Charles Wesley James (born December 22, 1937) is a retired 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 ...
player
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...
. James was an
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 c ...
over all or parts of six
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), ...
seasons (1960–65) with 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 ...
and
Cincinnati Reds, appearing in 510
games. Born in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, he grew up in suburban
Rock Hill and graduated from
Webster Groves High School
Webster Groves High School is a public secondary school in Webster Groves, Missouri, United States. It is located at 100 Selma Ave, Webster Groves, MO. The school is part of the Webster Groves School District and its current principal is Matt Irvi ...
. James was also a
letterman
Letterman may refer to:
* Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States
People
* David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host
** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...
as a
football halfback for the
University of Missouri Tigers in 1956 and 1957 before starting his professional baseball career. He later earned a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in
electrical engineering at
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
.
James threw and batted right-handed and was listed as tall and . He signed with his hometown Cardinals and began his baseball career in the high minors in 1958, where he collected 104
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 ba ...
in the
Double-A Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
and made the
Triple-A International League's All-Star team in successive seasons.
The Cardinals recalled him in
August 1960, and he spent the rest of his baseball career in the majors. James platooned in
right field with left-handed hitter
Joe Cunningham in , then was the Redbirds' most-used right-fielder in , starting 95 games and
hitting a career-best .276. In , he shared the
left field
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...
job with
Baseball Hall of Famer
Stan Musial in Musial's last season in the game. He began as the Cardinals' regular left fielder, but after he had started 40 games, St. Louis acquired future Hall of Famer
Lou Brock
Louis Clark Brock (June 18, 1939September 6, 2020) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent most of it as a left fielder for the St. Louis Ca ...
from the
Chicago Cubs on June 15, and Brock took command of the position, hitting .348 and leading the Cardinals into the
1964 World Series
The 1964 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1964 season. The 61st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the Amer ...
. James spent the rest of the season as an occasional right fielder and frequent
pinch hitter, and his batting average fell to .223.
Retrosheet
Retrosheet is a nonprofit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores from every major ...
1961–1964 fielding logs for Charlie James
/ref> In the World Series 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 ...
, James was hitless in three at bats
In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...
as a pinch hitter, but the Cardinals prevailed in seven games and James earned a championship ring.
James was traded to the Reds that offseason but his playing load was reduced even further in . He appeared in only 26 games and collected only eight hits in 39 at bats. Although he went to spring training with the Reds, he did not make the early-season 28-man roster, and retired rather than report to Triple-A.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, and 172 runs batted in. With his degree in electrical engineering, he built a successful business career as the president of a Missouri-based manufacturing company, retiring in 1998.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Charlie
1937 births
Living people
Baseball players from St. Louis
Charleston Senators players
Cincinnati Reds players
Houston Buffaloes players
Major League Baseball outfielders
McKelvey School of Engineering alumni
Missouri Tigers baseball players
Missouri Tigers football players
Rochester Red Wings players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Webster Groves High School alumni