Jim Hickman

Known as “Gentleman Jim” and the “Ice Man,” Tennessee native Jim Hickman toiled for six years in the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization before the newly formed New York Mets selected him in the 1962 expansion draft. While the Mets compiled a 260-547 record under managers Casey Stengel and Wes Westrum, Hickman had his share of ups and downs for a team that finished in last place four out of its first five seasons.

By August 1968, however, he was a key member of the Chicago Cubs, who were consistently competitive between 1968 and 1972. Hickman’s greatest personal achievement came in 1970 when he was named to the National League All-Star team and drove in the winning run in the All-Star Game in Cincinnati.

“If there was ever an unexpected hero in Cub history, it was Jim Hickman,” authors Eddie Gold and Art Ahrens wrote in 1985. “A near-nothing for a dozen years, he emerged as an overnight hero when least expected.”1

James Lucius Hickman was born in Henning, Tennessee, on May 10, 1937, the only child of James William and Louise (Wilkes) Hickman. Henning, located about 40 miles north of Memphis, Tennessee, had a population of approximately 400 at the time. Hickman’s father was an independent truck driver; his mother was a seamstress for a clothing factory in nearby Ripley, Tennessee.2 After the couple retired, they operated a cafe in Henning for a short time.

Hickman lettered and received scholarship offers in baseball, basketball, and football at Ripley High School.3 “Ripley had summer ball of some kind,” son Bill said. “[But] everything started from when he was in high school.”4 Hickman pitched and played first, second and third base, and in the outfield. “He could throw a corn husk 75 to 80 miles an hour,” his son Joey said. “My dad was just gifted. He could do a little bit of everything in athletics.”5

Hickman played freshman basketball at the University of Mississippi for one semester and attended Memphis State University6 for two years during the offseason.

Signed by St. Louis Cardinals scout W.H. “Buddy” Lewis before the 1956 season, Hickman was assigned to the Class-D Albany (Georgia) Cardinals in the Georgia-Florida League. He married his high school sweetheart, Ripley native Juanita “Nita” Scott, on June 7, 1956, in Albany. The Hickmans had four boys: Jim Jr., born in 1959; Bill, born in 1960; Joey, born in 1962; and Mike, born in 1964.

Although Hickman hit .291 with 14 homers and 91 RBIs in 1956, the Cardinals sent him back to Albany in 1957, where he led the Georgia-Florida League in home runs (26), RBIs (113), and total bases (260). His 26 home runs set the Albany club record for home runs that season.7

Hickman continued to move up the ladder in the Cardinals organization, reaching Double-A with the Tulsa Oilers of the Texas League in 1959, where he hit 22 home runs. With Tulsa again in 1960, Hickman was named to the Texas League All-Star team after hitting .323, and was promoted to Triple-A toward the end of the season. After batting .250 with Portland in the PCL in 1961, he was included among the players eligible to be drafted by the Astros and Mets in the NL expansion draft before the 1962 season. Hickman had faced stiff competition in the Cardinals’ extensive minor-league system, which had 15 teams in 1956 and nine in 1961.8 He found an opportunity with the Mets, who chose him with their 18th pick in the expansion draft at a cost of $50,000.9

Hickman made his major-league debut on April 14, 1962, at the Polo Grounds against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pinch-hitting, he popped out to short in the seventh. Hickman’s first major-league home run two weeks later during the Mets’ first home win was one of nine hit by the Mets and Philadelphia Phillies that day, one short of the league record at the time.10 Going from a rural Tennessee town to a city of nearly 7.8 million was a bit of a culture shock for Hickman. “I was 25 [years old] when I came to the Mets. It was a hard place to adjust to,” he said later. “I’d get in a traffic jam on the way to the ballpark and somebody would cuss me out and, heck, I’d feel bad about it the rest of the day. But that was just a way of life there.”11

During a July 22 doubleheader loss at Cincinnati, Hickman went 5-for-5, and he drove in all three Mets runs in the second game. (The Mets lost by scores of 11-4 and 4-3.) “This kid Jim Hickman, he’s one of the best looking young ballplayers around,” Stengel told the Memphis Commercial Appeal after the season.12 Hickman finished with 13 home runs, 46 RBIs, and a .245 batting average in his rookie season while playing all three outfield positions.

