The Cincinnati Reds announced today that they have learned of the passing of Reds Hall of Fame pitcher Jim O'Toole. He was 78 years old.
James Jerome O'Toole was born on January 10, 1937 on the South Side of Chicago. He was one of five children and his father, a Chicago police officer, taught him boxing. But Jim preferred baseball, which he learned on neighborhood sandlots growing up. He had a tryout with his hometown Chicago White Sox at the age of 17, but nothing came of it, so he attended the University of Wisconsin instead.