James Michael Hegan was born in Cleveland on this day in 1942. His father, Jim Hegan, was an All Star major league catcher with the Indians.
Jim was a high school baseball star at St. Ignatius and accepted a baseball scholarship to play at Worcester. In 1961, he was offered contracts by 15 teams and signed with the New York Yankees. (I should add that this is before the draft or the rules in place today.)
Mike broke with the Yankees in September 1964 and was added to the World Series roster. Mike is the only player to score a post-season run before getting his major league hit.
Hegan spent the new few seasons between the majors and the minors. In 1968, Jim was added to the Seattle Pilots expansion roster.
He blasted the Pilots’ first HR in game one of the 1969 season, hit .292 and was elected to the AL All Star team.
In 1970, the Pilots became the Milwaukee Brewers and Jim became the regular first baseman. He was a very popular player but was traded to the A’s in 1971 and played in the post season again.
After baseball, Jim moved into the TV booth and worked for Milwaukee and later Cleveland. My guess is that most fans in those cities remember Jim the broadcaster more than the player.
Hegan died in 2013. P.S. You can listen to my show. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.