The first player in baseball to hit 50 home runs in a season without leading his league was Jimmie Foxx, who hit 50 for the Boston Red Sox in 1938.
Foxx’s total was remarkable, but Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers hit 58 home runs that year, leading the American League and leaving Foxx in second place. That made Foxx the first player to reach the 50-homer mark without topping his league’s home-run standings.
The achievement is sometimes confused with Foxx’s 1932 season, when he hit 58 home runs for the Philadelphia Athletics and did lead the American League. His 1938 campaign was also an outstanding all-around season: he drove in 175 runs, won the American League Most Valuable Player Award, and set a Boston Red Sox record for home runs that stood until David Ortiz hit 54 in 2006.
Foxx’s first name is properly spelled “Jimmie,” although “Jimmy Foxx” is a common variant. Babe Ruth had established the 50-homer milestone earlier, making Foxx’s distinction specifically about reaching 50 while finishing behind another league slugger.