Jimmy Wiggs

Who was Jimmy Wiggs?

James Alvin Wiggs, nicknamed "Big Jim," was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers.

Born in Trondheim, Norway in 1876, Wiggs is one of three Norwegian major league baseball players in history. Wiggs was a big man at 6'4" tall.

In April 1903, Wiggs made his major league debut at age 26 with the Cincinnati Reds. He appeared in only two games for the Reds, pitching in only 5 innings with a 5.40 ERA.

In 1905, Wiggs got a second chance in the majors with the Detroit Tigers. He pitched in 11 games for the Tigers in the 1905 and 1906 seasons. In 1905, Wiggs pitched 41-1/3 innings with a 3.27 ERA and a 3–3 record.

According to records of long-term holdouts by major league baseball players, Wiggs became the first player to hold out for at least of month of the season.

In 1906, Wiggs pitched in only 10-1/3 innings and saw his ERA jump to 5.23—two points higher than the previous season. Wiggs pitched his final game for the Tigers on May 25, 1903, and did not play another game in the major leagues.

After being cut by the Tigers, Wiggs played for the Toledo Mud Hens in 1906.