On August 7, 1963, he became the first Met to hit for the cycle when he singled, doubled, tripled, and homered in that order in a 7-3 win over St. Louis at the Polo Grounds. His first three hits came off Cardinals’ starter Ernie Broglio; Cards’ reliever Barney Schultz surrendered the round-tripper. Two days later, Hickman smashed a grand slam home run in the ninth inning off the Chicago Cubs’ Lindy McDaniel that gave New York a 7-3 victory and ended pitcher Roger Craig’s streak of 18 consecutive losses. On September 18, Hickman hit the last home run at the Polo Grounds, a solo shot off the Phillies’ Chris Short in a 5-1 loss. Adding third base to his resume in 1963, the native Tennessean hit .229 with 17 homers and 51 RBIs.

In 1964, Hickman had the most RBIs (57) and highest batting average (.257) in his years with the Mets.

Hickman set a Mets record when he slugged three straight homers off left-hander Ray Sadecki at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on September 3, 1965. On his fourth at-bat, Hickman bounced a bad hop single past third after fouling off reliever Nelson Briles’ first pitch. “Man, I sure wanted that fourth one (home run),” Hickman said.13

Hickman received a $2,500 raise before spring training started the next season, increasing his salary to an estimated $17,500.14 At that point, Hickman had hit more home runs (56) and played in more games than any other Met in the team’s four years of existence.

In March 1966, manager Westrum left Hickman in center field against both right- and left-handed pitchers. “I think Mr. Hickman is ready to become a whale of a ballplayer,” Westrum told the press. “He has shown signs of it.”15

Sportswriter Dick Young wrote in the New York Daily News that month that people “say you have to light a fire under Jim Hickman. Casey Stengel ran out of matches trying it. [Wes] Westrum now thinks he has the proper lighter fluid to do the trick.”16

Hickman broke his left wrist trying to make a catch in right field in the second inning of the Mets’ 5-4 loss in 17 innings to the San Francisco Giants at Shea Stadium on May 13. Hickman blamed the seriousness of the injury on his habit of putting his index finger on the outside of his glove. “As I fell, my hand bent backwards, and my index finger stuck in the ground and locked there,” he told the New York Daily News. “I doubt it would have happened if the finger was in the glove.”17

Hickman was on the disabled list from May 14 to August 7 and played in only 58 games during his last year with the Mets. He hit .238 with only four home runs and 16 RBIs. After five years with the Mets, Hickman had developed a reputation as a mediocre fielder and an easy batter to strike out, authors Eddie Gold and Art Ahrens said in 1985.

On November 29, 1966, the Mets traded Hickman and second baseman Ron Hunt to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tommy Davis and Derrell Griffith. Hickman played in only 65 games for the Dodgers in 1967, and pitched for the first time since high school on June 23 against the San Francisco Giants. After striking out as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the seventh inning, Hickman took the mound in the eighth with the Dodgers behind, 6-1. He pitched two innings, allowing only Mike McCormick’s single in the eighth and Willie Mays’ solo homer in the ninth as the Giants won, 7-1, at Dodger Stadium.

Later, Hickman called the trade to Los Angeles the worst thing that ever happened to him. “I didn’t play at all,” he said. “I had about 90 at-bats last year [1967] and that’s not many in six months.”18 In fact, he considered quitting after the Dodgers placed him on their minor league roster after the 1967 season. “I decided to wait and see what they’d pay me,” he recalled. “After I saw, I was sure I was going to quit.”19 Instead of quitting, however, he waited until April 3 to report to spring training in 1968.

Hickman started that season with the Spokane Dodgers in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. On April 23 he was sent to the Tacoma Cubs in the same league as part of a four-player deal. The Dodgers traded reliever Phil Regan to the Chicago Cubs and received outfielder Ted Savage in return. The Cubs also sent left-handed pitcher Jim Ellis to Spokane for Hickman. Playing right field for Tacoma, he hit better than he ever had in his life, albeit over a small sample size. In 24 games with the T-Cubs, Hickman batted .351 with three home runs and eight RBIs.

