James Reynolds (minors02)

James Alvin Reynolds ("Fireball")

• Bats Right , Throws Right
• Height 5' 11" , Weight 168 lb.
• Born 1920 in Norfork, AR USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Fireball Reynolds pitched for six different minor league teams over six seasons from 1949 to 1956.

Reynolds joined the US Army on October 23, 1939 but soon went AWOL as the teenager had second thoughts about the choice he made. A bar brawl soon thereafter put him in jail for a year on battery charges. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Reynolds quickly signed up for military service where his AWOL status was discovered. A hearing allowed him to rejoin the military in good standing. Reynolds served in the European Theater during World War II including participation in the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944. He was honorably discharged in 1947 with credit for the time he missed while AWOL. During his military career, James was awarded five Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart.

As a teenager, Reynolds pitched in Little Rock city leagues where he earned the nickname Fireball from an opposing player in the black city league watching him warm up before a game: "That young man don't have nothin' but a fireball." Following his military career, Reynolds began pitching again and made his debut in the professional ranks at the age of 29 for the Amarillo Gold Sox in the Class C West Texas-New Mexico League.

In 1949, Reynolds was 18-13 with a 4.59 earned run average for Amarillo. He gave up 381 hits and 66 walks in just 239 innings pitched for a poor 1.87 WHIP. At the plate, he hit .144 with one extra-base hit - a double.

Reynolds posted a 10-12 record for the Lamesa Lobos with a 5.40 earned run average in 1950. He split his time in 1951 with both Amarillo and Lamesa and had a combined 15-13 record.

The 1952 campaign was spent with the Cotton States League Meridian Millers where he went 4-2 with a 3.41 ERA. His relative success on the mound and abbreviated season of just 60 and two-thirds innings suggests the possibility of an injury. His absence from the professional ranks in 1953 and 1954 was for unknown reasons. An article about his military career does not mention service in the Korean War.

In 1955, Reynolds showed up on the roster of the Lubbock Hubbers. In 2 games, he went 0-1. 1956 saw him post a 0-2 record in 8 games with the El Paso Texans and Clovis Pioneers in the Southwestern League.

Reynolds has suggested that alcohol played a role in his declining baseball career joking that his career ascended because of his low ball and descended because of the high ball.

Following his baseball life, Reynolds was involved with the Iron Workers union and worked towards promoting local baseball in Norfork, AR. Several ball fields in the area are named in his honor.

Further Reading

• Wallis, Frank: "Man Remembers D-Day, WWII", in The Baxter Bulletin, June 6, 2009.[1]