James Thurman Harwell

James Thurman “Jimmie” Harwell (1.23.1939 - 3.14.2023) was gifted. He could do things with a baseball in his hand few other people could do. Some people say that when Jimmie threw a fastball, it looked to be the size of a pea. More than one curveball hummed past a hitter’s ear. A member of De La Salle’s class of 1957, he was installed in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York as the outstanding American Legion player of that year. He remained in the Hall of Fame until the American Legion display was removed in 2006. Jimmie also won the New Orleans Athlete of the Year Award from the New Orleans Athletic Club. He averaged 13 strikeouts per game in 1956 (.037 ERA) and 11 per game (.057 ERA) in 1957. Jimmie’s favorite sport was actually basketball. He led the 1957 De La Salle squad to the Catholic League, City, and State championships. While flirting with several professional baseball teams, Jimmie signed a scholarship to play baseball and tennis for Tulane University. Jimmie was not at Tulane long though. He became one of baseball’s first bonus babies and a Macon Dodger at the same time. The bonus was $50,000. Jimmie wanted a pink Cadillac. His father saw to it that the bonus was invested in a pair of doubles in Old Jefferson. Jimmie quickly progressed to the Victoria Rosebuds, the Atlanta Crackers, and the Spokane Indians. In 1962, Jimmie got his shot at the big show and a locker next to Sandy Koufax. He signed his big league contract, but shortly afterwards developed bone chips in his pitching elbow. That earned him a bus ticket home and a pat on the butt. Jimmie’s story does not end there though. In truth, the best part of Jimmie’s life began when he disappeared from the newspapers. It was then, in the last two-thirds of his life, that Jimmie turned to a life of service. He became a volunteer coach. He taught thousands of kids and emerging young men the fundamentals of sports at Jefferson Playground, Harahan Playground, Little Farms Playground, and N.O.R.D. Lakeshore. Thousands of volunteer hours went into molding teammates into teams, while also teaching the values that made each teammate into a good man. Jimmie’s later life was filled with middle-aged men rushing up to him - sometimes tearfully, sometimes not - asking for a moment of his time to reminisce about championships, or road trips, or sometimes even practices, and to proudly tell him how they were doing in their lives. Because they were hoping he would be proud of them too. We may never know the full impact of Jimmie Harwell’s life. A memorial service will be held on Friday, March 31, 2023 from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at Garden of Memories Funeral Home, 4900 Airline Drive, Metairie, Louisiana 70001. Interment will follow immediately thereafter in Garden of Memories Cemetery. To send flowers or leave condolences please visit www.gardenofmemoriesmetairie.com.

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