James Paul Hinson (May 9, 1904 – September 23, 1960) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

and

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

who made three appearances for the 1928 Boston Red Sox of

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) as a pinch runner. Listed at and , he batted and threw right-handed. He later served as a police officer in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Biography

Hinson played in minor league baseball from 1927 to 1930, and again in 1933. In five minor league seasons, he appeared in at least 340 games, with over 140 appearances at both shortstop and third base. Hinson led the

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Weste ...

in stolen bases in 1927, with 48 steals in 120 games; he had a .315

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 ...

that season and had a .922 fielding percentage at third base. He batted .306 in 1929 and .307 in 1930; records for some of his other seasons are incomplete. Hinson appeared in three major league games for 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 eigh ...

in 1928, each time as a pinch runner. He scored one run, and did not get a plate appearance or play defensively. Hinson's first and most successful pinch running appearance came on April 19 against 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 ...

, in the first game of a home doubleheader at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

. With the Yankees leading, 6–3,

Johnnie Heving John Aloysius Heving (April 29, 1896 – December 24, 1968) was an American professional baseball catcher. He played all or part of eight season in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Athletics. ...

led off the bottom of the eighth inning as a pinch hitter for the pitcher; he singled, and Hinson entered the game to run for him.

Ira Flagstead Ira James Flagstead (September 22, 1893 – March 13, 1940), sometimes known as "Pete", was an American baseball player. He played 15 years of professional baseball, principally as an outfielder, including 13 years in Major League Baseball with ...

doubled, advancing Hinson to third base, followed by a ground out by

Phil Todt Philip Julius Todt (August 9, 1901 – November 15, 1973), nicknamed "Hook", was a first baseman in Major League Baseball who played between the and seasons. Listed at , 175 lb., Todt batted and threw left-handed. He was born in Saint Lo ...

, scoring Hinson. The Red Sox scored three more runs to take the lead, 7–6. In the top of the ninth inning, pitcher

Red Ruffing Charles Herbert "Red" Ruffing (May 3, 1905 – February 17, 1986) was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1924 through 1947. He played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, ...

entered the game in place of Hinson, and held the Yankees scoreless to earn a save. Hinson pinch ran in two other games, on May 7 and May 30, but did not score either time. At the beginning of June, the Red Sox optioned Hinson to the

Salem Witches The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom w ...

of the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

; he successfully stole home in his first game with Salem. As well as Hinson and sprinter

Herb Washington In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

, several other players have made a majority of their major league appearances a pinch runner, notably Mel Kerr for the 1925 Chicago Cubs and Gary Hargis for the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. Other teams have occasionally kept pinch-running specialists for brief stretches, such as Matt Alexander, Allan Lewis,

Don Hopkins Don Hopkins is an artist and programmer specializing in human computer interaction and computer graphics. He is an alumnus of the University of Maryland, College Park, University of Maryland and a former member of the University of Maryland Huma ...

and

Larry Lintz Larry Lintz (born October 10, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player whose career extended from 1971 to 1979 and included Major League service with the Montreal Expos (1973–1975), St. Louis Cardinals (1975), Oakland Athletics ...

. Hinson was born in 1904 in

Vanleer, Tennessee Vanleer is a town in Dickson County, Tennessee, Dickson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was estimated to be 422 in 2019, up from 395 at the 2010 census. The town is approximately 49 miles northwest of Nashville and is located withi ...

. During and after his baseball career, he served as a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he was shot in the hip in November 1930 while attempting to capture a burglary suspect. Hinson ultimately became the

chief of police Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the b ...

, before leaving the force in 1957. He died by suicide in Muskogee at the age of 56 in 1960. He was married, with no children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinson, Paul 1904 births 1960 deaths Baseball players from Tennessee People from Dickson County, Tennessee Sportspeople from the Nashville metropolitan area Boston Red Sox players Muskogee Chiefs players St. Joseph Saints players Joplin Miners players Pueblo Braves players Hutchinson Wheatshockers players Bartlesville Broncos players Wichita Oilers players Muskogee Oilers players Salem Witches players American police chiefs Suicides by firearm in Oklahoma 1960 suicides

Biography

References

Further reading

External links