Jimmie Humphries

Elija James Humphries

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 160 lb.
• Born November 17, 1889 in Waco, TX USA
• Died September 10, 1971 in Fort Worth, TX USA

BR Minors page

Biographical information

Jimmie Humphries was a minor league player, manager and owner.

He played in 1908, from 1911 to 1916 and in 1918. A second baseman, he rarely hit for high averages, with his best season coming in 1916 when he hit .277 with 136 hits in 136 games for the Western Association's McAlester Miners (who he managed that season). Per the records available, he hit .251 with 379 hits in 424 games in his six-year career. He managed the Bonham Boosters in 1911, the Sherman Cubs in 1912 and 1913 and the McAlester Miners from 1915 to 1917, leading the team to a first place finish in 1917.

In 1919, he was hired as the Oklahoma City Indians team secretary. He briefly managed the team in 1920. He later served as the squad's business manager, team president (1948-1950) and owner (1951-1958). When the team moved to become the Corpus Christi Giants, he remained its owner. He also had a stake in the Victoria Giants. All told, he spent almost 40 years associated with the Oklahoma City franchise, one of the longest careers with a single franchise in baseball history.[1]

He is also notable for signing African American pitcher Bill Greason in 1952, thereby breaking the color barrier in Oklahoma City. The signing also made Greason only the second black player to play in the Texas League.

He scouted for the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds in the 1960s.

Though Baseball-Reference.com lists his birthdate as December 23, 1889, the Social Security Death Index, his The Sporting News contract card and his FindAGrave.com page lists his day of birth as November 17—though his birth year is still up for debate, as Find-A-Grave and his contract card list 1890, while the SSDI lists 1889. 1889 is assumed to be correct, as it came from a government source. Likewise, his date of death isn't certain. His Find-A-Grave page lists September 10, 1971, while his contract card lists September 11, 1971.

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Playoffs	Notes
1911	Bonham Boosters	Texas-Oklahoma League	54-60	4th
1912	Sherman Cubs	Texas-Oklahoma League	56-37	3rd
1913	Sherman Lions	Texas-Oklahoma League	68-58	4th	none (?)
1914	Durant Gladiators	Texas-Oklahoma League		4th		replaced Fred Morris
1915	McAlester Miners	Western Association		8th		replaced Phil Ketter
1916	McAlester Miners	Western Association	79-58	3rd
1917	McAlester Miners	Western League		--	none
1920	Oklahoma City Indians	Western Association			none	replaced by Danny Moeller

Related Sites

• Contract card
• Find-A-Grave.com
• SSDI listing