1976 Profile: Chris Chambliss

1976 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"Speaks softly, carries a big stick. He batted over .300 for the first time in the big leagues after being challenged at first base by Roy White. Chris never complained, and even let White borrow his mitt.
Chris was born in Dayton, Ohio, and was the son a Navy chaplain. The Rookie of the Year with the Indians in 1971, he became a Yankee in a big, controversial seven-man trade in 1974.
'One of the finest gentlemen I've ever met in this game, bar none,' says ex-manager Bill Virdon. Chris is not a home run threat, but a potential high average hitter who can bat .300 every year. His best years are still ahead of him."

-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1976 Edition

"All Yankee fans needed was patience. It came through with Chris Chambliss.
Obtained in a big trade in April 1974, Chris suffered through a sub-par year that season, a frustrating experience for the ex-UCLA star who won Rookie of the Year honors in 1971. But he was the old Chris in 1975, hitting .305 with career highs in almost every category.
The burly son of a Navy chaplain anchors the first base portion of the Yankee infield. The squint in his eyes gives him the appearance of smiling on the field, but his real smile is on the inside, where the quiet and honorable Chambliss feels the glow of meeting the competition of major league baseball at its best, and proving himself to be among the elite at his occupation."

-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook

"Chris enjoyed his finest big league season in 1975, his first full year as a Yankee. He hit a career high .304, which was the tenth highest in the American League. He was also tenth in the league in hits with 171, and tied for third in doubles with 38, equalling the most by any Yankee since Bobby Richardson in 1962. He had a career high of 72 runs batted in, and for the second year in a row had the longest hitting streak on the club, 13; in 1974 he had an 18-game streak, tops on the club since Tony Kubek hit in 19 straight in 1961.
In one year at UCLA, Chris hit .340 with 15 homers and 45 RBIs, the latter figures both school records. He was named MVP in the National Baseball Congress tournament in 1969, hitting .583. The Indians drafted him in January 1970 and sent him to Wichita, where he was believed to be the first rookie to ever win a Triple-A batting title, hitting .342. Chris was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1971, when he took Hawk Harrelson's first base job away in Cleveland after only 118 minor league games. He hit a two-run single to beat Chicago 2-1 in his first major league game.
The son of a Navy chaplain, who spent most of his youth traveling, Chris lived in Hawaii for a time, and also in St Louis, where Arlene Henley, now Mrs. Elston Howard, was a babysitter for the Chambliss family. Chris played football, basketball and baseball at Oceanside High in California.
Burly in build, Chris is a soft-spoken man, popular with teammates. He became a father last year for the first time, just two days before Father's Day."

-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide

"Chambliss was tenth in the American League last year in batting (.304) and hits (171); his 38 doubles tied for third.
American League Rookie of the Year in 1971, Chris is believed to be the first rookie professional ever to win a Triple-A batting title (.342 with Wichita in 1970). He is perhaps the strongest, hardest-swinging singles-and-doubles hitter ever. His father was a Navy Chaplain.
This is Chris' first All-Star Game."

-1976 All-Star Game official program