juicing goes back to the 19th century with testosterone. hall of fame pitcher pud galvin from the dead ball era admitted to using monkey testosterone in 1889. pitcher whitey ford is accused of doctoring the ball his whole career. foxx claims it was the farm that produced his strength, i know a little about this having worked and played with farm boys, farm work back in the day was akin to a non stop workout. foxx and others didn't play against black city boys... babe ruth was a city boy.
The Babe set the long distance standards to right and right center of all the MLB parks of the era, hitting the ball to the furthest reaches of the parks and beyond.. then Foxx came up and did the same to left and left center. He developed his amazing strength through hardcore farm work and proper nutrition. Foxx hit his longest blasts somewhere around 550' to 560' yet these roiders of today rarely break 500'. Naturally talented athletes are far superior to finely conditioned juicers.
Thanks for this great upload. I have cited the photo of Jimmy Foxx and Ted Williams at 2:23 whenever I challenge current baseball juice records. Everything since the early 90's is suspect. AND a lot of our current and former juicers are going to have liver and cancer problems way before their time. Thanks for the great upload.
Somewhat forgotten facts about Foxx are that he could run like a deer and he won two batting titles(would have been three by todays`rules-in1932 he finished a close runner-up to the leader who only had 454 plate appearances,would have given Foxx the Triple Crown to boot)!Like Walter Johnson,Cal Ripken,and several others,I have never come across any negative comments about this fellow`s character and personality-he was very well liked!
my great grand dad saw both babe ruth and jimmie foxx play many times...he used to tell my dad when he was a kid that foxx could hit the ball harder and farther than ruth. One story involved a low, hard line drive that foxx hit just over the shortstop's head, the shortstop actually jumped and nearly made the play, however the ball kept on sailing and hit the left center field wall in mid air about 400 ft away, then bounced all the way back to the infield.
I live in Sudlersville, and have much respect for one of the greatest Major League baseball players who ever lived !!! I see his memorial everyday when I leave for work & come home !!!
@Jeffrey2038 Well, he did play in Philadelphia which was a big market, but if he played in New York, he would have been much more famous than he is today.
He is not as well remembered as he should be for the fearsome hitter that he was. For many years he ad the record as most career homers by a right handed batter. And were it not for a HOF catcher on the Athletics, Foxx might have been known as the greatest catcher of all time as that was his position before joining the pro's.
I've often thought of Foxx as the right-handed Ruth. Great hitter with enormous power, good fielder, good speed, all of which Ruth had in his prime and even somewhat beyond --
Very well done. I think if Foxx came by a half-century later he would have been groomed to be a NFL linebacker. It wasnt all just strength as he also hit for average.
Foxx was better than Dimaggio. Foxx is probably the most underrated player of all time. Dimaggio was still a great player but was not as good as Foxx.
@Brookssee821 Tough call. Two things: DiMaggio played under a tremendous handicap being a rightie in the old Yankee Stadium built for lefties,and DiMaggio was a great defensive ball player Foxx was not. Among 1st basemen I think Gehrig was a hair better than Foxx, but certainly you can make a strong case for Foxx.
@trajan75... agree about the handicap for Dimag...BTW, Yankee Stadium wasnt even a picnic for lefties! 407 to right center when i used to watch...429 in Ruth/Gehrig's day. If you didnt pull the ball right down the line you had problems. Even Ruth and Gehrig hit more homers on the road... Maris hit more homers on the road the year he hit 61. But i will say that Shibe Park was no easy hitters park in Foxx's day... of course then he got to play in Fenway and it was open season!
Isn't weird how many of the old great hit the ball exactly the opposite of what being taught today. Today your taught to keep 60% of your weight on your back foot and "stay back" on your swing. The old greats like Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, and others almost exclusively hit off their front foot almost lunging at the ball.
@TheUnderpaidTeacher Well, I think they usually say -- "they" being contemporary hitting coaches -- to keep weight back during the stride, so you don't get out to the front foot too early. I think pretty much everybody today believes there has to be some weight transfer, just a question of how much. What I find interesting is that so many of the old greats told others to hit off their back legs, when they in fact did almost lunge at the ball:)
@TheUnderpaidTeacher Oh, almost forgot -- also interesting that Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Hornsby, Greenberg, Williams, so many dropped their hands to cock them before the swing. When I played high school ball in the 1970s, they called that sort of thing a "hitch" and told us to avoid it. Ironic, since the only true slugger on our JV team -- and this kid hit some WAY long homers -- HAD a "hitch." Go figure:).