Hickman got his big break on May 24 when the Cubs recalled him and optioned pitcher Bill Stoneman to Tacoma. “It had become obvious in the last week that the Cubs needed an extra hitter for utility purposes more than they needed an 11th pitcher,” sportswriter Richard Dozer noted.20

Platooning for much of the 1968 season, Hickman helped the Cubs finish third for the second year in a row. In the Cubs’ 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on August 14, he got two hits off Bob Gibson, who won his 14th straight game and 17th of the season. After replacing the injured Adolfo Phillips in center field in the third inning, Hickman singled to drive in Al Spangler to cut the deficit to 2-1. He singled again with two outs in the ninth inning but was left stranded when pinch-hitter Dick Nen struck out on three pitches.

At the beginning of the 1969 season, Hickman platooned with left-handed-hitting Spangler in right field and had only one hit in his first 15 at-bats.21 Hickman’s two-out, two-run home run in the 10th inning carried the Cubs to a 7-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 26 in front of 40,334 fans, including more than 11,000 Ladies Day patrons.

Hickman had a two-run single in the seventh inning of the Cubs’ 5-2 win over the San Diego Padres on August 1. In his Chicago Tribune column the next day, teammate Ernie Banks wrote, “He’s [Hickman has] contributed a lot to the Cubs’ success so far, producing both with his bat and glove in many tight games. And when he hits a home run, it usually means something. His average isn’t high, but boy, how he comes through when we need him!”22

Hickman was just getting started as most of the other Cub regulars who had played with little rest were beginning to falter. Inserted into the starting lineup for good on August 3, he stole home in a 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros three days later. It marked the Cubs’ third straight win over the Astros and seventh win in a row, matching their longest winning streak of the season. On August 23, he slugged a grand slam off reliever Fred Gladding and another homer off Tom Griffin in the Cubs’ 11-5 victory over Houston. Hickman’s game-winning blast six days later lifted the Cubs to a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves.

Hickman had 10 home runs and 25 RBIs in August alone and raised his batting average from .206 to .242. He finished second behind the Dodgers’ Willie Davis for the National League’s Star of the Month and received a $200 savings bond later from two Chicago businesses. “He has been some kind of ball player for us,” manager Leo Durocher said. “He has saved us time after time with big hits that either won the game for us or put us in position to win. I know one thing, without his bat in there during the slump we’ve had, it would have been disastrous for us.”23

The Cubs were in first place for much of the season, and riding Hickman’s hot bat in August, the team took a 4½-game lead into September. However, the Cubs came up empty in eight games between September 3 and September 11. During that eight-game losing streak, Hickman batted only .074 with 10 strikeouts.

Although Hickman finished with 21 home runs and 54 RBIs, the Cubs looked elsewhere for a regular right fielder after the 1969 season. On November 18, 1969, they obtained right fielder Johnny Callison from the Phillies for Dick Selma and 19-year-old outfielder Oscar Gamble. “Down in Henning, Tennessee, the big, soft-spoken Southerner must be wondering just what you have to do to insure a job,” sportswriter Edgar Munzel opined.24

Hickman had the best season of his career in 1970 though he was not named the starting center fielder until three games were left in spring training that year. He ended up playing right and center field as well as first base in 1970, as aging first baseman Banks spent a month on the disabled list and six weeks on the bench due to an arthritic knee.

On May 22 in New York, he hit a two-run blast off the Mets’ Jerry Koosman that highlighted the Cubs’ 6-4 win. Two days later he clubbed a home run with two outs and the bases empty in the fourth inning off future Hall of Famer Tom Seaver that broke up a scoreless duel between Seaver and Cubs starter Bill Hands. “You remember that Hickman carried us all through the month of August last year,” Durocher said. “Well, he’s carrying us again right now. Sometimes the load has been pretty heavy, too.”25

Hickman hit cleanup for the first time in 1970 on May 28. The move paid off; he hit a game-winning two-run homer on a 3-2 count off Pirates rookie Gene Garber after his first two-run four-bagger in the seventh inning off Dave Giusti tied the score at 6-6. By the beginning of June, Hickman was hitting .328 with 11 home runs and 29 RBIs while playing three positions.

On June 11 Hickman hit his 14th homer of the season (and 100th of his major-league career) and extended his hitting streak to 14 games in the Cubs’ 7-1 win at San Diego. The hitting streak ultimately reached 17 games and raised his average to .347. As of June 20 the Cubs had a 35-25 record and a 4½-game lead over the Pirates. However, the Cubs then lost 12 straight and dropped to fourth place. Despite the rocky stretch, Hickman finished third in the NL Player of the Month voting for May – behind the Braves’ Rico Carty and the Dodgers’ Billy Grabarkewitz. For the month, Hickman batted .347 and drove in 23 runs.

