Career
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Hearn attended Georgia Tech and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1942. He spent two years in the minor leagues and three in military service during World War II, before being called up in 1947. After compiling a 21–17 record for the Cardinals over all or parts of four seasons, he was placed on waivers and claimed by the New York Giants on July 10, 1950. He then went on to lead the National League in earned run average (2.49) and win 11 of 14 decisions for manager Leo Durocher that season.
Hearn was a crucial member of the 1951 Giants' starting rotation, winning 17 games and helping them overcome a 13½-game mid-August deficit to the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the NL pennant. He defeated the Dodgers 3–1 in Game 1 of the NL pennant playoff, and pitched effectively in the 1951 World Series, defeating the eventual champion New York Yankees 6–2 in his only start, in Game 3 at the Polo Grounds. He gave up only one earned run in the Series, for a Fall Classic ERA of 1.04.
Hearn pitched in New York for five more seasons, but compiled only a 50–54 record through 1956. The following season he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, where he had some success as a relief pitcher. During his last season (1959), Hearn was involved in a bizarre episode. On May 10, he pitched 1⅓ innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates and gave up two runs before the game was suspended. He was given his unconditional release 12 days later. The suspended game was resumed in July, and Pittsburgh held on to win. Thus Hearn was charged with a loss, weeks after his career had ended.
Read more about this topic: Jim Hearn
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“Work-family conflicts—the trade-offs of your money or your life, your job or your child—would not be forced upon women with such sanguine disregard if men experienced the same career stalls caused by the-buck-stops-here responsibility for children.”
—Letty Cottin Pogrebin (20th century)
“Whether lawyer, politician or executive, the American who knows what’s good for his career seeks an institutional rather than an individual identity. He becomes the man from NBC or IBM. The institutional imprint furnishes him with pension, meaning, proofs of existence. A man without a company name is a man without a country.”
—Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)
“They want to play at being mothers. So let them. Expressing tenderness in their own way will not prevent girls from enjoying a successful career in the future; indeed, the ability to nurture is as valuable a skill in the workplace as the ability to lead.”
—Anne Roiphe (20th century)