I agree that he's a beast of a hitter, especially since I'm a Sox fan. But I'd day that Albert Pujols is pretty close in comparison, by means of average + power + defensive ability.
@JoeRyan33 Yep and most people dont even know his name. They know Ruth, Cobb, Williams, Gehrig etc but never Foxx. Just an incredible hitter. The second fastest guy to hit 500 HRs. First if you dont count Arod considering the Steroid controversy. Unfortunately he took a nosedive after that and was never the same because of drinking and health problems otherwise he might very well be the all time HR leader. He was kinda like the Ken Griffy JR of the old era.
The same kind of thing happened to Mays, interestingly enough. He began a very rapid decline at age 33-34, and his last really dominant year was 1963, which -- if I recall correctly -- was the year of his last World Series (vs. the Yankees).
Uh, Mays hit 52 home runs in 1965, and 37 the following year. His bat speed started to slow down in '67, when he was 36. His last series was actually in 1973, when he was with the Mets, but his last one as a dominant player was 1962.
In terms of brute force, Foxx is tops. People forget about two things though, his career batting average - .325. And the fact that his defense is among the best of all 500 HR hitters (behind Mays and possibly Mantle) many claim he was one of the best defensive first basemen of his time as well. Jimmie Foxx is without a doubt in my top five greatest players of all time.
hank aaron won gold gloves, and arod has great defense and griffey. 30 homeruns for i believe 12 years straight. i like him but there were some great players on that athletics team. they had a bench of for sure hall of famers.
Foxx was the most versatile of the 500 home run club. He played every position except second base, and even pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies at the end of his career. Mr. Versatile pitched a total of 23 innings with an earned run average of only 1.57
My grandfather, born in 1900, saw Double XX play many times and absolutely loved him! He truly was the " Right-handed " Babe Ruth, was a terrific athlete, incredible versatile and one of the top 5 pure " Power Hitters" in MLB History. Ted Williams was in complete awe of the way Foxx could crush a Baseball... high praise indeed !
In the end, it was "The Beast's" generous nature that so many friends and teammates loved, and unfortunately was a leading factor in the series of events that destroyed his life. A combination of failed business ventures and constant giving to others, led to eventual bankruptcy and elevated alcoholism.
Manyobserversclaim that Foxx hit more tape-measure homers than anyone in history including Ruth and Mantle Foxx may have hit the longest home run in Yankee Stadium history, Mantle has received the accolades for the same feat. Mantle's blast, which is recognized as the furthest ball hit at Yankee Stadium, hit the facade at the top of the third deck in right field. Foxx hit his blast only three feet from the top of the third deck facade in left field which is considerably deeper than right field
The most interesting statistic for Foxx's 1932 season, wasn't how many homers he hit, but how many he lost. Two home runs were taken away because of rain, and approximately 10 home runs taken away because of newly constructed outfield screens in Cleveland, St. Louis and Philadelphia, that were not erected until after Ruth hit 60. All in all, poor Jimmie lost 12 home runs, which would have givin him a total of 70.
Despite Foxx's menacing presence, people who knew Foxx would tell you he was an even better person than he was a player. When you take into consideration what Foxx has accomplished as a player, that is quite a compliment
Jimmie Foxx was perhaps the most powerful hitter of his time. You might be thinking, "Didn't he play during the same era as Babe Ruth, that's impossible?" The answer is yes, but if you ask people who saw both men at bat, many will tell you that it was Foxx who had more raw power
juicing goes back to the 19th century with testosterone. hall of fame pitcher pud galvin from the dead ball era admitted to using monkey testosterone in 1889. pitcher whitey ford is accused of doctoring the ball his whole career. foxx claims it was the farm that produced his strength, i know a little about this having worked and played with farm boys, farm work back in the day was akin to a non stop workout. foxx and others didn't play against black city boys... babe ruth was a city boy.
tomitstube 1 month ago
you know this guy pulled some "dames" back then
DiceyJJ 2 months ago
Great post and hard to imagine I had never heard his name until a movie A league of their own and then of course the trusty internet. Good stuff.
thinkorthwim69 5 months ago
The Babe set the long distance standards to right and right center of all the MLB parks of the era, hitting the ball to the furthest reaches of the parks and beyond.. then Foxx came up and did the same to left and left center. He developed his amazing strength through hardcore farm work and proper nutrition. Foxx hit his longest blasts somewhere around 550' to 560' yet these roiders of today rarely break 500'. Naturally talented athletes are far superior to finely conditioned juicers.
