Jim Hickman

Who is Jim Hickman?

James Lucius Hickman is a former Major League Baseball player.

An outfielder who batted and threw right-handed, Hickman played for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals.

Hickman was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent prior to the 1956 season. He spent six seasons in the Cardinals’ farm system until he was selected by the New York Mets in the expansion draft. In his five seasons with the Mets, with whom he played 624 games, Hickman batted .241 with 60 home runs with 210 RBI.

Hickman has earned several places in Mets history. He was the first Met to hit for the cycle, accomplishing the feat in a 7-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at the Polo Grounds on August 7, 1963; the cycle is currently one of 14 natural cycles in Major League history. A month later, on September 18, he hit the last home run ever hit at the Polo Grounds, a solo against Chris Short of the Philadelphia Phillies in a 5-1 Mets' loss, in the final game ever played at that stadium. Hickman was also the first Met to hit three home runs in one game, at Sportsmans Park on September 3, 1965, in a 6-3 victory over the Cardinals. All three home runs were hit off Ray Sadecki. Finally, he was the last of the Original Mets, when he was traded to the Dodgers for outfielder Tommy Davis on November 29, 1966. Hickman also set a pair of Shea Stadium firsts, earning the team's first walk and first batter hit by pitch, both accomplished in the team's inaugural game at the stadium, a 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 17, 1964.