Jim Campbell

Who is Jim Campbell?

James Robert Campbell is an American former professional baseball player, a catcher who played 82 games in the Major Leagues for the Houston Colt .45s during 1962 and 1963. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet tall and weighed 190 pounds.

Campbell was acquired by the Colt .45s over a full season before the team played an official big-league game. He'd signed originally with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1955, was briefly loaned to the Chicago White Sox organization, and played for six seasons without reaching the Double-A level. After the 1960 minor-league season, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Braves, then traded on February 23, 1961, to the newborn Colt .45s, founded as a National League expansion team set to debut in 1962. To prepare for their first MLB season, the Colt .45s — known as the Astros since 1965 — were acquiring minor league players to stock their organization and loaning them to other teams' minor-league clubs. Campbell was assigned to the 1961 Houston Buffs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and the last minor-league team to represent Houston. Campbell was the Buffs' first-string catcher in 1961 and then was assigned to the Colt .45s' top 1962 affiliate, the Oklahoma City 89ers of the American Association.