TwoThreeNineJohn 6 months ago
He wasn't born. He was trapped.
Dietpepsivanilla 7 months ago
definitely a juicer
SuperOlds88 7 months ago
Thanks for this great upload. I have cited the photo of Jimmy Foxx and Ted Williams at 2:23 whenever I challenge current baseball juice records. Everything since the early 90's is suspect. AND a lot of our current and former juicers are going to have liver and cancer problems way before their time. Thanks for the great upload.
pkneeno 8 months ago
what i wouldnt give to get me one of those A's jerseys at 0:38
reeboonree 9 months ago 2
Somewhat forgotten facts about Foxx are that he could run like a deer and he won two batting titles(would have been three by todays`rules-in1932 he finished a close runner-up to the leader who only had 454 plate appearances,would have given Foxx the Triple Crown to boot)!Like Walter Johnson,Cal Ripken,and several others,I have never come across any negative comments about this fellow`s character and personality-he was very well liked!
brianwells456comcast 10 months ago
a hitch in his swing though?....man, Teddy Ballgame was skinny!
BSlash24 10 months ago
Thank you whoever put this up. Foxx and Simmons were the 2 greatest Athletics whoever played the game.
McDago100 1 year ago
i have his card but its 2010 refracter...
treyrulz555 1 year ago
my great grand dad saw both babe ruth and jimmie foxx play many times...he used to tell my dad when he was a kid that foxx could hit the ball harder and farther than ruth. One story involved a low, hard line drive that foxx hit just over the shortstop's head, the shortstop actually jumped and nearly made the play, however the ball kept on sailing and hit the left center field wall in mid air about 400 ft away, then bounced all the way back to the infield.
jsg2891 1 year ago
On some site he is compared to barry bonds. When you consider "JUICING" of mordern day players, there is no comparison!
dgtxdutch 1 year ago
Undoubtedly, Jimmie Foxx was the most underrated baseball players of all-time.
villanovakid84 1 year ago
I live in Sudlersville, and have much respect for one of the greatest Major League baseball players who ever lived !!! I see his memorial everyday when I leave for work & come home !!!
Richard Brusca Jr.
Artifactman1 1 year ago
It's a shame he didn't play in a big city market in his prime.
Jeffrey2038 1 year ago
@Jeffrey2038 Well, he did play in Philadelphia which was a big market, but if he played in New York, he would have been much more famous than he is today.
villanovakid84 1 year ago
One of the greatest players of his era- Too bad alcohol did him in.
rayjr62 1 year ago
He is not as well remembered as he should be for the fearsome hitter that he was. For many years he ad the record as most career homers by a right handed batter. And were it not for a HOF catcher on the Athletics, Foxx might have been known as the greatest catcher of all time as that was his position before joining the pro's.
keagleman21 1 year ago
The greatest Power Hitter of all time!!!!!!!!!!!
Wehategod 1 year ago
I've often thought of Foxx as the right-handed Ruth. Great hitter with enormous power, good fielder, good speed, all of which Ruth had in his prime and even somewhat beyond --
stevevandien 2 years ago 2
I like that the Tom Hanks character in ''A League of Thier Own'' was based on Foxx.
Gorbachenko 2 years ago
Very well done. I think if Foxx came by a half-century later he would have been groomed to be a NFL linebacker. It wasnt all just strength as he also hit for average.
chuckmeehan 2 years ago
Jamie Foxx was better!
TheMusicfreak66 2 years ago
Foxx was better than Dimaggio. Foxx is probably the most underrated player of all time. Dimaggio was still a great player but was not as good as Foxx.
