Lou Jackson

Louis Clarence Jackson

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 168 lb.
• School Grambling State University
• High School Carroll High School (Monroe)
• Debut July 23, 1958
• Final Game May 11, 1964
• Born July 26, 1935 in Riverton, LA USA
• Died May 27, 1969 in Minato, Tokyo, Japan

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Biographical Information

Lou Jackson played three seasons in the major leagues, in 1958 and 1959 with the Chicago Cubs and 1964 with the Baltimore Orioles. He also had some good seasons in the minors and in Japan.

He hit his one career major league home run on August 3, 1958 against the Philadelphia Phillies. He was pinch hitting for Marcelino Solis. Cal Neeman was on base for the Cubs.

His best season in the minors was possibly 1963, when he hit .315 with 31 HR and 89 RBI for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He finished 2 homers behind Dick Allen for the International League lead and was among the leaders in batting average.

In 1966, Jackson signed with the Sankei Atoms and hit .254/.327/.477. The next year, 1967, he was an All-Star and had his best year in Japan, batting .296/.351/.554 with 28 HR; he teamed with Dave L. Roberts to lead the Atoms and helped integrate Roberts into Japanese culture.

In 1968, Jackson collapsed at home plate one day. He struggled statistically that season, hitting .219/.269/.367. The next year, he died of pancreatitis. An alcoholic, he was known as a hustling, defensively-minded outfielder.

Sources: JapanBaseballDaily by Gary Garland, "A Baseball Odyssey" by Dave Roberts and Tony Salin

Related Sites

• Lou Jackson at the SABR Bio Project