Former San Francisco Giant Jim King on his 1958 Topps card (Card by Topps Chewing Gum Co 1958)
He Was A Giant? Feature Jim King 1958
By Tony the Tiger Hayes
Jim King – OF – 1958 – # 22
He Was A Giant?
Overnight, King – a 25-year-old rumpled journeyman – went from a Giants afterthought to leapfrogging a former National League Most Valuable Player to start the first major league game ever played in California.
Acquired from St. Louis days before the Giants’ 1958 Golden Gate premiere, King started in LF and batted second vs. the newly minted Los Angeles Dodgers as the dawn of West Coast-based Major League Baseball broke at San Francisco’s Seals Stadium on 4/15/58.
King and the Giants did not disappoint, as he batted 2-for-3, with an RBI and a run scored as the Orange & Black dominated the Dodgers on a Ruben Gomez six-hit, 8-0 shutout.
King pounded the first ever base hit to drive in a San Francisco run when he rifled a single to right in the third off Don Drysdale, scoring C Valmy Thomas to make it 2-0. Previously, 3B Jim Davenport had driven in a run with a sacrifice fly.
King’s time to shine in the fog belt however didn’t last long. Of all nine Giants to start the first ever San Francisco opener, King would see the least amount of action with the Orange & Black – just 34 contests – before disappearing into the minor leagues for years.
After his noteworthy opening day nod, King would start just nine more times for San Francisco – batting .214, 2, 8 before moving on.
Why Was He a Giant?
The left -handed swinging King was acquired from the Cardinals in exchange for C Ray Katt about a week before opening day as OF insurance.
At the time of the trade, King was quoted as saying he was “well satisfied” to be with San Francisco.
Right-handed batting Hank Sauer – the 1952 NL MVP as a Cub – was initially pegged to start in LF opening day for the Orange & Black along with Willie Mays in CF and rookie Willie Kirkland in RF. But Sauer was swapped out for King hours before first pitch.
Manager Bill Rigney preferred the matchup King provided vs. Dodgers powerhouse righty Don Drysdale. It’s possible that the skipper knew that two seasons previously, King – as a Chicago Cub – had a grand day against Drysdale in Brooklyn, batting 2-for-4, with a solo HR vs. the future Hall of Famer.
Before & After
The Arkansas native originally appeared in the majors in 1955 with the Cubs and received a good amount of playing time against right-handers, bashing 26 long balls over 1955-56. A move to the Cardinals in 1957 proved less fruitful, leading to his swap to the Giants the following spring.
The Giants would part ways with King during the early summer of ‘58. He was initially sent to Triple-AAA Phoenix, but after batting just .200 in 20 games he was offered to the independent Triple-AAA Toronto club to make way for a bevy of young Giants prospects (Willie McCovey, Leon Wagner, Felipe Alou) on the come.
King wouldn’t make it back to the big leagues until 1961 when he was added to the roster of the expansion Washington Senators. Remarkably, King would flourish in D.C., starting in the Solons outfield for the next six seasons.
King’s 24 HR in 1963 were the most ever by a left-handed Senators hitter. King batted for the cycle for Washington in a 3-2 loss to Boston (5/26/64). He also became a member of the exclusive “Three HR Game” club in ‘64, but the woeful Senators also dropped that contest to Kansas City, 5-4 (6/8/64).
He Never Had A Bobblehead Day. But…
In an action packed early season tilt at Seals Stadium (5/5/58), the visiting Pirates took a seemingly insurmountable 11-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth, before the Giants began an unimaginable comeback.
With the bases loaded and one out, King touched off a madcap Giants rally when he sizzled a two-run, pinch-hit double off Bucs starter Vernon Law.
King’s two-bagger would be followed by two more consecutive pinch-hit doubles (Johnny Antonelli, Bob Speake) which added three more runs. Then there was a three-run homer by Ray Jablonski and a solo jolt off the bat of Orlando Cepeda.
The Giants had reloaded the bases again when King’s turn at bat came again, but manager Bill Rigney opted for pinch-hitter Don Taussig (the eighth pinch-hitter of the inning!) Taussig popped out to 2B Bill Mazeroski in shallow center to end the 11-10 almost miracle comeback.
Giant Footprint:
After King’s impressive opening day performance, Rigney intended on utilizing a LF platoon with King and the more seasoned right-handed hitting Sauer.
But the brawny Sauer – who reported his age as 39, but was actually two years older – soon pushed King to the bench for good with a torrid batting binge. Over the first two weeks of the ‘58 campaign, the “Snooz” torched National League pitching with a .389 average, 7 HR and 13 RBI.
A year-round California resident, Sauer fell in love with cool climate and neighborly vibe of Seals Stadium.
“They kid me a lot out there in left field. All you have to do is kid them back and you’re all set,” said Sauer, who after retiring in 1959, would become a longtime Giants hitting coach. “I think I could play in all 77 home games. You don’t get tired so easily in San Francisco because of the weather.”
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