Don Lumley
| Date and Place of Birth: | December 30, 1936 Sacramento, CA |
| Date and Place of Death: | March 4, 1966 Quang Ngai province, Vietnam |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Outfield/First Base |
| Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Military Unit: | Company F, Second Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division USMC |
| Area Served: | Vietnam |
Donald R. Lumley, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry C. Lumley, was born on
December 30, 1936, in Sacramento, California. He attended Grant Union
High School in Sacramento and was a second team selection for the
Sac-Joaquin Conference in 1954.
The 17-year-old, left-handed hitting outfielder signed with the Panama
City Fliers of the Class D Alabama-Florida League in July 1954. Playing
right field for the Fliers against the Andalusia-Opp Indians on July 21,
Lumley drove in four runs on a triple and a single to help Panama City
win, 15-14. In 16 games, Lumley batted .200 (10-for-50) with the Fliers
and joined the Jamestown Falcons of the Class D PONY League for the
remainder of the season where he hit .259 in 14 games.
Lumley was back with the Falcons in 1955. Playing for former big league
first baseman, Tony Lupien, Lumley was a key member of the Jamestown
club. He blasted a 395-foot home run to centerfield in only the second
game of the season against Olean. Then, on May 14, he hit a three-run
homer against Hornell in an 11-10 win. On May 24, his ninth inning homer
with one aboard, broke a 3-3 tie with Wellsville. On August 5, his
single with two out and the bases loaded in the last of the ninth beat
Wellsville, 3-2. Two nights later he homered twice and doubled to drive
in four runs and help beat Hornell, 12-0.
Playing 125 games, he batted .266 (second best among regular players)
with 17 doubles and 10 home runs. His 129 hits led the team and he was
still only 18 years old.
Lumley had a promising career ahead of him but military service beckoned
in 1956. That summer, instead of playing minor league baseball he was in
the Marine Corps playing first base with the Streaks in the Okinawa
Service League. In 1957, Lumley was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan and
playing with the Camp McGill Marines.
After three years of overseas military service, Lumley returned to the
United States in late 1958, and played During the winter months he
returned to Sacramento where he played in the Winter Baseball League and
was the National Division batting champion. He was back in the minors in
the spring of 1959, playing as if he’d not missed a single season. Under
the watchful eye of manager, Johnny Pesky, Lumley played outfield and
first base with the Knoxville Smokies of the Class A Sally League and
hit .275 with 11 homers and 74 RBIs. He hit a team-leading 25 doubles
and seven triples, playing alongside such future big leaguers as Mickey
Lolich, Buck Rodgers, Jake Wood, Frank Kostro and Dick McAuliffe.
In the spring of 1960, Lumley was under contract to Detroit’s Denver
Bears, and attended spring training with them at Lakeland, Florida. By
the start of the regular season he was with the Birmingham Barons of the
Class AA Southern Association and batted .238 in 33 games. He spent the
second half of the season back with Knoxville, hitting .287 in 96 games.
Aged just 24, and entering the 1961 season, eight years after playing
his first minor league game, Lumley started the year with the Nashville
Vols of the Southern Association before finding his way back to the
Birmingham Barons. Appearing in 91 games for the season, he batted .254
and drove in 51 runs.
Lumley quit professional baseball due to injury after the 1961 season but continued to
play at the amateur level. In 1964, he was with the Knoxville team that
captured the Stan Musial World Series of the American Amateur Baseball
Congress. He also served as the freshman baseball coach at the
University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
With U.S military involvement on the increase in Vietnam, Don Lumley was
recalled to active service as a second lieutenant in January 1966.
Leaving behind his wife, Karolee, he served with Company F, Second
Battalion, 7th Marines of the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam.
On March 4, 1966, 29-year-old 2/Lt. Don Lumley was killed in action in
the Quang Ngai province in Vietnam. The 7th Marines had flown in by
helicopter to attack the heavily defended positions of the 21st People's
Vietnam Army Regiment and met with ferocious fire during what became
known as Operation Utah. Lumley was one of 13 casualties suffered by
Company F before they were able to reach their night defensive positions
near the hamlet of Chau Nhai.
Don Lumley’s body was returned home to Sacramento and now rests at the
East Lawn Elk Grove Memorial Park in Elk Grove, California.
Sources
Lodi News-Sentinel, May 29, 1954
Panama City News-Herald, July 11, 1954
Panama City News, July 22, 1954
Niagara Falls Gazette, May 2, 1955
Gloversville and Johnstown Leader-Herald, May 16, 1955
Cortland Standard, May 25, 1955
Gloversville and Johnstown Leader-Herald, August 6, 1955
Dunkirk Evening Observer, August 8, 1955
Pacific Stars and Stripes, August 12, 1956
Pacific Stars and Stripes, July 3, 1957
Pacific Stars and Stripes, July 14, 1957
Marshall Chronicle, February 26, 1960
Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, March 6, 1960
Biloxi and Gulfport Daily Herald, May 10, 1961
Sault Sainte Marie Evening News, September 22, 1964
Minutes of Sacramento City Council meeting, January 22, 1959
www.findagrave.com
Thanks to Astrid van Erp, for help with photos for this biography.
Date Added October 14, 2013. Updated July 30, 2017
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