Dusty Rhodes

James Lamar (Dusty) Rhodes was an outfielder for the New York Giants and the San Francisco Giants in the 1950s. He was often used as a pinch-hitter that racked up quite a few clutch hits. He had a pinch-hit home run in the first game of the 1954 World Series. Dusty Rhodes was born in Alabama in May of 1927, and entered the big leagues in July of 1952 at the age of 25.

With a batting average of between .188 and .305 in the years he played for the major leagues, he is considered to be an above average player. Though Dusty remains a legend still today in New York and San Francisco, his career was very short lived. After baseball he worked on a tug boat for 25 years. He was asked at one point why his career was so short and he replied “After Durocher left the Giants, baseball wasn’t fun anymore.”

For a player who has such a short career Dusty still has a large and loyal following today. There are many sports message boards that are flooded with birthday wishes for him every year. Though his baseball cards do not fetch a pretty penny, he is still very loved by the fans who remember him as the underdog at his peak. If you would like to learn more about Dusty Rhodes or other baseball favorites of the days of old, just give them a Google and see what pops, you will be surprised what you will learn and the fun you will have doing it.