triumphed in seven games over the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. Vernon posted a career .286 batting average with 172 home runs and 1,311 RBIs in 2,409 games. The left-hander averaged 88 RBIs a year, and had 11 seasons with 80 or more, 3 with 90 or more. He scored 1,196 runs with 137 stolen bases and a .359 on-base percentage. His career slugging percentage was .428, with a career high of .518 in 1953. He compiled 2,495 hits, with 490 doubles and 120 triples, in 8,731 at bats. He had 3,741 career total bases, with his career high coming in 1953 (315).

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

once said, "If I had a two run lead, and the bases were loaded in the ninth inning, and Mickey Vernon was up...I'd walk him and pitch to the next hitter."

Ned Garver Ned Franklin Garver (December 25, 1925 – February 26, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns (1948–1952), the Detroit Tigers (1952–1956), the Kansas City Athle ...

recalled that in Vernon's finest seasons, "He'd hit the ball wherever it was pitched. He was difficult to pitch to in those seasons."

Coaching and managing

Vernon's career as a coach and manager began during his 1960 stint on the staff of his longtime friend, Pirates' skipper

Danny Murtaugh Daniel Edward Murtaugh (October 8, 1917 – December 2, 1976) was an American second baseman, manager, front-office executive, and coach in Major League Baseball ( MLB). Murtaugh is best known for his 29-year association with the Pittsburgh Pira ...

. The following year, in , he returned to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

when he was named manager of the expansion Senators in their first

year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hou ...

of existence. Inheriting the name and

home field In sports, home is the place and venue identified with a team sport. Most professional teams are named for, and marketed to, particular metropolitan areas; amateur teams may be drawn from a particular region, or from institutions such as sch ...

of the 1901–1960 Washington franchise, now the Minnesota Twins, the expansion Senators were hastily constructed with an undercapitalized ownership, an MLB roster of castoff players, and an almost-nonexistent farm system. In Vernon's two full seasons at the helm, 1961 and , the Senators lost a combined 201 games. They were 14–26 and last in the ten-team American League when Vernon was fired on May 21, 1963. He finished with a career record of 135–227, a .373

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

. Vernon remained in the game into the 1980s as a major league coach for the Pirates (returning there for a second term in 1964), St. Louis Cardinals (1965),

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

(1977–78) and Yankees (1982). He also managed at the Triple-A and Double-A levels of the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

, and served as a roving batting instructor for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, Kansas City Royals and Yankees before retiring from baseball.

Death

Vernon died from a stroke at age 90, on September 24, 2008. He had resided in

Media, Pennsylvania Media is a borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located about west of Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation with 1.6 million residents as 2020. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolita ...

MLB highlights

* MLB Record: Double plays at first base (2,044) * American League All-Star (1946, 1948, 1953–1956, 1958) * American League batting champion (1946, 1953) * American League leader in doubles (1946, 1953, 1954) * American League leader in extra base hits (1954) * American League leader in

fielding average 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, divi ...

(1950-1952, 1954) * American League top 10 in MVP voting (1946, 1953, 1954) * American League top 10 in triples (1941, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1951–1955)

Legacy

In August 2008, he was named as one of the ten former players who began their careers before 1943 to be considered by the

Veterans Committee The Veterans Committee is the popular name of various committees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum that elect participants other than recently retired players. Originally, it referenced the National Baseball Hall of Fame Committee ...

for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. Playing in four different decades (1939–1960), Vernon ended his career with 2,237 games at first base, second to only

Jake Beckley Jacob Peter Beckley (August 4, 1867 – June 25, 1918), nicknamed "Eagle Eye", was an American professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, Pittsburgh Burghers, Pittsburgh Pirates, New Y ...

(2,377) in major league history. He led the American League in fielding percentage four times, and the majors twice. He became one of the few first basemen to finish his career with a .990 fielding percentage, and participated in more double plays than any other. The Mickey Vernon Museum Collection in Radnor, Pennsylvania, honors Vernon's career, military service, and friendship with Murtaugh, among other artifacts. Vernon is interred at the Lawn Croft Cemetery in

Linwood, Pennsylvania Linwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,281 at the 2010 census. Geography Linwood is located in southern Delaware County at (39.825945, -75.422808). It occupies the easter ...

.Baseball Almanac
/ref>

References

External links

Mickey Vernon
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Interview with Mickey Vernon
conducted by

Eugene Murdock Eugene Converse Murdock (April 30, 1921 – July 23, 1992) was an historian and author best known for his research into baseball. Early life and education Eugene C. Murdock was born in Lakewood, Ohio, on April 30, 1921, and attended school the ...

, February 19, 1974, in Marietta, Ohio (40 minutes) * : {{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Mickey 1918 births 2008 deaths American League All-Stars American League batting champions Baseball players from Pennsylvania Boston Red Sox players Burials at Lawn Croft Cemetery Cleveland Indians players Easton Browns players Jersey City Giants players Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball hitting coaches Milwaukee Braves players Montreal Expos coaches New York Yankees coaches New York Yankees scouts People from Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania People from Media, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Cardinals coaches Sportspeople from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Springfield Nationals players United States Navy personnel of World War II Villanova Wildcats baseball players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Washington Senators (1961–1971) managers