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James Edward Hegan
Cleveland Indians
Catcher
Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'2" Weight: 195
Born: August 3, 1920, Lynn, MA
Signed: Signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent before 1938 season
Major League Teams: Cleveland Indians 1941-1942, 1946-1957; Detroit Tigers 1958; Philadelphia Phillies 1958-1959; San Francisco Giants 1959; Chicago Cubs 1960
Died: June 17, 1984, Lynn, MA (age 63)
Interrupted by three years of military service during World War II, Jim Hegan played 17 seasons in the big leagues as an All-Star catcher and then as a dependable back-up catcher in his later years. With the Indians in the late 1940s and early 1950s, he was named to five All-Star Games and received A.L. MVP votes in 1948 and 1954, the two seasons in which the Indians advanced to the World Series. His best season came in 1948, helping the Indians to a World Series ring, and hitting career highs in both home runs (14) and RBIs (61).
Hegan appeared in 1,666 games and was a career .228 hitter. He more than compensated for his low average with his work behind the plate, expertly handling the early 1950s Indians starting pitching rotation consisting of Bob Feller (#200), Bob Lemon (#255), Early Wynn (#187) and Mike Garcia (#210).
Following his playing days, Hegan served as a Yankees coach for 16 seasons from 1960 to 1973 and then again from 1979 to 1980. His son Mike Hegan made his Major League debut with the Yankees in 1964, and the two Hegan's were together for parts of four seasons with the team.
Building the Set
July 31, 1993 in Ocean City, NJ - Card #116
This is one of five 1956 Topps cards I purchased at the Ocean City baseball card show during the summer of '93. My notes indicate we paid $9 for the card, and like the other 1956 Topps cards we purchased that day this card is flawless.
I wrote about the summer of '93 and the first of five cards purchased in my post for Frank House (#32).
The Card
That's Hegan, wearing #4 and coming in spikes high at a play at second base. Given where the fielder's glove is, I'm assuming the umpire was about to call Hegan safe. The portrait photo is the same photo used on Hegan's 1954 and 1955 Topps cards.
The back of his card pays tribute to his status as one of the best defensive catchers in the league. Hegan's record of having caught three no-hitters was later broken by Jason Varitek and Carlos Ruiz, who both caught four no-hitters. (I commemorated Ruiz's record here over at The Phillies Room.) Hegan was on the receiving end of no-hitters from Don Black in 1947, Lemon in 1948 and Feller in 1951.
1956 Season
1956 was to be Hegan's final year as a regular catcher, appearing in 122 games for the Indians at the age of 36. He hit .222 with 6 home runs that season. Prior to the 1958 season, with rookie Russ Nixon ready to take over regular catching duties for the Indians, Hegan was traded to the Tigers.Phillies Career
On July 27, 1958, the Tigers traded Hegan to the Phillies for minor leaguer John Turk and cash. The 1958 Phillies were going nowhere fast and they'd ultimately finish 8th in the National League with a record of 69-85. Hegan appeared in 25 games for the Phillies, serving as a back-up to Stan Lopata (#183) along with fellow catchers Joe Lonnett and Jimmie Coker. Hegan appeared in 25 more games for the Phillies in 1959 before being sold to the Giants on June 14th. His Phillies career consisted of 50 games, where he hit .209 (23 for 110) with no home runs and 14 RBIs.
His 1959 Topps card features him with the Phillies, and the card holds a special place in my collection. I wrote about it here, and this was my first truly "vintage" Phillies baseball card. At the time of its acquisition, I remember marveling that something this old was now in my small but growing collection. This is Hegan's one and only Phillies baseball card, and his last card as an active player.
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First Mainstream Card: 1949 Leaf #28
First Topps Card: 1951 Topps Red Backs #12
Representative Phillies Card: 1959 Topps #372
Last Topps Card (as a player): 1959 Topps #372
First Topps Card (as a coach): 1973 Topps #116
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #29
92 - Hegan non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 4/13/19.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
The Phillies Room
SABR
The Trading Card Database
In some cases, the first and last cards listed above are subjective and chosen by me if multiple cards were released within the same year. Most recent mainstream card may also be subjective and does not include extremely low serial numbered cards, buybacks or cut autograph cards.
1 comment:
Wow. That was some rotation the Indians had back in the 50's. Hegan was a lucky man to have been able to catch all of those guys... and it sounds like those pitchers were lucky to have Hegan crouching down behind home plate.
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