Tom McMullin
by Ray Fleetwood
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Tom McMullin was born on October 11th, 1899 in Kimberley, British Columbia; a small town in the Canadian Rockies. Tom’s father, Robert, a miner of Scottish descent, instilled in Tom a love of the outdoors. He taught him to hunt, both game and fowl, and to fish. He also grew up watching his dad play for the Sullivan Mining Company’s baseball team. Tom was a standout center fielder and pitcher on his high school team as well as playing outdoor hockey in the wintertime.
Tom was likely to follow his father into the mine but the Sullivan Company wanted him for their team. Not wanting to risk him getting hurt in the mine, they offered him a job in their front office. While playing for the mine’s team he caught the attention of and signed with the Lethbridge Bulls of the Western Canadian Baseball League. He quickly became one of the most popular players at center field on the Lethbridge team.
Meanwhile from 1915 to 1924, the St. Louis Explorers had won the Western Division six times and NBL pennants in 1915, 1921, and 1923. On May 1st, 1925, St. Louis center fielder Antony Pruitt injured his back and the Explorers went looking for another outfielder. On May 15th St. Louis purchased McMullin’s Lethbridge contract and he was inserted into center field the next day. After Pruitt returned, Tom was moved to left field. In early June he was sat down but in August the injury bug bit the Explorer outfield again. This time Tom made the most of his opportunity. In the last two months of the season he hit for a .326 BA, .392 OBA, .604 SLG, and a .996 OPS to help St. Louis to a third consecutive NBL West title. However he did not play in the 1925 World Series as St. Louis chose to go with veterans Antony Shipman, Antony Pruitt, and Bill Barlow in the outfield. St. Louis outlasted the New York Knickerbockers 4 games to 3. In the offseason St. Louis decided they needed to make a spot for McMullin, so they traded Bill Barlow to Cincinnati. With his future secure in St. Louis and a full World Series winner’s share, Tom married the former Sally Peterson, the sister of one of his Lethbridge teammates.
The next five seasons St. Louis won the NBL West again, bringing their consecutive division title streak to eight. These were some truly great Explorers teams. Fellow Hall of Famers Brock Rutherford and Edgar Bath as well as fellow Hall of Fame inductee Hampton Bunker were the foundation of a stellar pitching staff. Veterans Erick Ladd and Matt Rooney were behind the plate and at third base respectively. Youngsters Lew Myers and Tommy Robinson were the keystone combination. Shipman played RF for one more season before retiring. Showboat Hewitt replaced him while also playing some 1B. Antony Pruitt patrolled CF.
McMullin, playing LF, played no small part in St. Louis’ success. In those five seasons Tom hit for a .348 BA, .423 OBA, .545 SLG, and a .968 OPS. He averaged 16.4 HR and 88.6 RBI a year, all while only striking out 44 times total. The postseason was not kind to Tom, however. In the 1926 World Series, while he hit .348 with three triples, St. Louis lost to New York 4 games to 2. The next two World Series he only hit .244 as the Explorers again lost to the Knicks twice. 1929 saw him miss most of the World Series with a strained abdominal muscle. He was limited to two pinch hit appearances as the Explorers lost again, this time to Brooklyn 4 games to 3. In 1930 he finally got his due. St. Louis beat Buffalo 4 games to three behind a series MVP performance by McMullin. He went 16 for 34 with a double, triple and a HR for a .471 BA and 3 RBI.
Off-seasons would see Tom return home to Kimberley, B.C., where he and Sally bought a home. They would host teammates and other members of the baseball fraternity as they would visit for the hunting and winter steelhead fishing in the western B.C. Rockies. Annually each fall, Kimberley would speculate which major leaguer(s) would visit the McMullins.
The early ’30s were lean years for St. Louis. Old Man Time was taking his toll on the Explorers, but Tom kept putting up numbers. In 1931 he hit .358, 18 HR and 115 RBI. He also led the league in SLUG%, OPS and WAR. In 1932 Tom won the NBL’s first MVP award when he hit .333, led the league with a career high 27 HR and knocked in 110 runs.
Significant injuries in ’34, ’35 and ’36 reduced his playing time but he was no longer the same player he once was. St. Louis returned to the postseason in 1937 and ’38 beating the New York Knicks both times. While Tom played in 107 games, starting 70 of them, in ’37, he only had one AB in his final World Series. He played another four seasons, finally retiring in 1942. Tom and Sally returned to Kimberley where he is a local celebrity. He continues to be a fan favorite at St. Louis’ Old Timers games.
Tom McMullin’s career numbers were .328 BA, .401 OBP, .552 SLUG%, .992 OPS for a 62.2 WAR. He is also the Explorers’ all-time career leader in both HR (195) and RBI (1053). He won Batter of the Month twice and Player of the week five times.