National League manager Gil Hodges’ decision to pick Hickman as a reserve outfielder for the July 14 All-Star Game rather than teammate Billy Williams raised eyebrows. Referring to his father, J.W. Hickman, his son said, “He [J.W.] was a semi-pro ball player, and I’m his only son, so he’s pretty proud.”26 Used as a substitute left fielder and first baseman, Hickman knocked in Pete Rose with the winning run in the 12th inning of the National League’s 5-4 victory at Riverfront Stadium. On the play, catcher Ray Fosse sustained a badly injured shoulder and was never the same again.

Hickman popped out and struck out twice before his game-winning hit. “I was so nervous,” the soft-spoken hero told the press. “You have no idea. I know I looked bad when I struck out, but I was jumping at the ball. I’ve never been so nervous, and I guess I showed it.”27

After missing four games due to a prostate condition, Hickman returned to the lineup and homered in his first at-bat on July 22 against Cincinnati. His 21st homer of the season matched his entire output for 1969, which had been his career high. Going into September 1970, Hickman ranked second behind Williams on the Cubs in power hitting.

The Sporting News named Hickman the NL’s Comeback Player of the Year in 1970 after the 33-year-old recorded career highs in games played (149), at-bats (514), runs scored (102), hits (162), doubles (33), triples (4), home runs (32), RBIs (115), and batting average (.315). He also received the Chicago Headliner of the Year Award from the Chicago Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association and was chosen the Tennessee Pro Athlete of the Year.

Hickman got off to slow start in 1971 and was hospitalized nine days in August due to a bleeding ulcer.28 On May 4, he pinch-hit for Banks and hit into a fielder’s choice in the eighth inning of a game the Cubs eventually lost, 2-1, to the Mets. It was the first time Banks had been lifted for a pinch-hitter since April 21, 1954.

Hickman hit a two-run home run, drove in three runs, and scored three times in the team’s 15-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on June 18. A month later, playing right field, he clubbed a double and two singles and drove in two runs in the Cubs’ 8-4 decision over the Montreal Expos. “Gentleman Jim” contributed three singles and drove in two runs in the Cubs’ come-from-behind 5-2 win over the Montreal Expos on July 26.

A week later, Hickman’s 17th homer of the season off Don Wilson accounted for Chicago’s only run in a 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros. His 19th home run of the season helped the Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-5 on September 4. After losing 16 of 24 games in September, the Cubs finished in a third-place tie with the Mets.

In 1972, Hickman didn’t start at Wrigley Field until April 28 when the Cubs beat the visiting Cincinnati Reds, 10-8. Replacing the ailing Joe Pepitone at first, Hickman hit two three-run homers in his first two trips to the plate off Reds starter Jack Billingham. Afterwards, the self-effacing Hickman said it was “just one of those days when I saw the ball good.”29

Hickman was named the National League Player of the Week on May 7 after hitting safely in five straight games, clubbing three homers, and driving in five runs. At the time, he said he felt more comfortable at first base than in the outfield.

On September 15, 1972, Hickman recorded the fifth grand slam of his career in the Cubs’ 9-3 victory over the New York Mets. The bases-loaded blast came off Gary Gentry in the third inning. However, the Cubs finished second in the NL Eastern Division in 1972, 11 games behind the Pirates.

Despite hitting .272 with 17 homers and 64 RBIs in just 425 plate appearances in 1972, Hickman wasn’t assured of a starting job in 1973.30 “We’re going to go to spring training with an open mind,” said manager Whitey Lockman, who replaced Durocher midway during 1972. “They [Hickman and Pepitone] will have a chance to prove who can do the best job.”31 Pepitone ultimately won the battle, hitting .391 with five home runs and 14 RBIs in spring training. However, Pepitone was traded to the Atlanta Braves on May 19 for first baseman Andre Thornton.

