Lou Limmer

Louis Limmer, known as Lou (March 10, 1925 - April 1, 2007) was a 6' 2" Major League Baseball player in 1951 and 1954 for the Philadelphia Athletics.

Limmer was a first baseman for 13 years (1946-58), two in the Major Leagues (1951; 1954) and 11 in the minors (1946-50; 1952-53; 1955-58). He won two minor league home run titles, fell one shy in a third year ,and was in the top 5 7 times. He also twice hit the most home runs in the Caribbean Series.

Born in the Bronx, New York, Limmer graduated from Manhattan High School of Aviation in 1943. Upon graduation, he joined the Army Air Corps, where he served until 1946.

Baseball career

He was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics as an amateur free agent in 1946. He was scouted and signed by George Halpin and Connie Mack.

In 1946, in 40 games for the Lexington A's of the North Carolina State League he hit .313.

In 1947 he hit .326 for Lexington, with 24 home runs (3rd in the league) and 95 RBIs (5th in the league) in 405 at bats.

With the Lincoln A's of the Western League in 1948, he hit 28 home runs and had 93 RBIs in 385 at bats. He broke his neck in late August, while sliding into third base. He lost his eyesight temporarily due to the injury, and did not return to complete the season. He still managed to finish sixth in the league in RBIs, and second in home runs.

In 1949, he hit .315 (4th in the league) with a league-leading 29 home runs, and drove in 105 RBIs (3rd) as he scored 100 runs for Lincoln.

He followed that up in 1950, leading the league with both 29 home runs and 111 RBIs for the St. Paul Saints of the American Association, earning "Rookie of the Year" honors. [http://www.baseballhistorian.com/html/american_heroes.cfm?page=214] Curiously, he hit at least two home runs in every park in the AA - except at home.

Limmer holds the distinction of having hit the last home run and last base hit for the Athletics before their move to Kansas City.

In an interesting side note, Limmer was involved in the only all-Jewish confrontation in Major League history. On May 2, 1951, Limmer was batting in a game against the Detroit Tigers. Pitching for the Tigers was Saul Rogovin, and catching for the Tigers was Joe Ginsberg.

In 1952 he played for the A's AAA club in Ottawa, hitting 23 home runs (4th in the league).

His best offensive year in the major leagues was in 1954, when he had 73 hits and 14 home runs. He earned notice with fans for his prodigious performance in batting practice, and got the nickname "Babe Ruth of Batting Practice" from Philadelphia fans.

In 1955 he hit 28 home runs (3rd in the league) in 416 at bats for the Columbus Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League, playing both first base and outfield.

In 1958, his last year in baseball, he hit 30 home runs (2nd in the league), a career-high 31 doubles, and had 100 RBIs (4th) and 96 runs scored for the Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association.

His eldest son, Craig, was voted the Gatorade/NYSCA Volunteer Baseball Coach of the Year, attributing all he knows of the game of baseball to his Father, Lou.

He died in Boca Raton, Florida.

Hall of Fame

He is a member of the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

External links

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* [http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/L/Lou-Limmer.shtml Baseball Cube stats]
* [http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1007609&position=1B Fangraphs stats]
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=limmelo01 Baseball Almanac bio]
* [http://www.historicbaseball.com/players/l/limmer_lou.html Historic Baseball bio]
* [http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/stats/limmelo01 The Baseball Page bio]
* [http://www.philadelphiaathletics.org/history/limmer.html "Lou Limmer, One of Baseball's Nice Guys," 2007]
* [http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2007/04/05/news/world/limmer0406.txt "Obituary from Cleveland Jewish News," 4/5/07]
* [http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20070405limmerobitbaseball.html "Lou Limmer, Who Played a Role in Jewish Baseball History, Dies," 4/9/07]