Spider Jorgensen

From BR Bullpen

John Donald Jorgensen

Bats Left, Throws Right
Height 5' 9", Weight 155 lb.

Debut April 15, 1947
Final Game June 30, 1951
Born November 3, 1919 in Folsom, CA USA
Died November 6, 2003 in Rancho Cucamonga, CA USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Third baseman Spider Jorgensen of the Brooklyn Dodgers made his major league debut on the same day as his famous teammate Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier. He was a 27-year-old rookie, and 1947, which was a pennant-winning season for the Dodgers, was to be Jorgensen's only season as a regular. In the off-season, he hurt his arm, and while he hit well in 31 games in 1948, he managed to get into fewer than 150 games in the majors after his 1947 season.

Billy Cox replaced him as the Dodgers regular third baseman.

Jorgensen appeared in both the 1947 World Series and the 1949 World Series.

He finished out his major league career in 1950 and 1951 with the New York Giants, who won the pennant in 1951, but they traded Jorgensen to the Oakland Oaks in midseason. 1951 was the rookie year of Willie Mays on the Giants.

Jorgensen continued to play several years for Oakland in the 1950's.