Brookssee821 2 years ago 2
@Brookssee821 Tough call. Two things: DiMaggio played under a tremendous handicap being a rightie in the old Yankee Stadium built for lefties,and DiMaggio was a great defensive ball player Foxx was not. Among 1st basemen I think Gehrig was a hair better than Foxx, but certainly you can make a strong case for Foxx.
trajan75 2 years ago 2
@trajan75... agree about the handicap for Dimag...BTW, Yankee Stadium wasnt even a picnic for lefties! 407 to right center when i used to watch...429 in Ruth/Gehrig's day. If you didnt pull the ball right down the line you had problems. Even Ruth and Gehrig hit more homers on the road... Maris hit more homers on the road the year he hit 61. But i will say that Shibe Park was no easy hitters park in Foxx's day... of course then he got to play in Fenway and it was open season!
batugan77 1 year ago
i think jimmie foxx was juiced
MrSylinder 2 years ago
Hey stupid when Foxx played there were no steriods available. Try to use your brain, if you have one.
vibra64 2 years ago
Ted Williams once said that after Dimaggio, Foxx was the best all-around player he'd seen ---
stevevandien 2 years ago 9
@stevevandien True, very true. And it means alot coming from the second greatest hitter ever.
TheGinger48 1 year ago
@stevevandien
Isn't weird how many of the old great hit the ball exactly the opposite of what being taught today. Today your taught to keep 60% of your weight on your back foot and "stay back" on your swing. The old greats like Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, and others almost exclusively hit off their front foot almost lunging at the ball.
TheUnderpaidTeacher 1 year ago
@TheUnderpaidTeacher Well, I think they usually say -- "they" being contemporary hitting coaches -- to keep weight back during the stride, so you don't get out to the front foot too early. I think pretty much everybody today believes there has to be some weight transfer, just a question of how much. What I find interesting is that so many of the old greats told others to hit off their back legs, when they in fact did almost lunge at the ball:)
stevevandien 1 year ago
@TheUnderpaidTeacher Oh, almost forgot -- also interesting that Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Hornsby, Greenberg, Williams, so many dropped their hands to cock them before the swing. When I played high school ball in the 1970s, they called that sort of thing a "hitch" and told us to avoid it. Ironic, since the only true slugger on our JV team -- and this kid hit some WAY long homers -- HAD a "hitch." Go figure:).
stevevandien 1 year ago
look at his career stats...he faded out badly...if he had kept up the pace he would have equaled ruth..what a tremendous ball player...xx
victorkipp 2 years ago 2
True; check out double XX' stats with the Cubs in the 40's and then completing his career with the Phillies (or..Blue Jays!) in '45.
Still, double X is a Hall of Famer of Hall of Famers; at one time second to only the Babe!
startover942 2 years ago
Wish I could have seen him play.
OaklandWhiteElephant 2 years ago
Pure natural strength, the old fashioned way.
No player since has had the combination of average, power and discipline at the plate, not to mention excellent glovework and baserunning skills.
The right handed answer to Ruth, Foxx is the greatest right handed slugger in baseball history.
JoeRyan33 2 years ago 15
I agree that he's a beast of a hitter, especially since I'm a Sox fan. But I'd day that Albert Pujols is pretty close in comparison, by means of average + power + defensive ability.
thekillercure21 2 years ago 3
Excellenty put! I would like to, however, present to you the ultimate challenge: Foxx versus Mays in a battle of righty sluggers.
Regardless of who would win, this holds true: those who witness win big time!
startover942 2 years ago
@JoeRyan33 Rogers Hornsby is the greatest Right Handed Hitter of all time but "XX" is in the Top 3
jseph1234567890 1 year ago
@JoeRyan33 Yep and most people dont even know his name. They know Ruth, Cobb, Williams, Gehrig etc but never Foxx. Just an incredible hitter. The second fastest guy to hit 500 HRs. First if you dont count Arod considering the Steroid controversy. Unfortunately he took a nosedive after that and was never the same because of drinking and health problems otherwise he might very well be the all time HR leader. He was kinda like the Ken Griffy JR of the old era.
destroyer8604 6 months ago
Foxx really was a beast. Check out his stats sometime - absolutely eye-popping.
This, of course, was not only way before the age of steroids, but even up until the 1980s, just lifting weights was forbidden to baseball players.
all66books 2 years ago 2
Nice Tarzan yell!
What a BEAST!!!
Rukidding57 2 years ago
Check out 2:50 -- he was out of the batter's box. He should have been called out. :-)
Srsly, though, what an amazing hitter.
