Nelson Chittum had two distinct careers that took him around the United States.
Now his gravestone is close to his Harrisonburg roots – the Mount Crawford Cemetery in southern Rockingham County.
Chittum, who died in Kentucky in 2024, played professional baseball from 1956-1964, pitching in two games with the Boston Red Sox in 1958, and in 27 games with the St. Louis Cardinals the next two seasons.
After his pro career ended with Triple-A Rochester, then part of an improving Baltimore farm system, he worked for the United States Post Office in Michigan, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky.
One of his cousins is Barb Chittum Hutchens, who was born in Harrisonburg in 1937 and still lives in the city. Their fathers were brothers.
“I only had seven first cousins, and only one is left. Nelson’s dad, Boyd, was one my very favorite people, and Nelson was my kissing cousin. He was four years older than me, when they came to town he always stayed with us; my mother was a wonderful cook, and he was a big eater,” she wrote to the AFP. “He grew up in Pleasant Valley, then the family moved to Harrisonburg. Boyd worked at the shoe factory and when that went out of business here the family moved to Elizabethtown, Pa., and went to work in the factory there.”
Chittum was born in Harrisonburg in 1933 and moved with his family to Pennsylvania when he was 11. In high school he pitched perfect games in back-to-back starts.
He starred in baseball at Elizabethtown College and then made an impressive pro debut – going 23-7 with Class C Fresno in the California League. The right-hander followed that up by winning 16 games for Class AA Houston in 1957 and 12 with Triple-A Omaha in 1958, the same year he made his MLB debut with the Cardinals.
“I was having a good year” in Omaha, Chittum said in an interview in 2020. “On a Wednesday, they called me into the office and advised me I was being promoted to the Cardinals. I was to fly to Los Angeles on Saturday and pitch the first game of a doubleheader on Sunday” against the Dodgers.
His mound opponent was none other than lefty Sandy Koufax, a future Hall of Famer.
The first two batters hit homers off the Dodgers’ ace, and the Cardinals led 4-0 when Chittum took the mound in the last of the first. The Harrisonburg native allowed six runs in three innings and was not involved in the decision as the Cardinals won 12-7 on Aug. 17, 1958.
His first Major League win came with the Red Sox on Aug. 28, 1959, at Fenway Park against the Baltimore Orioles, when he pitched three scoreless innings.
Chittum was teammates with Hall of Famer Stan Musial in St. Louis and Ted Williams, also enshrined in Cooperstown, while with the Red Sox. He also played in the minors in Minnesota, Montreal and Spokane, Washington.
Others who played in the minors for Rochester in 1964 were Davey Johnson, the future infielder and manager of the Orioles, who also guided the Washington Nationals; and outfielder Joe Durham, who was born in Newport News.
Chittum decided to retire in the spring of 1965, and he went to work at department store in Pennsylvania.
“It’s a difficult decision to make. I don’t want to leave baseball, but it’s getting to be that time of life when I have to think about my family and the future,” Chittum told Rochester’s Democrat and Chronicle. His cousin noted that Chittum’s father had fallen ill just before that decision.
Chittum won 106 games in the minors and was 3-1, 3.84 in 40 games in the Majors, with two starts.
His cousin said that several family members are buried at Mount Crawford; Hutchens is a family historian and said there are about 50 Civil War soldiers buried at the Mount Crawford Cemetery.
She said Chittum was cremated and his ashes have not been buried yet as of late May. His widow, Shirley, lives in Kentucky. They have a son, Bruce.
Hutchens’ husband, Hugh, joined the Air Force in 1957 and was stationed in Montana. On one of their trips back to Great Falls, they stopped in Minnesota when Chittum was playing in the minors there.
Hutchens, 88, graduated from Harrisonburg High in 1955, and her husband graduated from Middle River, formerly Weyers Cave High, in 1954. He graduated from Madison College in 1964, and the couple lived in Winchester and Damascus, Md., before returning to Harrisonburg in 1993.
They have been attending Bridgewater Little League games for several decades. They are currently following the exploits of three grandchildren of Terri, who has passed away, and Thomas Burkholder. The three Little Leaguers are the children of Rebecca Chittum Burkholder, the great-niece of Barb Chittum Hutchens.
The Friendly City
Others born in Harrisonburg who pitched in the Majors include:
- Spotswood grad Daryl Irvine, who appeared with the Boston Red Sox from 1990-92.
- Travis Harper, a JMU standout who was with Tampa Bay from 2000-06.
- Turner Ashby graduate Brenan Hanifee, who has pitched out of the bullpen for the Detroit Tigers starting in 2023 and through this year in between trips to the minors. Hanifee had an ERA of 1.80 in his first eight games, over 10 innings, this season for the Tigers while also spending time at Triple-A Toledo.
Position players born in the Friendly City who made The Show include:
- Doug Neff, who played in 33 games for the Washington Senators in the 1910s.
- Alan Knicely, the first TA grad to make the Majors.
- Former TA baseball and basketball star Brian Bocock, who played infield for the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies.
- Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh, the son of former JMU assistant baseball coach Todd Raleigh.
Knicely also played for the Phillies, as well as the Cardinals, Houston Astros, and Cincinnati Reds.
Welcome to The Show
As of May 27, three natives of Virginia have made their Major League debuts this year – and two starred at state colleges.
Infielder TJ Rumfield, who was born in Richmond and went to Virginia Tech, made his debut on March 27 for the Colorado Rockies. He was drafted out of Virginia Tech by the Philadelphia Phillies. The Colorado manager is Warren Schaeffer, a former Hokie standout.
Newport News native Trey Gibson, who played at Grafton High and Liberty University, pitched in his first game on May 3 for the Baltimore Orioles.
Nick Morabito, from McLean, played in his first game on May 19 for the New York Mets. He starred at Gonzaga College High in D.C. and was a second-round pick in 2003 of the Mets. His father, Brian, starred at Bishop O’Connell in Arlington and at JMU.
The first game for the outfielder was at Nationals Park, where he saw many games as a young boy.
“I grew up coming to this park, so it’s a pretty surreal moment for me,” Morabito told reporters in Washington. “Just to be here, it’s very special.”
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David Driver
