Charlie Maxwell, a veteran of 14 major league seasons and the oldest living player in the history of the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox franchises, has passed away. He was 97.
We are saddened by the passing of former Tigers outfielder Charlie Maxwell and share our condolences with his family and loved ones.
A native of Paw Paw, Michigan, Maxwell played 8 seasons in Detroit, was a two-time All-Star and at 97 years old, was our oldest living alum. pic.twitter.com/IlvtlBuWDC
After serving in the Army for two years and briefly playing for Western Michigan University, Maxwell signed with Boston in 1947. He made his major league debut in Sept. 1950.
Maxwell found playing time hard to come by in an outfield with Ted Williams, and the Red Sox sold his contract to the Baltimore Orioles in 1954.
Maxwell played only four games with Baltimore in 1955 before his contract was sold to the Detroit Tigers. There, in his home state, Maxwell enjoyed his greatest success over the next eight seasons.
In 1956, Maxwell hit .326 with a .414 on-base percentage and .534 slugging percentage — a 149 OPS+ — while hitting 28 home runs and driving in 87. That summer, he made his first American League All-Star team.
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The following year, he made the AL All-Star team again and finished the season with 24 homers and 82 RBIs.
In 1959, Maxwell recorded a career-high 31 home runs — a Tigers record for a left-handed hitter — and 95 RBIs. Two years later, in a reserve role, Maxwell helped the Tigers win a franchise-record-tying 101 games.
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In June 1962, the Tigers traded Maxwell to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Bob Farley. Maxwell slashed a respectable .269/.382/.441 across three seasons on the South Side, before playing his final game in April 1964 at age 37.
After his playing career ended, Maxwell worked as an executive at a die-casting company that supplied the "Big 3" automakers in Detroit. He was inducted to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
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Maxwell had a handful of nicknames, including "The People's Choice," "Old Paw Paw" (for his hometown of Paw Paw, Michigan) and "Smokey." The most colorful was "the Sabbath Smasher," which he earned on accord of his ability to hit home runs on Sundays.
Writes Bill Dow of the Detroit Free Press:
Maxwell also earned the nicknames "Sunday Charlie" and "The Sabbath Smasher" after hitting home runs in four successive at-bats in a Sunday doubleheader against the New York Yankees on May 3, 1959, at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium). At the time, he was only the fifth modern player to accomplish the feat.
During the 1959 season, Maxwell belted twelve of his 31 homers on Sundays. It was the most homers ever hit in a season by a Tiger left-handed batter until the mark was surpassed two years later by Norm Cash. Forty of Maxwell's 148 career homers were hit on Sunday.
Asked in a 2019 interview why he had so much success on Sundays, Maxwell said, "I don't know but I sure wish I could find out so I could do it on the other days of the week."
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