Jim Northrup (baseball) - Early Years

Early Years

Northrup was born in Breckenridge, Michigan, a small farm town 25 miles west of Saginaw. Northrup grew up on his grandfather’s farm. Even after the family moved six miles away to St. Louis, Northrup spent his summers and weekends during the winter at his grandparents' farm.

Once a year, Northrup and his father would make a seven-hour drive (before the expressways) to Detroit when the Boston Red Sox came to town. Ted Williams was Northrup’s idol, the “only idol I’ve ever had.” Northrup, however, never saw a complete game as a boy. Rather than pay full price, his father would “wait until the sixth or seventh inning, because then you could give the guy outside a buck or two and you could go out there and watch Ted play.”

After graduating from the St. Louis High School, Northrup stayed close to home for college, attending Alma College, five miles from St. Louis. At Alma College, Northrup was a five-sport star. He was quarterback of the football team, and was named a small college All-American. He was a forward on the basketball team, ran track, and golfed, but Northrup’s great love was baseball. “I was born to play baseball,” said Northrup.

Northrup reportedly turned down offers from the Chicago Bears and the New York Titans and signed with the Tigers in 1961. Northrup spent four years in the minor leagues (1961–1964), playing for the Duluth-Superior Dukes, Decatur, Iowa, Tennessee Smokies, and the Syracuse Chiefs. He was the International League Rookie of the Year in 1964, as he hit .312 with 18 home runs and 92 RBIs.