Joe Cunningham
history
|birthplace=
|debutdate=June 30
|debutyear=
|debutteam=St. Louis Cardinals
|finaldate=April 17
|finalyear=
|finalteam=Washington Senators
|stat1label=Batting average
|stat1value=.291
|stat2label=Hits
|stat2value=980
|stat3label=RBI
|stat3value=436
|teams=
- St. Louis Cardinals (, -)
- Chicago White Sox (-)
- Washington Senators (-)
- National League All-Star in 1959
- Led NL in on base percentage in 1959 with .453
Joseph Robert Cunningham, Jr. (born August 27 1931 in Paterson, New Jersey) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and left-handed batter who played for the St. Louis Cardinals (-), Chicago White Sox (1962-1964), and Washington Senators (1964-1966).
The best season for Cunningham was in 1959, when he batted .345 to finish second to Hank Aaron for the National League batting title. He finished his career with a .291 batting average over 1,141 games spread over a 12-year career.
Cunningham was traded from the Cardinals to the White Sox after the 1961 season in exchange for long-time star Minnie Miñoso. Although his first season as the White Sox first baseman was successful, Cunningham would never fully recover from a broken collarbone suffered in a collision on June 3, .
Cunningham narrowly avoided death during a tornado in St. Louis on Feb. 10, 1959 in which 21 died. He was discussing Bible verses in his apartment after 2 a.m. with a friend when they heard a roar. They ran to another room. Then the ceiling caved in where he had been sitting.
His son, also named Joe, works as a batting instructor in the Cardinals' farm system.