Jim Turner

James Riley Turner
Nickname: Milkman Jim
Born: Aug. 6, 1903 in Antioch, Tenn.
Died: Nov. 29, 1998 in Nashville, Tenn.
Debut: 1937 | Pos: P
H: 6' | W: 185 | B: L | T: R

>> Visit the Jim Turner biography on Baseball Almanac for complete statistics.

Jim Turner, a former major league pitcher and a longtime New York Yankees pitching
coach, died on Nov. 30, 1998 following a long illness. He was 95.

He spent 51 consecutive seasons in professional baseball as a player and a coach.
According to his obituary, he coached in 13 World Series.

Turner entered minor league baseball at the age of 19 and it took him 12 seasons
before he made his debut in the major leagues in 1937 at the age of 33.

He was an instant success. In his first season with the Boston Braves, Turner posted a 20-11 record with a 2.38 ERA in 256.2 innings pitched. He followed that up with a 14-18 effort in 1938. He was named to the All-Star team in 1938.

He suffered through a 4-11 effort with the Braves in 1939 before he was traded to
the Reds at in December. He rebounded in 1940 to post a 14-7 record and a 2.89 ERA in 187 innings pitched.

The Reds traded the 38-year-old pitcher to the Yankees in 1942 and New York used him as a relief pitcher. He posted 19 saves for the Yankees from the time of the trade until his playing career ended in 1945.

He pitched in the 1940 and 1942 World Series and posted a career 0-1 record in 7
innings in the postseason. He had a 6.43 ERA and he recorded four strikeouts.

His nickname of the "Milkman Jim" was a reference to his off-season job of
delivering milk.

After his playing career ended, he was pitching coach for the Yankees from
1949-1959. He managed for a season in the minor leagues and joined the Reds in 1961 as pitching coach.

He stayed with Cincinnati through the 1965 season and returned to the Yankees in
1966. He was the pitching coach until he retired in 1973.