Key man, a 14-year Major League Baseball veteran and the oldest living player for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and Boston Red Sox franchises, has passed away at the age of 97. After serving two years in the Army and briefly attending Western Michigan University, Maxwell signed with the Red Sox in 1947 and made his MLB debut in September 1950. However, playing time was limited in Boston’s outfield, which included Ted Williams. In 1954, Boston sold his contract to the Baltimore Orioles, where he played only four games in 1955 before being sold to the Detroit Tigers.
In his home state of Michigan, Maxwell had his most productive years over eight seasons with the Tigers. In 1956, he hit .326 with a .414 on-base percentage, a .534 slugging percentage, and a 149 OPS+, recording 28 home runs and 87 RBIs. That performance earned him his first American League All-Star selection. He made the All-Star team again the following year, finishing with 24 home runs and 82 RBIs. In 1959, he achieved a career-high 31 home runs — a Tigers record for left-handed hitters at the time — and 95 RBIs. Two years later, as a reserve player, Maxwell contributed to the Tigers’ franchise-record-tying 101-win season.
In June 1962, Maxwell was traded to the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Bob Farley. Over three seasons with the White Sox, he maintained a solid .269/.382/.441 slash line before retiring in April 1964 at age 37.
After his playing days, Maxwell worked as an executive at a die-casting company that supplied Detroit’s “Big Three” automakers. He was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
Maxwell was known by several nicknames, including “The People’s Choice,” “Old Paw Paw” (after his hometown of Paw Paw, Michigan), and “Smokey.” His most famous nickname, “The Sabbath Smasher,” came from his remarkable ability to hit home runs on Sundays. Notably, on May 3, 1959, he hit four consecutive homers in a Sunday doubleheader against the Yankees, becoming only the fifth modern player to achieve that feat. That year, he hit 12 of his 31 homers on Sundays, a record for a Tigers left-handed batter until surpassed by Norm Cash two years later. Of his 148 career home runs, 40 were hit on Sundays.
In a 2019 interview, Maxwell reflected on his Sunday success, humorously remarking, “I don’t know, but I sure wish I could find out so I could do it on the other days of the week.”
Leave a Reply