Jim Bottomley Marquee Hall of Fame 1974

b. April 23, 1900 · St. Louis Cardinals 1922–1932, Cincinnati Reds 1933–1935, St. Louis Browns 1936–1937

Bottomley was the first star produced by Branch Rickey's Cardinals farm system, the arrangement that let a club without money grow its own players instead of buying them. He took over first base in St. Louis in 1923 and drove in at least 100 runs in six consecutive seasons, 1924 through 1929.

He led the National League in doubles in 1925 and 1926 and in hits in 1925, with 227. Three years later he led it in home runs with 31, in runs batted in with 136, and in triples with 20, all in the same season. He had also led in runs batted in with 120 in 1926.

His playing time fell away after 1929, and St. Louis traded him to Cincinnati following the 1932 season; he closed out with the Browns. He had hit for the cycle against the Phillies on July 15, 1927. He finished with 2,313 hits, 219 home runs, 1,422 runs batted in, and a .310 average. Cooperstown elected him in 1974, fourteen years after his death.

Honors

Award	Times	Years
Baseball Magazine All-Star	2	1925, 1928
Most Valuable Player	1	1928
The Sporting News All-Star	1	1925

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1922	STL	37	151	29	49	8	5	5	35	6	13	3	.325
1923	STL	134	523	79	194	34	14	8	94	45	44	4	.371
1924	STL	137	528	87	167	31	12	14	111	35	35	5	.316
1925	STL	153	619	92	227	44	12	21	128	47	36	3	.367
1926	STL	154	603	98	180	40	14	19	120	58	52	4	.299
1927	STL	152	574	95	174	31	15	19	124	74	49	8	.303
1928	STL	149	576	123	187	42	20	31	136	71	54	10	.325
1929	STL	146	560	108	176	31	12	29	137	70	54	3	.314
1930	STL	131	487	92	148	33	7	15	97	44	36	5	.304
1931	STL	108	382	73	133	34	5	9	75	34	24	3	.348
1932	STL	91	311	45	92	16	3	11	48	25	32	2	.296
1933	CIN	145	549	57	137	23	9	13	83	42	28	3	.250
1934	CIN	142	556	72	158	31	11	11	78	33	40	1	.284
1935	CIN	107	399	44	103	21	1	1	49	18	24	3	.258
1936	SLB	140	544	72	162	39	11	12	95	44	55	0	.298
1937	SLB	65	109	11	26	7	0	1	12	18	15	1	.239
Career	—	1991	7471	1177	2313	465	151	219	1422	664	591	58	.310

On this day & linked events

1900

Born April 23, 1900

Oglesby, IL, USA

1959

Died December 11, 1959

1922

Major-league debut: Jim Bottomley

Jim Bottomley made a major-league debut on August 18, 1922.

1927

Jim Bottomley Hits for the Cycle, 1927

Jim Bottomley hit for the cycle for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 15, 1927.

1937

Final major-league game: Jim Bottomley

Jim Bottomley played a final major-league game on September 16, 1937.

Image: Goudey, public domain