Page 132 - 1975 BoSox

JAMES ARTHUR WILLOUGHBY WAS a right-handed pitcher perhaps best known for his contributions to the 1975 Boston Red
Sox (including being pinch-hit for in Game Seven of the World Series). Willoughby also pitched for the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago White Sox.
“Willow,” as he was often called, was born in Salinas, California, on January 31, 1949 (the same date as Fred Kendall, brie y his Red Sox teammate in 1978), the son of James Roger Willoughby, a noted scuba diver, and Marlene Dickison Willoughby. He had two younger sisters, Marcy and Beverly. Willoughby had three-eighths Pottawatomi blood in addition to British ancestry. His great-aunt Mamie Echo Hawk was the tribe’s chief lobbyist in Washington for years. (A later Red Sox hurler, John Henry Johnson, also had some Pottawatomi blood.)1
Willoughby was raised in the San Joaquin Valley town of Gustine, California, and grew up a Yankees fan because his mother came from Mickey Mantle’s home state of Oklahoma. He also also particularly admired Jim orpe and Satchel Paige.
Jim played both Little League and Colt baseball. While attending high school in Gustine, he played four years of varsity baseball and American Legion ball and also played basketball and football (split end), and participated in one year of track. e University of California at Berkeley recruited Willoughby for football, but the San Francisco Giants
drafted Jim out of Gustine High in the 11th round of the June 1967 draft.
Willoughby faced a tough decision. Under NCAA rules at the time, he would forfeit his eligibility to play football for the Golden Bears if he played baseball professionally. His family was of modest means and he wanted to attend college;
a football scholarship would have a orded him the opportunity to do so. When Giants scout Dick Wilson o ered him participation in the Professional Baseball Scholarship Plan as part of his signing package, Willoughby signed with San Francisco.
Willoughby pitched for Salt Lake, Fresno, Medford, and Phoenix in the Giants’ system, all the while pursu- ing a degree in electrical engineering. As part of his scholarship plan, he spent the 1967-1968 o season at Cal-Berkeley; he also took classes at Fresno State, Phoenix College, and the College of San Mateo.
It was an interesting time to go to college in the Bay Area. Willoughby would sometimes drive his convert- ible with a roommate to Golden Gate Park and see bands such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Je erson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Country Joe and the Fish. He never nished his degree work, remaining a few credits shy of a bach- elor’s degree.
Willoughby was also a chess player — at one point, a rated member at the Burlingame Chess Club in California. During his baseball career, his opponents included fellow pitcher Steve Stone and sportscaster Dick Stockton. Asked to compare Willoughby’s chess- playing style to that of Boston Celtics guard Paul Westphal,Stockton replied,“Willoughby is a gambler. Westphal is very conservative.”2
For 1967 Willoughby was assigned to the Salt Lake City Giants in the Pioneer League, where he appeared in 17 games. He was still in school at the start of the 1968 season. After he nished his nals on a Friday, he was married to high- school sweetheart Mary Ann Ryan on Saturday, started his honeymoon on Sunday, and got into a car accident on Monday. “I smacked my face on the
Jim Willoughby
by Jon Daly
125