LOCAL LEGENDS IN THE PROS: Hillman Happy About Major League Service

BY TIM HAYES
Bristol Herald Courier

KINGSPORT, Tenn. — As he reflected on his major league career last week at his home in Kingsport, a smile never seemed to leave Dave Hillman’s face.
From his hometown of Dungannon, Va., to the pitching mound at Wrigley Field, his journey from Southwest Virginia to the major leagues is as impressive as it is inspiring.

“I can’t explain the excitement and the thrill of being there and making it,” Hillman said. “I was lucky.”
The right-handed pitcher compiled a 21-37 record with three saves and a 3.87 ERA in a 188-game big league career that spanned stints with the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds and
New York Mets.

He’s struck out his share of future Hall of Famers, rubbed shoulders with some of the game’s greatest players and has enough stories about those days to fill volumes of books.

Welcome to Wrigleyville

Darius Dutton Hillman was born in 1927 in the small Scott County community of Dungannon. He didn’t gain the name Dave until a few years later when, as a small child, he was enthralled by the performances of Grand Ole Opry star Uncle Dave Macon.

But while he was nicknamed after the famous banjo picker, his true passion was baseball.

“It’s something I’ve always loved,” Hillman said.

That love affair continued after he got out of the military in the mid-1940s and he played in semi-pro leagues such as the Tri-County League and the Lonesome Pine League.
It was while pitching in Coeburn in the Lonesome Pine League that he attracted the attention of a scout from the Chicago Cubs. He was signed and began his road to the majors, which included minor league stops in Des Moines, Iowa, and Rock Hill, S.C.

“It was tough because you survived on bread and water,” Hillman said. “The transportation was not the best in the world and the facilities were not the best in the world at that time. We played in old football stadiums and traveled in old school buses.”

Despite the hindrances, Hillman kept winning games and moving up the minor league ladder.

And in 1955 he made his major league debut with the Cubs. That feat actually occurred thanks to a memorable outing at the conclusion of spring training.

“I had hurt my shoulder and hadn’t pitched all spring,” Hillman said. “We were having one of those slugfests going with the Giants and they had used all the pitchers in the game with the exception of me.”

The Cubs eventually took the lead and manager Stan Hack called on Hillman.

“I struggled to get loosened up because my arm was so sore,” Hillman said. “The first pitch I made, I felt something snap in my shoulder. From then on through, I just fired away and didn’t have any trouble with my arm. A left-handed hitter came up at the end of the game, and I threw three straight fastballs right by him and that was it. I made the team and didn’t really expect it.”

Hillman spent the next two season splitting time between Chicago and the team’s highest affiliate in the Pacific Coast League. He was in the big leagues to stay in 1957 and pitched well over the next three seasons.

While pitching for the Cubs, Hillman shared a locker next to the franchise’s biggest star – Ernie Banks.

“Ernie is one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met in my life,” Hillman said. “He was a good guy and just loose as a goose. It was all fun to him.”

The 1959 season was Hillman’s most fun in Chicago. He won eight games and posted a 3.53 ERA as he cemented himself as a reliable pitcher for manager Bob Scheffing

And it was during that summer of ’59 that Hillman put together some of the most impressive performances of his professional career.
On May 6, he tossed a complete-game two-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. Three weeks later, there was a dominant relief effort against the Los Angeles Dodgers at the L.A. Coliseum.

After Chicago starter Seth Morehead failed to get out of the first inning, Hillman entered and proceeded to mow down the Dodgers. He struck out 11 in 7 2/3 innings en route to earning the win. At last check, the 11 K’s were still the most by a Cubs reliever in team history.

“I have never felt better in my life as far as throwing was concerned,” Hillman said. “I just felt great.”

Hillman would close the season with a strong start against the Dodgers, and he was looking forward to the 1960 season in Chicago. However, a certain event unfolded.

“In November, I got a letter,” Hillman said. “It said that me and Jim Marshall were traded to the Red Sox for Dick Gernert … It was a shock to me.”
Red Sox, Reds and Mets

Hillman would split time in his final three seasons with Boston, Cincinatti and the expansion Mets. He also battled injures during that period.

“When I got traded from the Cubs, it was like I got snakebit,” Hillman said.

A fine example was in 1961, when Hillman was 3-2 with a 2.77 ERA with the Boston Red Sox. However, his thumb was injured severely in his only start, as a line drive off the bat Detroit’s Billy Bruton struck Hillman’s bare hand.

The thumb would never completely heel, and 1962 would be Hillman’s last hurrah. He would spend his final months in the big leagues with the expansion Mets, who would set a modern day record for futility.

“It was a joke – the ballplayers they had assembled,” Hillman said. “It was all old players who were over the hill. There were one or two young pitchers that were good, but with the ballclub, they couldn’t get them a run.”

Hillman wasn’t spared from the comic relief that surrounded the Mets that season. Just take a look at the circumstances surrounding his first, and only, start for the club.

“We were flying from Milwaukee to Houston,” Hillman said. “We had plane trouble and we didn’t get out of there until [midnight] Sunday night. We got on the plane and had to land in Dallas, because Houston was fogged in. We didn’t get out of Dallas until around 5 a.m. to fly into Houston after the fog lifted. All that time we hadn’t had a meal and hadn’t closed our eyes. Come to find out after we got into Houston at 10 a.m., I was the starting pitcher that night.”
An exhausted Hillman lasted just 2 2/3 innings before manager Casey Stengel pulled him in favor of a reliever. A few months later, Hillman would hang up the spikes for good.

Reflection
Hillman would later work at a Kingsport business until he retired in 1992.
He still enjoys talking about his playing days. He remembers how Ted Williams was the first guy that greeted him when he reported to spring training with the Boston Red Sox. He remembers how he liked to pitch inside against the legendary Willie Mays.
He remembers what it was like to pitch at Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, two of baseball’s holiest cathedrals.
He also remembers what a thrill it was to become one of those rare people that gets to take the mound in a major league stadium.
thayes@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2570