Although Hickman’s playing time increased after the Pepitone trade, he still shared the first base job with Pat Bourque. The 35-year-old Hickman didn’t hit his first home run of the season until June 16. His tie-breaking blast with two out in the seventh off Phil Niekro carried the Cubs to a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves and overshadowed Henry Aaron’s 691st home run. “I’m glad I could finally contribute,” Hickman said. “I felt I was dead weight on this club, and it made me mad at myself.”32

He was five for 25 as a pinch-hitter through the same game when his overall batting average was .267. His average fell to .261 on June 29, but by the end of the month, it was .286. Throughout his career, Hickman had his highest batting average in July (.276 in 259 games), but his highest OPS in August (.807 in 262 games). He was a slow starter, hitting .228 in 145 games during March and April and .238 in 254 games in May.

After losing 11 straight in August 1973, the Cubs obtained Rico Carty from the Texas Rangers. They installed Carty in left field, and moved Williams to first, putting Hickman on the bench again. Playing in less than 100 games for the first time since 1968, Hickman hit .244 with three home runs and 20 RBIs as the Cubs finished in fifth place in the NL East. However, Hickman’s walks equaled his strikeouts for the only time in his career, and he finished 1973 with a very respectable .368 on-base percentage.

After batting only seven times in the Cubs’ first dozen spring training games in 1974, Hickman was traded on March 24 to the St. Louis Cardinals for right-handed pitcher Scipio Spinks, 26, a Chicago native. When the Chicago Tribune asked Hickman if the trade gave him a chance to play regularly, he responded, “I doubt it, but it couldn’t be any worse than it was going to be over here.”33

Hickman singled in his first at-bat for the Cardinals, after replacing first baseman Joe Torre in the 8th inning of St. Louis’ 8-0 win over the Pirates on April 6. He contributed a pinch-hit home run in the Cardinals’ 4-3 decision over the New York Mets in the second game of a doubleheader on April 11. By late June, however, he was hitting only .217 as a pinch-hitter and .267 overall.

His last major-league at-bat occurred in the ninth inning of the Cardinals’ 7-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves on July 14. Hickman replaced Torre at first in the top of the ninth inning. He walked in the bottom of the inning and was retired on a force at second. On July 16, the 37-year-old was placed on waivers, ending a 13-year major-league career with four National League teams.

During his 1,421 major-league games, Hickman batted .252 with 1,002 hits, 159 home runs, 518 runs scored, and 560 RBIs. He had a .335 on-base percentage, a .426 slugging average, and a .760 OPS. His best performances, far and away, came during the six seasons he spent in Chicago.

Hickman was out of baseball before the era of free-agency and big money. He earned about $18,000 in both 1966, with the Mets, and 1967, with the Dodgers.34 No other salary information for Hickman is available.

Hickman retired to his 250-acre farm in Henning, Tennessee, and raised cotton and soybeans. He leased an additional 1,400 acres. When land prices crashed starting in 1980, he owed $75,000 on the purchase of new tractors. Three years later, People’s Bank in Henning foreclosed on the farm, allowing the family to remain on the property while paying rent; the ongoing agricultural depression prevented Hickman from repaying the loan. During one winter, the family lived on the $700 Hickman received from working at former teammate Randy Hundley’s Fantasy Camp in Arizona. He also had to take his baseball pension of $1,000 a month at age 45.35

Through connections he had in the Cincinnati Reds organization, Hickman replaced Ted Kluszewski as minor-league hitting instructor in 1987 – a position he held for 20 years. Hickman was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.36

Jim Hickman died on June 25, 2016, in a Jackson, Tennessee, hospital after a lengthy illness.37 No cause of death was given, although it was reported that he had been under hospice care.38 In a display of his teammates’ and fans’ appreciation, the Cubs’ organization sent a team logo floral arrangement to Hickman’s services.39 Burial was in Bethlehem Cemetery in Henning. He was survived by four sons, Mike, Jim Jr., Bill, and Joey; nine grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. His wife, Juanita, died in 2012.

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Eric Vickrey and Rick Zucker and fact-checked by Paul Proia.

Sources

In addition to the sources listed below, the author used Jim Hickman’s player file from the National Baseball Hall of Fame; the 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973 Chicago Cubs Official Roster Books; Baseball-Reference.com; Retrosheet.org; findagrave.com; PaperofRecord.com; and view.officeapps.live.com.

