Jim Raugh

James Plummer Raugh Jr.

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.
• School University of North Carolina
• High School Haverford Preparatory School

• Born September 22, 1934 in Cleveland, OH USA
• Died January 1, 2014 in Newton, NC USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Jim Raugh played in the minor leagues from 1957 to 1961 in the Detroit Tigers (1957-1960) and Minnesota Twins (1961) systems, reaching as high as AAA.

As a child, in 1943, Raugh served as the batboy of the Cloudbusters team that represented the Pre-Flight US Navy school in Chapel Hill, NC. The Cloudbusters team included Ted Williams, Johnny Sain, Johnny Pesky and Joe Coleman as well as other major and minor leaguers.

While with the University of North Carolina, he was a Second Team All-American in 1957. He was 6-4 with a 2.05 ERA in 28 games (7 starts) for the Durham Bulls in 1957, posting a better ERA than teammates and future major leaguers Phil Regan and Joe Grzenda. In 1958, he was 8-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 47 games (5 starts) for the Birmingham Barons (he also played a game with the Augusta Tigers). He was 5-2 with a 3.14 ERA in 35 games (2 starts) for Birmingham in 1959 (he pitched in 5 games with the Triple-A Charleston Senators as well) and in 1960, he was 11-4 with a 3.33 ERA in 42 games (19 starts) for the Victoria Rosebuds, playing for Johnny Pesky and again outperforming several future major leaguers on the staff. Late in 1960 and into the Panamanian Winter League season with the Azucareros, Raugh experienced elbow pain.

He wrapped up his career in 1961, posting a 7.50 ERA in 7 relief appearances for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs.

Overall, Raugh was 30-13 in 165 appearances over five seasons.

After baseball, he worked in sales and management in textiles and hardware and was active in the community, including in emergency medical education.

Further Reading

• Anne R. Keene: The Cloudbuster Nine: The Untold Story of Ted Williams and the Baseball Team that Helped Win World War II, Sports Publishing LLC, New York, NY, 2018. ISBN 978-1-68358-207-6