Kirok 2 years ago
Very cool tribute to an oft-forgotten great one!
SnoreBear44 2 years ago 2
Foxx hit a Home Run every 15.2 At Bats in his MLB Career
MIKESOWELL 2 years ago
its such a shame he was so good but then once he hit age 32 he became a shadow of his former self
popydude 2 years ago
The same kind of thing happened to Mays, interestingly enough. He began a very rapid decline at age 33-34, and his last really dominant year was 1963, which -- if I recall correctly -- was the year of his last World Series (vs. the Yankees).
Kirok 2 years ago
Uh, Mays hit 52 home runs in 1965, and 37 the following year. His bat speed started to slow down in '67, when he was 36. His last series was actually in 1973, when he was with the Mets, but his last one as a dominant player was 1962.
buckfan1969 2 years ago 3
Strange but true: Jimmie was FAST, too, in his younger years, beating supposed speedsters in footraces.
noirhead 3 years ago
In terms of brute force, Foxx is tops. People forget about two things though, his career batting average - .325. And the fact that his defense is among the best of all 500 HR hitters (behind Mays and possibly Mantle) many claim he was one of the best defensive first basemen of his time as well. Jimmie Foxx is without a doubt in my top five greatest players of all time.
switchhitter07 3 years ago 3
hank aaron won gold gloves, and arod has great defense and griffey. 30 homeruns for i believe 12 years straight. i like him but there were some great players on that athletics team. they had a bench of for sure hall of famers.
DCProductions77 2 years ago
Foxx was the most versatile of the 500 home run club. He played every position except second base, and even pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies at the end of his career. Mr. Versatile pitched a total of 23 innings with an earned run average of only 1.57
baberuthbambino 3 years ago 4
@baberuthbambino
My grandfather, born in 1900, saw Double XX play many times and absolutely loved him! He truly was the " Right-handed " Babe Ruth, was a terrific athlete, incredible versatile and one of the top 5 pure " Power Hitters" in MLB History. Ted Williams was in complete awe of the way Foxx could crush a Baseball... high praise indeed !
kirbycol4 1 year ago 2
In the end, it was "The Beast's" generous nature that so many friends and teammates loved, and unfortunately was a leading factor in the series of events that destroyed his life. A combination of failed business ventures and constant giving to others, led to eventual bankruptcy and elevated alcoholism.
baberuthbambino 3 years ago
Manyobserversclaim that Foxx hit more tape-measure homers than anyone in history including Ruth and Mantle Foxx may have hit the longest home run in Yankee Stadium history, Mantle has received the accolades for the same feat. Mantle's blast, which is recognized as the furthest ball hit at Yankee Stadium, hit the facade at the top of the third deck in right field. Foxx hit his blast only three feet from the top of the third deck facade in left field which is considerably deeper than right field
baberuthbambino 3 years ago 3
The most interesting statistic for Foxx's 1932 season, wasn't how many homers he hit, but how many he lost. Two home runs were taken away because of rain, and approximately 10 home runs taken away because of newly constructed outfield screens in Cleveland, St. Louis and Philadelphia, that were not erected until after Ruth hit 60. All in all, poor Jimmie lost 12 home runs, which would have givin him a total of 70.
baberuthbambino 3 years ago 2
Despite Foxx's menacing presence, people who knew Foxx would tell you he was an even better person than he was a player. When you take into consideration what Foxx has accomplished as a player, that is quite a compliment
baberuthbambino 3 years ago 3
Jimmie Foxx was perhaps the most powerful hitter of his time. You might be thinking, "Didn't he play during the same era as Babe Ruth, that's impossible?" The answer is yes, but if you ask people who saw both men at bat, many will tell you that it was Foxx who had more raw power
baberuthbambino 3 years ago
Jimmie Foxx & the old Philadelphia Athletics!!!!
The Greatest teem of ALL TIMe ! 1929-1931
russphilly 3 years ago
I meant 16th not 14th in ranking but still very impressive
MIKESOWELL 3 years ago
More than 60 years after he retired his 534 Career Homeruns still rank 14th All Time. He physically fell apart after age 33.
MIKESOWELL 3 years ago
The greatest right handed hitter along with Mays
killa365187 3 years ago
most talented ballplayer ever
baberuthbambino 3 years ago