James Emory Foxx (October 22, 1907 – July 21, 1967), nicknamed "Double X" and "the Beast", was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Phillies.

Considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, Foxx became the ninth player to win a Triple Crown and set a then-record for most MVP awards with three.

[8] In April 1924, Foxx met with Frank "Home Run" Baker, a former member of Philadelphia Athletics, and then manager of the minor league Class D level Easton Farmers.

[13] In June, Mack optioned Foxx to the Providence Grays to accumulate time and practice hitting at a higher level instead of sitting on the bench in Shibe Park.

[15] In 1927, Foxx signed a contract for $3,000 (equivalent to $53,336 in 2023);[16] however, because future Baseball Hall of Fame member Mickey Cochrane was still the primary catcher, he remained in a backup role, but had started to transition to first base.

He recorded his first home run on May 31, 1927, against Urban Shocker of the New York Yankees,[17] and finished the season batting .323 over 61 games.

[20] A strong start to the 1930 season showed that Foxx was a hitter to be feared, and on May 30, he recorded the first six-hit game of his career,[21] against the Senators.

[24][25] Although a thumb and wrist injury in August slowed his pace,[4] he still hit 7 home runs and batted .356 over the month.

By modern rules that would have disqualified Alexander, Foxx would have won the Triple Crown with a 15-point lead over the runner up, Lou Gehrig.

He finished the season leading the American league in home runs, RBI, and batting average, which secured him the ninth Triple Crown in MLB history.

In late 1934, Foxx, along with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Charlie Gehringer, among others, went on a tour of Japan and played 18 games against Japanese teams.

[32] The start of the 1935 season saw Foxx return to his original position at catcher because of the loss of Mickey Cochrane to the Detroit Tigers.

[4] After poor performance and a series of injuries to the other Athletic infielders, Connie Mack placed Foxx back at first base.

Connie Mack sold Foxx to the Boston Red Sox along with Johnny Marcum for $150,000 (equivalent to approximately $3,293,525 in 2023 dollars[33]).

He finished in the top 10 in most offensive categories by the end of the season and hit over 40 home runs for the fourth time in his career.

He still continued to hit home runs that would leave the ballpark, including one that left Fenway Park by the center field flagpole.

[4] Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Gomez once joked about a home run hit off him, stating "I knew immediately what it was.

That was a home-run ball hit off me in 1937 by Jimmie Foxx" in response to Apollo astronauts finding objects on the Moon.

Early in the season, he sought treatment for pain caused by his presumed sinus problem on a road trip from Chicago to Washington.

[4] With all of the health problems and chronic pain that Foxx had experienced, he still had an outstanding offensive season, hitting an AL leading 35 home runs and batting over .360.

He finished sixth in MVP balloting and he was an All Star in his final full season in 1941 where he hit .300 and drove in 105 batters over 135 games played.

With the Cubs in 1942, he split time between first base and pinch hitting duties, and by the end of the season, it was clear that his career was in sharp decline.

Foxx set the record for the youngest player to reach 500 home runs at age 32 years and 338 days in the final week of the 1940 Major League Baseball season.

[43] The Red Sox responded by naming Foxx hitting coach of their Triple-A affiliate, the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association, that season.

Known as one of the greatest power hitters of all time, Ted Williams was quoted as saying in response to a question about Foxx breaking Babe Ruth's home run record, "What a man.

"[35] However, long-standing chronic health problems, injuries, heavy drinking, and a marriage of constant abuse and harassment from his first wife all caused his career to be cut short in his 30s.

Tom Hanks's character Jimmy Dugan in the movie A League of Their Own was largely based on Foxx and Hack Wilson, although the producers took a number of liberties in creating the role.

[47] Foxx is mentioned in the poem "Line-Up for Yesterday" by Ogden Nash: X is the firstOf two x's in FoxxWho was right behind RuthWith his powerful soxx.