Notes

1 Eddie Gold and Art Ahrens, The New Era Cubs 1941-1985 (Chicago: Bonus Books, 1985), 155.

2 Bill Hickman, telephone interview with author, January 18, 2023.

3 Bill Hickman, telephone interview with author.

4 Bill Hickman, telephone interview with author.

5 Joey Hickman, telephone interview with author, February 6, 2023.

6 In 1994, the school’s name changed from Memphis State to the University of Memphis.

7 “G-F Playoffs Open Tuesday,” Macon Telegraph, September 1, 1957: 9.

8 For comparison, the Chicago Cubs had 10 minor league teams in 1956 and seven in 1961.

9 Bob Broeg, “Miller is Mets’ Premium Choice; Cards Also Lose Taussig, Lillis, Anderson, Cannizzaro, Olivares,” St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 10, 1961: 41.

10 The Mets’ five home runs also included two by Charley Neal, one by Gil Hodges, and one by Frank Thomas. The Phillies’ four round-trippers included two by Don Demeter, one by Tony Gonzalez and one by Clay Dalrymple.

11 Joey Hickman, telephone interview with author.

12 David Bloom, “Marvelous Marv won ‘em Over,” (Memphis) Commercial Appeal, October 31, 1962: 18.

13 Dick Young, “Home-Run Hickman Did Double-Take on 3 and 0,” New York Daily News, September 5, 1965: 99.

14 Norm Miller, “Mets Up Hickman 2 1/2 G Despite So-So .236 BA,” New York Daily News, February 3, 1966: 44.

15 Dick Young, “Wes Platoons 2/3 of OF, Hickman Stays in Center,” New York Daily News, March 11, 1966: 48.

16 Dick Young, “Wes Platoons 2/3 of OF, Hickman Stays in Center,” New York Daily News, March 11, 1966: 48.

17 Dick Young, “Is Hickman Through?” New York Daily News, May 15, 1966: 158.

18 Markus, “Who Is the First Met Who, and Who?” Chicago Tribune, July 4, 1968: 83. Hickman had 98 at-bats with the 1967 Dodgers.

19 Markus, “Who Is the First Met Who, and Who?”

20 Richard Dozer, “Cubs Bring Up Jim Hickman, Option Stoneman to Tacoma,” Chicago Tribune, May 24, 1968: 68.

21 George Langford, “Right Field Not Cub Trouble Spot,” Chicago Tribune, April 22, 1969: 59.

22 Ernie Banks, “Ernie Banks Says,” Chicago Tribune, August 2, 1969: 49.

23 Edgar Munzel, “Cubs Court Disaster, Hickman Rides to Rescue,” The Sporting News, September 13, 1969: 10.

24 Edgar Munzel, “Hickman’s Strong Finish Forgotten in Cubs’ Search,” The Sporting News, December 20, 1969: 34.

25 Robert Markus, “Jim Carrying Heavy Load,” Chicago Tribune, June 4, 1970: 99.

26 “Cub Clouts,” Chicago Tribune, July 13, 1970: 60.

27 Stan Isle, “Vagabond Hickman – All-Star Hero,” The Sporting News, July 25, 1970: 5.

28 Merle Jones, “Sports Talk,” Southern Illinoisan, August 19, 1971.

29 Richard Dozer, “Streaks End; Cubs Win, Sox Lose,” Chicago Tribune, April 29, 1972: 164.

30 Pepitone finished with a .262 batting average in 66 games with 8 homers and 21 RBIs.

31 Jerome Holtzman, “Whitey Plans to Stand Pat with Cubs’ Catching Corps,” The Sporting News, December 2, 1972: 47.

32 George Langford, “Cubs Overcome Aaron’s 691st 4-3,” Chicago Tribune, June 17, 1973: 72.

33 Richard Dozer, “Cubs send Hickman to Cards for Spinks,” Chicago Tribune, March 24, 1974: 86.

34Norm Miller, “Mets Up Hickman 2 1/2 G Despite So-So .236 BA,” New York Daily News, February 3, 1966: 44.

35 Fergie Jenkins with George Castle, The 1969 Cubs: Long Remembered. Never Forgotten (USA: John Schenk & Associates, LLC, 2018), 235.

36 Jenkins with Castle, The 1969 Cubs: Long Remembered. Never Forgotten, 236.

37 “Baseball Notebook,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 26, 2016: B06.

38 Mike Organ, “Hickman, 79, former MLB All-Star dies,” Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee): C7.

39 Jenkins with Castle, The 1969 Cubs: Long Remembered. Never Forgotten, 236.