Jim Marshall (baseball)


Rufus James Marshall is an American former professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from through. Marshall managed the Chicago Cubs and the Oakland Athletics but never enjoyed a winning season in either post. His career big-league managing record was 229–326 and his 1979 A's squad lost 108 of 162 games. Born in Danville, Illinois, and raised in Long Beach, California, he threw and batted left-handed and was listed as tall and.

Playing career

Marshall attended Long Beach State University. After beginning his professional career in 1950, he was a productive hitter during his minor league days in the Pacific Coast League of the 1950s, leading the PCL in home runs and runs batted in as a member of the 1954 Oakland Oaks.
Marshall appeared in 410 MLB games over five seasons and batted.242 with 206 hits and 29 home runs. He recorded a career.994 fielding percentage, committing only nine errors in 1,602 total chances. He was part of the first interleague trade in baseball history when he was dealt by the Cubs with pitcher Dave Hillman to the Boston Red Sox for first baseman Dick Gernert on November 21, 1959.
In addition to the Cubs, he played for the Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates. He never appeared in an official game for the Red Sox, who traded him to the Giants for pitcher Al Worthington during spring training in 1960.
Marshall played baseball in Japan from 1963–65. After his managerial career ended, Marshall scouted the United States for Japanese league teams.

Management career

Marshall became a minor league manager in the Cubs' organization in 1968. After handling Triple-A assignments from 1971–73, he was promoted by the Cubs to MLB third-base coach on the staff of Whitey Lockman for.
On July 25, with Chicago at 41–52, he replaced Lockman as manager. The Cubs went 25–44 over the remainder of the season to finish at 66–96, sixth and last in the National League East Division. Marshall then led the Cubs to successive 75–87 seasons in and, the Cubs finishing in fifth and then in fourth place. His contract was not renewed, and he was replaced by Herman Franks on November 24, 1976.
He managed at Triple-A for the Montreal Expos and Oakland organizations in 1977–78 before landing his second MLB command with the 1979 Athletics. Marshall concluded his managerial career in minor league baseball during the 1980s, working for the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox. He remains in the game as the senior advisor for Pacific Rim operations of the Arizona Diamondbacks.