Jim Lonborg
James Reynold Lonborg is an American former professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball with the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies. Though nicknamed "Gentleman Jim", he was known for fearlessly pitching on the inside of the plate throughout his fifteen-year career.
Born in Santa Maria, California, he attended San Luis Obispo High School and graduated from Stanford University. On August 14, 1963, he was signed as an amateur free agent by the Boston Red Sox.
Lonborg enjoyed his best year in the Carl Yastrzemski-led Red Sox's "Impossible Dream" season, when he led American League pitchers in wins, games started, and strikeouts. That year, the Red Sox were involved in a four-way race for the AL pennant with the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago White Sox; the race was reduced to three teams after the White Sox lost a doubleheader to the Kansas City Athletics, on September 27. The Red Sox and Twins faced each other in the season's final series and entered the final day tied for first place; the Tigers were half a game out of first and needed to sweep a doubleheader from the California Angels to force a playoff between the winner of the Red Sox–Twins game. Lonborg outdueled Twins ace Dean Chance in that finale, while the Tigers defeated the Angels in the first game but lost the second, putting the Red Sox in the World Series for the first time since. In that World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Lonborg pitched game two, tossing what was only the fourth one-hitter in Series history and followed that up with another victory in game five by limiting the Cards to three hits. Called upon to pitch the seventh and deciding game with only 2 days' rest, he lasted 6 innings, but allowed 6 earned runs in a 7–2 loss. Teammate Dan Osinski remembered, "Lonborg couldn't break a pane of glass in the bullpen when he was warming up. We all knew that, and still started him. You know he could have pitched the bullpen an inning apiece, or something. It just gave Gibson too big a lead against us that we couldn't come back from." Lonborg received the Cy Young Award, played in the All-Star Game, and finished prominently in voting for the MLB Most Valuable Player award.
In December 1967, Lonborg tore the ligaments in his left knee while skiing and his pitching career thereafter was marked by many injuries. He won only 27 games from through 1971, and was traded along with George Scott, Ken Brett, Billy Conigliaro, Joe Lahoud and Don Pavletich to the Milwaukee Brewers in a ten-player blockbuster that also sent Tommy Harper, Marty Pattin, Lew Krausse and minor-league outfielder Pat Skrable to the Red Sox on October 10, 1971. With the Philadelphia Phillies needing to improve its pitching staff beyond Steve Carlton, both Lonborg and Brett were acquired along with Ken Sanders and Earl Stephenson from the Brewers for Don Money, John Vukovich and Bill Champion on October 31, 1972. He spent the next six and a half seasons with Philadelphia before his release, midway through the 1979 season.
Lonborg‘s MLB career statistical totals include: a 157–137 record, with 1,475 strikeouts, a 3.86 earned run average, 90 complete games, 15 shutouts, and 2,464.1 innings, in 425 games.
After retiring, Lonborg attended the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, and graduated in 1983. He worked as a general dentist in Hanover, Massachusetts until he retired in 2017. He is active in many nonprofit organizations, including Catholic Charities, Little League Baseball, and The Jimmy Fund. Lonborg lives in Scituate, Massachusetts.
Lonborg was selected to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, in 2002.
On the Boston-based sitcom Cheers, the photo of Sam Malone pitching is actually that of Lonborg. At times, Sam also wore Lonborg's number 16 BoSox jersey.
