Jimmy Hitchcock
Encyclopedia
James Franklin Hitchcock Jr. (June 28, 1911 – July 23, 1959) was an American football
player and Major League baseball
player in the Depression Era
. Hitchcock attended college at Auburn University
(then Alabama Polytechnic Institute), where he was the school's first All-America
n in both football and baseball.
Known as "The Phantom of Union Springs", Hitchcock earned three varsity football letters at Auburn from 1930-1932. He played quarterback, running back, and punter and led his team to earn the 1932 Southern Conference Championship. Hitchcock was named a member of the 1932 Walter Camp
College Football All-America Team
http://www.waltercamp.org/teams5.htm and was inducted into the National Football Foundation
's College Football Hall of Fame
in 1954.http://www.collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=30002 He was posthumously inducted into the Helms Athletic Foundation
Hall of Fame in 1966 and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
in 1969.
Hitchcock was also a letterman in baseball and garnered All-America honors. He played professional baseball seven seasons, including playing shortstop
for the Boston Bees (now known as the Atlanta Braves
) of the National League in 1938.http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hitchji01.shtml Following his playing career, Hitchcock returned to Auburn as head baseball coach and assistant football coach (backfield). He also took a position on the Auburn University Board of Trustees which was responsible for the hiring of legendary football coach "Shug" Jordan
. Auburn's baseball facility, Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park, is named in honor of Jimmy and his younger brother, Billy Hitchcock
, who played and managed in the majors.
Outside of sports, Hitchcock served in the United States Navy
in World War II
. He later parlayed his popularity in Alabama into a political position on the Alabama Public Service Commission
, for which he served until his death in 1959.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and Major League baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player in the Depression Era
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Hitchcock attended college at Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
(then Alabama Polytechnic Institute), where he was the school's first All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n in both football and baseball.
Known as "The Phantom of Union Springs", Hitchcock earned three varsity football letters at Auburn from 1930-1932. He played quarterback, running back, and punter and led his team to earn the 1932 Southern Conference Championship. Hitchcock was named a member of the 1932 Walter Camp
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football...
College Football All-America Team
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
http://www.waltercamp.org/teams5.htm and was inducted into the National Football Foundation
National Football Foundation
The National Football Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1947 by General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army Black Knights football coach Earl "Red" Blaik and journalist Grantland Rice...
's College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1954.http://www.collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=30002 He was posthumously inducted into the Helms Athletic Foundation
Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation was an athletic foundation based in Los Angeles, founded in 1936 by Bill Schroeder and Paul Helms. It put together a panel of experts to select National Champion teams and make All-America team selections in a number of college sports including football and basketball...
Hall of Fame in 1966 and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame is a state museum located in Birmingham, Alabama, dedicated to communicating the state’s athletic history...
in 1969.
Hitchcock was also a letterman in baseball and garnered All-America honors. He played professional baseball seven seasons, including playing shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
for the Boston Bees (now known as the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
) of the National League in 1938.http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hitchji01.shtml Following his playing career, Hitchcock returned to Auburn as head baseball coach and assistant football coach (backfield). He also took a position on the Auburn University Board of Trustees which was responsible for the hiring of legendary football coach "Shug" Jordan
Ralph Jordan
James Ralph "Shug" Jordan was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Auburn from 1951 to 1975, where he compiled a record of 176–83–6. He is the winningest coach in Auburn Tigers football...
. Auburn's baseball facility, Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park, is named in honor of Jimmy and his younger brother, Billy Hitchcock
Billy Hitchcock
William Clyde Hitchcock was an American infielder, coach, manager and scout in Major League Baseball. He also served as president of the class AA Southern League from 1971-80...
, who played and managed in the majors.
Outside of sports, Hitchcock served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He later parlayed his popularity in Alabama into a political position on the Alabama Public Service Commission
Alabama Public Service Commission
The Alabama Public Service Commission, commonly called The PSC, was established by an act of The Alabama Legislature in 1915 to primarily replace the State Railroad Commission. The PSC's responsibility was expanded in 1920 to include regulating and setting rates that utility companies charge their...
, for which he served until his death in 1959.