It was September 12, 1963, and Jim Umbricht took the mound. While nothing seems unusual about an MLB pitcher entering a game, it is if you know Umbricht’s story.
During Spring Training that year, Jim Umbricht started experiencing pain. It was from a mole located on the back of his right leg. He was diagnosed with “black mole cancer,” which spread to his groin.
Umbricht underwent surgery on March 7, 1963. The tumor was removed, and a profusion was performed with his leg tied off with a tourniquet. Tubing was inserted in the leg and washed for five hours with drugs to kill the cancer cells.
Courtesy Ken Hobbs, The 1964 Topps Blog, WordPress.com
Two months later, Umbricht rejoined his team, the Houston Colt 45s. He had 100 stitches in his body before he pitched his final game, finishing the year with a 4-3 record and a 2.61 ERA in 35 games.
It would be his last year in the Bigs. The cancer reappeared, this time in his chest. Umbricht was back in the hospital by the time Spring Training 1964 rolled around. He succumbed to the disease less than a month later.
The Colt 45s retired Umbricht’s #32, the first jersey retired by the team. Umbricht was cremated, and his ashes were spread over the construction site of the team’s new ballpark, the Houston Astrodome. There, the team began playing with a new name and logo, the Houston Astros.
