| Jim Delsing | |
|---|---|
 Delsing in 1953 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: November 13, 1925 Rudolph, Wisconsin, U.S. | |
| Died: May 4, 2006 (aged 80) Chesterfield, Missouri, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 21, 1948, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 30, 1960, for the Kansas City Athletics | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .255 |
| Home runs | 40 |
| Runs batted in | 286 |
| Teams | |
James Henry Delsing (November 13, 1925 – May 4, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder who is most remembered for having been the pinch runner for 3 ft 7 in (1.09 m)-tall Eddie Gaedel on August 19, 1951. He also was the centerfielder replaced by Hall of Famer Al Kaline in Kaline's major league debut on June 25, 1953. During his career, which spanned 822 games over 10 seasons, Delsing played for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, and Kansas City Athletics.
Delsing signed his first professional contract at the age of 16 in 1942 for the Green Bay Bluejays in the Wisconsin State League. After two years of Minor League Baseball, he joined the Army Medical Corps and served for over a year in Europe during World War II. He resumed his baseball career in 1946 and made his major league debut with the White Sox in 1948. In 1949, he was acquired by the Yankees, filling in for Joe DiMaggio for a few games late in the year while DiMaggio recovered from a virus. He was traded to the Browns in 1950 and became an everyday player in St. Louis for the next three seasons. In August 1952, he was traded to the Tigers. His best year in the major leagues came in 1953, when he had a batting average of .288 and hit 11 home runs. Delsing led American League left fielders with a .996 fielding percentage in 1954, but his batting average declined, and in 1955, he began losing playing time to Charlie Maxwell. In 1956, he started very few games, used mainly as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement for the Tigers and the White Sox, who reacquired him in May. He spent the next three seasons in the minor leagues, winning the American Association pennant with the Charleston Senators in 1958. In 1960, after several of their outfielders suffered injuries, the Athletics added Delsing to their roster in August; he finished his professional career playing 16 games for Kansas City.
Since his time with the Browns, Delsing had resided in the St. Louis. He continued to live there after his baseball career, serving as an advertising salesman for the St. Louis Review for over thirty years, helping out with Catholic charities, and participating in the St. Louis Browns Fan Club. He died of cancer on May 4, 2006.