Jim Tabor

Who was Jim Tabor?

James Reubin Tabor, nicknamed "Rawhide," was an American Major League Baseball player, a third baseman for the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies. Born in New Hope, Alabama, he batted and threw right-handed, stood 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed 175 pounds.

Tabor attended the University of Alabama. He came to the Red Sox after two stellar minor league seasons late in 1938 and hit .316 in 19 games. The next year he was the regular third baseman. He appeared in 149 games and had a .280 batting average, highest of his majors career, with 14 home runs and 95 runs batted in.

In 1940 Tabor collected a career-high 21 home runs with 81 RBI, with 16 homers and a career-high 101 RBI in 1941. He remained with Boston until the 1944 campaign when he went into the United States Army. He was discharged in 1946 and then was sold to the Phillies. After two years in Philadelphia, Tabor was sent to the minor leagues. His Major League career was marked by numerous suspensions for "breaking training rules," and one teammate, Doc Cramer, alleged that Tabor would come to the ballpark still "half drunk" from his nights on the town; the Red Sox even hired private detectives to unsuccessfully try to control Tabor's behavior.