Junior Gilliam
*Junior Gilliam was born on this date in 1928. He was a Black baseball player and coach.
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, James William "Junior" Gilliam began playing on a local semi-pro team at age 14 and dropped out of high school in his senior year to pursue his baseball career. He joined the Negro National League's Baltimore Elite Giants, with whom he played from 1946 to 1950. He received his nickname, "Junior," during this time. He was voted an All-Star three straight years from 1948 to 1950. Veteran George Scales taught him to switch hit.
In 1951, the Brooklyn Dodgers signed him as an amateur free agent; he led the International League in runs in both 1951 and 1952. Gilliam made his debut with the Dodgers in April 1953. He earned National League Rookie of the Year honors and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award. With the 1956 pennant winners, Gilliam batted a career-best .300 and made his first major league All-Star team. During the team's Los Angeles years, he moved back to second base from 1961 to 1963, batting .282 in the 1963 pennant year and placing sixth in that year's MVP vote; he also relinquished the leadoff role to Maury Wills in the 1960s, batting second in the lineup.
Gilliam was named a coach after the 1964 season and intended to end his playing career. Still, team injuries resulted in his seeing substantial play at third base in 1965 and 1966, with the team again winning the National League championship in both seasons. Gilliam played in seven World Series with the Dodgers, four against the New York Yankees. He was also on the Dodgers teams, which won the Series in 1959 against the Chicago White Sox and in 1965 against the Minnesota Twins.
His final major league appearance was in Game 2 of the 1966 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles. He finally retired as a player following the 1966 season with a .265 career batting average, 1,889 hits, 1,163 runs, 65 home runs, 558 runs batted in, 304 doubles, 71 triples, 1,036 walks, and 203 stolen bases over 14 seasons. Defensively, he recorded an overall .973 fielding percentage. Gilliam served as a player-coach beginning in 1965 and became a full-time coach in 1967.
He continued as a coach with the Dodgers until he died, including three more Dodger pennant teams in 1974, 1977, and 1978; they lost the World Series each year. Junior Gilliam died in Inglewood, California, on October 8, 1978. Two days after his death, the Dodgers retired his uniform number, 19. He and Fernando Valenzuela are the only Dodgers whose numbers have been retired but are not in the Hall of Fame.
