Jim Hickman had seven walk-off homers in his 13-year career in the big leagues.
The Tennessee native hit 159 homers, but he left a legacy of accomplishments with several of them.
Back in 1969, Hickman had two of those winning long balls in five days as the Chicago Cubs were leading the pennant race over the New York Mets in the newly formed National League East.
On June 26, he hit the second of that week in the 10th inning to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 in a Cubs win Wrigley Field.
In the bottom of the eighth, Ron Santo tied the game for the Cubs as his two-run homer off Dock Ellis to make it 5-5 to set the stage for Hickman.
Bruce Dal Canton issued a two-out walk to Ken Rudolph in the bottom of the 10th, which allowed Hickman to come to the plate.
Hickman’s blast made a winner out of Chicago reliever Phil Regan as the Cubs held a seven-game advantage in the division over the Mets.
Four days earlier, Hickman won the opener of a doubleheader in the ninth against the Montreal Expos with his first walk-off homer of the week in a 7-6 win.
Some Firsts with the Mets
Hickman was a member of the original Mets in 1962 and he played for the team until he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 1966 season.
After his two walk-off homers in 1963, Hickman became the first Met to hit for the cycle in a 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at the Polo Grounds on Aug. 7.
Two years later, Hickman had the first three-homer game against the Cardinals as he hit all of the shots off Ray Sadecki in St. Louis on Sept. 3.
Joining the Cubs
The Dodgers traded Hickman to Chicago prior to the 1968 season and he remained with the Cubs until 1973.
In six years with the Cubs, Hickman had 97 homers and 336 RBI. In addition to the two previously mentioned walk-off homers in 1969, he won games with long balls in 1970, 1971 and 1972.
Hickman was shipped to St. Louis for the 1974 season and he was released by the Cardinals in the middle of the year.
Most Famous Walk-Off
One of Hickman’s greatest moments is always overshadowed.
In Hickman’s only all-star appearance in 1970, he had the game-winning single in the 12th inning to give the NL a victory in Cincinnati.
Of course, all most of us remember is that Cincinnati’s Pete Rose scored the winning run during the famous collision with Cleveland’s Ray Fosse.
That season proved to be the best for Hickman as he had 32 homers with 115 RBI and a .315 batting average. The RBI total was sixth in the NL and eight in the majors.
Hickman was named the Comeback Player of the Year by the Sporting News in 1970.