Pitching for the Dodgers in 1954, Hughes broke Hugh Casey’s 1947 club record with 24 saves, a mark later tied by Jim Brewer in 1970 and broken by Jay Howell in 1989. After his retirement in 1957, he followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps to become a firefighter in his native Chicago.
After Hughes died in 2001, former teammate Tom Lasorda remembered him as “a big, tough guy” who needed little time to warm up. “After a few pitches, he was fogging it. Nothing but hard stuff,” Lasorda told the New York Times. “Didn’t have a breaking ball.”
