Chuck Klein and Jimmie Foxx
March 15, 1945
In 1932, both the American League and National League MVP played for Philadelphia teams. Jimmie Foxx won the first of his three MVP awards for the Athletics while Chuck Klein won the award in the NL for the Phillies.
This photo was taken at the Phillies Spring Training camp in Wilmington, DE. Klein was a coach for the Phillies having retired in June of the previous season, and Foxx was preparing for what would be his 20th and final season of his playing career. Although his days of being the right-handed Babe Ruth were behind him, Foxx gave Phillies fans something to be proud of. Playing first and third base, Foxx hit the final seven home runs of his career in a Phillies uniform, but the highlight of his season came when he fulfilled a goal of pitching in the big leagues. Remarkably, the 37 year old had a very good season on the mound, appearing in 9 games including two starts, and finishing the season with a 1 - 0 record and a 1.59 ERA in 22 2⁄3 innings.
Seventy years ago today, Foxx led the Phillies in a 14 - 3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. He went 4 - 5 in the game, including a double and the last home run of his career. Foxx retired at the end of the season with 534 career homers, second only to Babe Ruth. He remained second on the career home run list until he was passed by the great Willie Mays 21 years later.
