Jim O’Toole obit

Reds announce death of 1960s star pitcher Jim O’Toole

 

He was not on the list.

CINCINNATI — Jim O’Toole, a star pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1960s, has died after a long battle with cancer. O’Toole was 78.

The team said O’Toole died Saturday at his home, a day after celebrating Christmas with his large family.

The lefty started the opening game of the 1961 World Series, losing to Yankees ace Whitey Ford 2-0. He also lost Game 4 to Ford, as a New York team featuring Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Yogi Berra won the series in five games. O’Toole gave up four earned runs over 12 innings.

He was the National League’s starting pitcher in the 1963 All-Star Game. O’Toole called that one of his proudest career moments, recalling that manager Alvin Dark chose him to start with a roster that included future Hall of Fame pitchers Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn.

O’Toole debuted at age 21 for the Reds late in the 1958 season and was 98-84 over 10 seasons, finishing with the White Sox in 1967. He was 19-9 in 1961 and twice won 17 games.

A Chicago native, O’Toole and wife Betty Jane Wall, his high school sweetheart, adopted Cincinnati as their hometown, where they raised 11 children. He remained active in mingling with Reds fans, supporting charities and participating in local events such as Cincinnati’s 2015 St. Patrick’s Day parade, serving as the grand marshal.

The Reds Hall of Fame and Museum’s site called O’Toole "a fixture at Reds events of all types and sizes throughout his post-playing career." The site’s remembrance said O’Toole enjoyed Cincinnati’s tradition of making opening day a celebration and won two of three starts for the Reds in their season openers.

"No day was more special to Jim and his expansive family than Opening Day," it said.

O’Toole was inducted into the Reds’ team Hall of Fame in 1970.

No information was available immediately on funeral plans.

O'Toole was called up to the Reds at the end of September, 1958, and made his pitching debut on September 26, 1958. He was the starting pitcher against the Milwaukee Braves, in a 2–1 loss. (Less than one week later, the Braves were in the World Series against the New York Yankees.) He pitched seven innings, giving up only one earned run on four hits, against a lineup that included future hall of famers Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, and Red Schoendienst.

The Braves played their regular players to help pitcher Lew Burdette win his 20th game of the season. The young O’Toole pitched so well against the Braves that he was invited to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show to give the Yankees advice on how to pitch to the Braves in the World Series.

In 1959, he became a full time player for the Reds after only one season of minor league baseball. He pitched in 28 games with 19 starts. O'Toole had 5–8 record with a 5.15 ERA his rookie year. He improved in 1960, with a 12–12 record in 38 starts, and 3.80 ERA.

The height of O'Toole's career fell between 1961-64, starting at least 30 games and pitching at least 220 innings in each of those years. From 1961–64, he won 19 (3.10 ERA), 16 (3.50 ERA), 17 (2.88 ERA) and 17 (2.66 ERA) games respectively for the Reds. In 1961, he was second in both wins (behind Warren Spahn and teammate Joey Jay) and ERA (behind Spahn) in the National League, fourth in strikeouts and pitchers WAR, and fifth in innings pitched. In 1962, he was 10th in wins, and 9th in wins in 1963. In 1964, he was 3rd in win-loss percentage (behind only future hall of fame pitchers Sandy Koufax and Juan Marichal), 6th in ERA, and 10th in WHIP and WAR for pitchers.

The Reds won the National League pennant in 1961, and met the Yankees in the 1961 World Series (losing 4–1). O'Toole was the opening day starter in the 1961 season. He played a crucial role in Cincinnati's 1961 National League championship. He, Jay and Bob Purkey led the starting pitching staff. O'Toole had a 19–9 record, the highest winning percentage among the three, and the lowest ERA at 3.10. Jay was 21–10 with a 3.53 ERA and Purkey was 16–12 with a 3.73 ERA. He was named Player of the Month for September with a 5–0 record, 2.53 ERA, and 37 strikeouts. He finished 10th in MVP voting.

Manager Fred Hutchison chose O'Toole to pitch Game 1 of the World Series. Though pitching effectively in the World Series, with an earned run average of 3.00, O'Toole lost his two decisions to Whitey Ford in games 1 and 4, as the New York Yankees bested the Reds in five games. Future hall of famer Ford was O'Toole's idol. He pitched seven innings in the first game, giving up only two runs, but Ford pitched a two-hit shutout. In Game 4, O'Toole pitched five innings, giving up two runs, but again the Reds were shut out.

In 1963, he was the starting pitcher for the National League in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game (his only appearance at the Summer Classic), pitching 2 innings and allowing 1 earned run, but was not involved in the decision. O'Toole later said that being selected as the starting pitcher by San Francisco Giants manager Alvin Dark was one of the proudest moments of his career.

In 1970, he was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame.

After graduating from Leo High School in 1955, O'Toole attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison on a baseball scholarship. After one year at Wisconsin, he had an 0–3 record. In the summer of 1957, he played semi-pro baseball in the Basin League for the Mitchell Kerns, where he had a 9–1 record. He was scouted by the Cincinnati Reds, and signed to play professional baseball for the Reds, including a $50,000 bonus.

In 1958, the Reds assigned him to the minor league Nashville Vols, where he led the Double-A Southern Association in wins (20), innings pitched, strikeouts and bases on balls. He had a 2.44 earned run average (ERA), and a 20–8 record in 280 innings pitched, with 189 strikeouts. He completed 21 of his 33 starts, with four shutouts. He was a starting pitcher in the Southern League All-Star game.

O'Toole played in Cincinnati until his final season, 1967, spent with his hometown team, the Chicago White Sox, but was ineffective due to arm troubles. O'Toole tried to return with a 1969 expansion team, the Seattle Pilots, but was cut in spring training before the season began.