Name/Title
Foxx: Jimmie Foxx Reports to Draft Board, 1944Entry/Object ID
2022.126.001Description
Associated Press Wire photograph of Baseball Hall of Fame player Jamie Foxx reporting to the Draft Board in Millburn, NJ in January 1944. Foxx had moved to Millburn in 1943.
Photo Caption Reads:
Jimmy Foxx Reports to Draft Board, Millburn, NJ, January 25, 1944.
Baseball veteran Jimmy Fox (Left), 36, talks with Draft Board Chairman Stephen Barker (Left) and Noel Stevens (Center), a prospective inductee, before reporting to a Newark Induction center today. Induction Center physicians told Foxx to come back tomorrow for another examination.
AP Wire Photo
Jimmie Foxx
Millburn does not figure prominently in the history of major league baseball but it can say this: It was home to one of the greatest pitchers ever (Walter Johnson), and one of the sport's most feared sluggers, Jimmie Foxx (1907-1967).
Foxx, who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951, played first base (and other positions) in a 20-season career, mainly with the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox. When he retired after the 1945 season his 534 home runs were second only to Babe Ruth's 714. He was named the American League's Most Valuable Player three times; to this day no American League player has won more MVP awards.
Foxx came to Millburn before his marriage here to Dorothy Yard in June 1943. He played in some games with local teams, including a "surprise" appearance as the pitcher for "Millburn's Old Men" in a game against the Millburn High School team. (He pitched five innings, and was followed on the mound by George Bauer, the longtime Township recreation director.)
Foxx volunteered for military service in 1944 and visited the Millburn Draft Board and the Newark induction center, but was rejected because of a sinus condition. He moved to Chicago in 1944 to play with the Chicago Cubs.Acquisition
Accession
2022.126Source or Donor
Lynne RanieriAcquisition Method
Gift
