Jim Rivera
Possibly the most daring and exciting baserunner in the American League in the 1950s, Jim Rivera was a legend for his eye-popping plays and swashbuckling personality. He delighted fans with his head-firtst belly-flop slides on the basepaths, and his diving catches in the outfield. His amazing snag of a flyball in Game Five of the 1959 World Series preserved a 1-0 ChiSox victory over the Dodgers. "Jungle Jim" led the AL in steals once and finished runner-up in that category a record six times.
Played For
St. Louis Browns (1952)
Chicago White Sox (1952-1961)
Kansas City Athletics (1961)
Born
Manuel Joseph Rivera was born on July 22, 1922, in New York, NY.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
Primary Position: OF
Primary Team: CHA
Major League Debut
April 15, 1952
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1952
Eddie Mathews
Dick Groat
Harvey Kuenn
Johnny Temple
Jim Rivera
Hoyt Wilhelm
Ron Kline
Stu Miller
Dusty Rhodes
Nicknames
Jungle Jim
Post-Season Appearances
1959 World Series
Transactions
"I'll bet anything that when the season is over, Rivera will have the best batting average on the team and be the best player on the club." Those were the words of Browns manager Rogers Hornsby when he was fired by the team in the midst of the 1952 season. Rivera was batting .206 when Hornsby was canned, and he responded with a red-hot streak under new skipper Marty Marion: 18-for-38 and a .474 pace in six games. However, on July 28, he was traded to the White Sox with Darrell Johnson for two players. Rivera spent the next decade with the ChiSox, becoming a fan favorite.
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