Ray Grimes

Oscar Ray Grimes, Sr. (September 11, 1893 - May 25, 1953) was a first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox (1920), Chicago Cubs (1922-1924) and Philadelphia Phillies (1926). Grimes batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Bergholz, Ohio.

Grimes emerged as one of the first Chicago Cubs heroes of the early 1920s. He appeared in a game with the Boston Red Sox in 1920 before being dealt to the Cubs in 1921. That season he hit .321 with 79 runs batted in, 38 doubles, and 91 runs in a career-high 149 games.

In 1922, Grimes set a major-league mark with at least one RBI over17 consecutive games. He finished with 99 RBI, 99 runs, 45 doubles, 12 triples, 14 home runs, and hit .354, ending second in the National League batting title behind Rogers Hornsby (.401). His promising career declined after suffering a slipped disk in 1923. He appeared in only 115 with the Cubs from 1923-24, and played 32 games with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1926, his last major league season.

In a six-season career, Grimes was a .329 hitter with 27 home runs and 263 RBI in 433 games.

Grimes died of a heart ailment in Minerva, Ohio, at age 59.

Fact

*Grimes was the twin brother of second baseman Roy Grimes, who played briefly for the New York Giants in 1920, and also was the father of Oscar Grimes, an All-Star infielder who played with the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Athletics between 1938 and 1946.

Other MLB debuts in 1920

*Bibb Falk
*Marty McManus
*Bob Meusel
*Eddie Rommel
*Joe Sewell
*Zack Taylor
*Pie Traynor

ee also

*List of second generation MLB players
*List of MLB individual streaks

External links

* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/excerpts/baseball_between_the_wars5.stm Baseball Library]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/grimera01.shtml Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Ray_Grimes BR Bullpen]
* [http://thedeadballera.com/Obits/Grimes.Ray.Obit.html The Deadball Era]