Jim Bolger

From BR Bullpen

James Cyril Bolger (Dutch)

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 2", Weight 180 lb.

Debut June 24, 1950
Final Game September 18, 1959
Born February 23, 1932 in Cincinnati, OH USA

[edit] Biographical Information

The 1,000th player to wear the uniform of the Cincinnati Reds Jim Bolger was a highly regarded outfield prospect when he was signed out of high school by his hometown team on June 20, 1950. He appeared briefly for the Reds in 1950 at age 18, but his career was set back by a broken ankle the following year.

In October of 1951 Jim was traded by Cincinnati to Buffalo of the International League for Tom Acker and Moe Savransky. In 1952 Bolger spent time with three different clubs, the class A Williamsport Tigers, class B Burlington Flints and the AA Little Rock Travelers. He was used sparingly and the Reds bought him back from Buffalo on October 13, 1952.

He was with the Columbia Reds in 1953 where he hit .301 with 10 home runs and appeared with the Tulsa Oilers in 1954, hitting .311. He made another brief appearance with Cincinnati at the tail-end of the season where he got into five games, getting one base hit in three trips. On October 1, 1954 he was traded again by the Redlegs with Harry Perkowski and Ted Tappe to the Chicago Cubs for Johnny Klippstein and Jim Willis.

Bolger was with the Cubs for the entire 1955 season, hitting only .206 in 160 at bats and was to spend 1956 in the PCL with the Los Angeles Angels. Jim would hit .326 for the Los Angeles club and would be called back to the Cubs in '57.

Jim would hit .275 in 1957,leading the league as the top pinch hitter with a .354 average, picking up 17 hits off the bench. But fell off to .225 in 1958 and would be traded again, this time to the Cleveland Indians along with John Briggs for Earl Averill and Morrie Martin.

He saw little action with the Indians and on June 6, they passed him on to the Philadelphia Phillies, with cash, for Willie Jones. Jim got into 35 games with the Phillies, mostly as a pinch-hitter, hit .083 and his seventh year in the major leagues was to be his last. He finished up appearing in 312 games with 612 at bats, 140 base hits for a .229 career batting average.

Bolger would spend three more seasons in pro ball, all in the AAA class where in 1960 he hit .279 for the Sacramento Solons. In 1961 Jim was with the San Diego Padres, hitting .313 and he finished his professional career with the Louisville Colonels where he played 140 games and hit for .319 average.

Bolger was in professional baseball from 1950 through 1962. Udoubtedly 1956 was his best season when he helped power the Los Angeles Angels to the PCL Pennant with a .326 average, 28 homers and 147 RBI's. Jim, who was sometimes called "Dutch", put up very reasonable minor league career stats, appearing in 1,100 games with 4,064 at bats, 1,208 base hits including 73 home runs for a .277 batting average.

Bolger is retired and still resides in Cincinnati where he was an office manager for Minuteman, a tempory employment agency.