Houston Sports - Jimmy Wynn

Jimmy Wynn

Born: March 12, 1942

Sport: Baseball (3-time All Star)

Each week I try to determine who it makes sense to spotlight, and now that we've been looking at significant sports figures from the Houston area for well over a year we're pretty deep into the initial list I created (with a few new individuals added along the way).  But although I try to be relevant by generally having athletes represented during the time of year when their sport is usually played, it is also fun to mix things up from time to time so we don't get buried in a single sport or era for too long.  I'll be honest, however, it seems like we had better get as many baseball players as possible done while this season is going on - if you're not the kind of fan who follows the off-field drama of various leagues then suffice it to say there's some labor strife that may result in a work stoppage soon.  That could mean a very long offseason if the various parties don't come to an agreement, so there may not actually be a normal season anytime soon after this year's World Series wraps up.  So let's go back in time to the earliest years of Houston major league baseball and take a look at a beloved figure who was one of the first big offensive stars for a team that has developed a reputation for having...small offensive stars.  Before Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, or Craig Biggio, there was the "Toy Cannon" - Jimmy Wynn.

Before the Astrodome was built, Jimmy Wynn joined the Colt 45s in 1963

Born and raised just a few blocks away from the home of the Cincinnati Reds, James Wynn was the oldest of seven children born to Joseph and Maude Wynn.  He had a simple upbringing in a home led by a garbage man and stay-at-home mom, and Joseph made a point of teaching his son what he knew of the game that he had played semi-professionally by coaching Little League.  Known as Jimmy from an early age, the young man showed surprising power which his father helped develop while keeping his focus on playing fundamentally sound defense.  Wynn was involved in football, basketball, baseball, and track at Taft High School, and was successful enough to get the attention of the Reds organization, who tried to sign the local product as soon as he graduated in 1960.  Maude was adamant that her son attend college, however, so Jimmy declined their advances and enrolled at Central State University.  He played baseball and basketball collegiately, but by the end of his second year the Reds once again approached him with an offer to join their system, and this time he accepted just before he turned 20 years old.  Heading to Florida, Wynn credited manager Johnny Vander Meer (a former pitcher who remains the only man to throw consecutive no-hitters in MLB history) with helping him deal with racism playing for Tampa in the Class D Florida State League, and his results were outstanding.  First year players were eligible to be drafted away by other organizations if they were not added to their 40-man active roster, and consequently Wynn was snagged by the expansion Colt 45s in Houston in the 1962 Minor League Draft, which was a precursor to today's Rule 5 Draft. 

Although it was a stunning development to move into Houston's organization after just their first year in existence, it presented a significant opportunity for Jimmy Wynn.  Starting the season at Double-A San Antonio, he played shortstop and third base until he was called up to the major league team in July.  Wynn was part of the historical all-rookie lineup that Houston fielded on September 27, 1963, including fellow callups Joe Morgan and Rusty Staub.  He made the Opening Day roster in 1964, starting in center field, but was eventually sent back to Triple-A after a batting slump.  It would be the end of his minor league days, as Wynn returned to Houston for good by September and became a breakout star in 1965.  Several changes took place, starting with Wynn's personal life as he married Ruth Mixon with whom he would have two children.  The team had be renamed the Astros as they moved into the 8th Wonder of the World, the Houston Astrodome, and despite the pitcher-friendly dimensions he slugged his way to 22 home runs.  After his 1966 season was cut short by injury after crashing into the outfield wall, Wynn's 1967 season was one for the record books as he set the Houston franchise mark for homers in a season with 37, earning his first All Star nod as well as the first use of his "Toy Cannon" nickname.  At first he didn't care for the moniker, believing it was yet another criticism of his 5'9" frame, but perhaps it motivated him as he competed with Hank Aaron for the home run title.  His reputation for hitting baseballs just about as far as they could go made him popular with fans as he entertained them with mammoth blasts, including a drive out of his hometown Crosley Field that cleared a 58' tall scoreboard in the outfield and bounced on Interstate 75 outside the stadium before later becoming the first player to smash three dingers at the Astrodome.  

The 1967 season would be Jimmy Wynn's most productive year in Houston, although he remained there as a solid contributor through the 1973 season.  Along the way he dealt with both successes and setbacks, including a battle of wills with manager Harry Walker, who wanted his players to focus on batting average instead of power, as well as an ugly domestic incident in 1970.  On the night of his sixth anniversary, a fight with his wife resulted in Wynn being stabbed and requiring abdominal surgery, and the marriage dissolved soon thereafter.  His 1971 season was the worst to that point in Wynn's career, and many believed he couldn't coexist with Harry Walker.  Surprisingly, the Astros decided to keep both of them but traded Joe Morgan, who also refused to comply with Walker's instruction and demands.  Wynn did outlast his manager by just over a season, as Walker was replaced by Leo Durocher in 1972 in spite of the team finally starting to display a potent offense.  He also married his second wife, Joanne, in 1972 although the union was even more short-lived than the first and did not result in any children.  By the end of Wynn's time with the Astros, he was at the top of nearly every major offensive category, including HR, hits, RBI, and walks, despite playing his career during some of the most pitcher-friendly years of the live ball era.  After the conclusion of the 1973 season Houston traded Wynn to the Los Angeles Dodgers where he had two successful seasons, both of which yielded All Star appearances and the second of which led Wynn to the only playoff appearance of his career, as LA defeated the Pirates for the NL Pennant before falling to the Oakland As in the World Series.  His power had begun to decline, however, and after one full season with the Atlanta Braves in 1976 Wynn only managed a total of 66 games between the Yankees and Brewers during the 1977 campaign.  After having been released by two teams in a single year, Wynn decided to retire and settled in Los Angeles.  In 1985 he decided to relocate to Houston in an effort to be around his children who lived there with their mother, as both of Wynn's parents had died and the kids were the closest family he had left.  The Astros brought Wynn back into the organization in 1988 to serve in community relations, and he acted in that role for more than 25 years.  He met his third wife, Rose Marie, in 1992 which was the same year he was inducted in the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame.  The couple were married in 2000 in an impromptu ceremony in Hawaii alongside several notable baseball players acting as groomsmen and witnesses.  Houston retired Wynn's number 24 in a ceremony during the 2005 season, and later included him in the inaugural franchise Hall of Fame in 2019.  Wynn wrote and published his autobiography in 2010, one year before the Astros opened the Jimmy Wynn Training Center as an inner-city youth baseball facility.  Wynn passed away on March 26, 2020, at the age of 78.

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