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FEBRUARY 23, 1932–

Major League Career

1950–1959

Time as a Red

1950–1951; 1954

Position

OUTFIELD

JIM BOLGER NEVER GOT A PLAQUE IN THE HALL OF FAME, but he once pinch-hit for a guy who did—Ernie Banks. It happened in 1957 with the Chicago Cubs. Banks was injured during a game, and Bolger took his place at the plate. He made the most of the opportunity, whacking a home run.

Asked how that felt, Bolger has no response. A matter-of-fact guy, you sense he doesn’t talk much about feelings. But his pragmatic nature might have been the key to his success as a pinch hitter. That year he led the National League with 17 pinch hits in 48 at-bats for a .355 average. He says his approach was simple: “I just felt—you either do it or you don’t. I’d swing at the first thing that looked good. I didn’t want to give them a chance to get ahead of me.”

For most of his nine-year pro career, Bolger hit well when he got regular playing time. Good with a glove, he played all outfield positions.

A native of Mariemont, he graduated in 1950 from Purcell (now Purcell Marian) High School, where he drew citywide acclaim, mostly in football as a star running back. That acclaim led to scholarship offers from many schools, including Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, and Indiana. But the Reds offered a three-year major league contract. Bolger grabbed the latter, signing on June 20.

Four days later, he got into his first game as a Red—as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning against the Giants. Given that the Giants were winning 12–2, there wasn’t much defending to do. As for how he felt putting on a Reds uniform for the first time, Bolger maintains his matter-of-fact tone, noting, “I was very proud that they wanted me. I wanted to stay in my hometown if I could.” After his cup of coffee, Bolger was sent to Class A Charleston, where he hit .277 until breaking his leg sliding into first base on a pick-off attempt.

Though he missed the rest of the season, the injury didn’t have much impact on his career. But he believes another issue might have—he began wearing glasses. “A lot of people looked down on players who wore glasses,” he says. “They thought you couldn’t see.” A coach once told him he couldn’t play center field with glasses. “Couldn’t play center field?” Bolger says. “I led the Sally League in putouts wearing glasses.”

The next season he came up for just two games. After seasons hitting .301 and .311, during which he smacked an amazing 32 triples, he was called up near the end of 1954, but he got only three at-bats and one hit. After the season, he was part of a five-player swap with the Cubs. The Reds appeared to be set in the outfield with young stars Gus Bell, Jim Greengrass, and Wally Post.

In 1956, he had his best year, playing in the AAA Pacific Coast League for the Los Angeles Angels, still considered one of the great minor league teams in history. The Angels posted a 107–61 record; Bolger posted a .326 batting average with 28 home runs and 147 RBI.

Promoted to the Cubs, he struggled as a part-timer, and after being dealt to the Indians, who traded him to the Phillies, he found himself back in the minors, where, with regular playing time, he began hitting. Though he posted .319/.368/.470 for Louisville in 1962, he decided he’d had enough. He was 30 with a wife and four sons and needed to move on.

“I had no plan at all,” he recalls. He went to work for a friend of the family at a car dealership. After a decade there, he landed a job as a clerk at the Hamilton County courthouse.

Though he never became a star, he had a career most guys would look back on proudly. Jim “Dutch” Bolger isn’t most guys. “I wish I’d done better,” he says. “I wish I’d had more years in the big leagues and made more money.” After a pause, he adds, “I did get enough years in to get the pension.”