{{Short description|Canadian baseball player (1937–2025)}} {{about||the American football coach|Tim Harkness (American football)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Tim Harkness |position=First baseman |image=Tim Harkness 1961.jpg |birth_date={{birth date|1937|12|23}} |birth_place=Lachine, Quebec, Canada |death_date={{death date and age|2025|11|30|1937|12|23}} |death_place=Courtice, Ontario, Canada |bats=Left |throws=Left |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=September 12 |debutyear=1961 |debutteam=Los Angeles Dodgers |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=July 28 |finalyear=1964 |finalteam=New York Mets |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=.235 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=14 |stat3label=Runs batted in |stat3value=61 |teams= * Los Angeles Dodgers ({{mlby|1961}}–{{mlby|1962}}) * New York Mets ({{mlby|1963}}–{{mlby|1964}}) }}
'''Thomas William "Tim" Harkness''' (December 23, 1937 – November 30, 2025) was a Canadian professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1961 to 1964 for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. The native of Lachine, Quebec, threw and batted left-handed and was listed as {{convert|6|ft|2|in}} tall and {{convert|182|lb}} (13 stone).
==Baseball career== Harkness was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies before the {{Baseball year|1956}} season. He was traded by the Phillies on April 5, 1957, along with a player to be named later, Ron Negray, Elmer Valo, a minor league player, and $75,000 to the Brooklyn Dodgers in exchange for Chico Fernández, with the Phillies completing the trade on April 8 when they sent Ben Flowers to the Dodgers.<ref name=Career>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/h/harknti01.shtml Tim Harkness], Baseball-Reference.com. Accessed September 24, 2008.</ref>
===Los Angeles Dodgers=== Harkness made his Major League Baseball debut on September 12, 1961, against the Phillies, working out a walk in five pitches against pitcher Chris Short as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning in a 19–10 loss at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN196109120.shtml Sep 12, 1961, Phillies at Dodgers Play by Play and Box Score], Baseball-Reference.com; accessed September 24, 2008.</ref> He finished the 1961 season with four hits (including two doubles) in eight at bats, for a .500 batting average.<ref name=Career/>
In the {{Baseball year|1962}} season, he appeared in 92 games for the Dodgers, with nine hits (including two doubles and two home runs) in 62 at bats, and seven runs batted in.<ref name=Career/> He hit the first home run of his career on April 17 in the top of the second inning against Mike McCormick to drive in Daryl Spencer, as part of an 8–7 win over the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN196204170.shtml Apr 17, 1962, Dodgers at Giants Box Score and Play by Play], Baseball-Reference.com. Accessed September 24, 2008.</ref>
===New York Mets=== Harkness was traded along with Larry Burright from the Dodgers to the New York Mets for Bob Miller on 1 December 1962.<ref>"Mets Trade Miller, Get Two Dodgers," ''United Press International'' (UPI), Saturday 1 December 1962. Retrieved 18 March 2026.</ref> In the {{Baseball year|1963}} season with the Mets, Harkness played in 123 games, achieving 79 hits (including 12 doubles, three triples with 10 home runs) in 375 at bats, for a .211 batting average, together with 41 RBI.<ref name=Career/> His seven times hit by pitch that season tied him for eighth among National League batters.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL_1963_t.shtml 1963 National League Expanded Leaderboards], Baseball-Reference.com; accessed September 24, 2008.</ref>
On April 17, 1964, Harkness led off for the Mets in the bottom of the first inning, collecting a single off Bob Friend in the third inning to become the first Mets player to bat and the first to get a hit in the team's initial game played at the new Shea Stadium as part of a 4–3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.<ref>Durso, Joseph. [https://www.nytimes.com/1964/04/18/stargell-stars-with-4-safeties.html "STARGELL STARS WITH 4 SAFETIES; Pirates' Left Fielder Leads Uphill Drive After Mets Score 3 Runs in 4th"], ''The New York Times'', April 18, 1964. Accessed September 24, 2008.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070503202703/http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/nym/history/club_firsts.jsp Mets Club Firsts], New York Mets. Accessed September 24, 2008.</ref> With the 1964 Mets, he appeared in 39 games, getting 33 hits in 117 at-bats (including two doubles, a triple and two home runs) for a .282 batting average, and 13 RBI.<ref name=Career/>
On July 28, 1964, after Harkness went one-for-four as the Mets' first baseman in a 9–0 loss to the Dodgers, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for infielder Bobby Klaus and assigned to Triple-A San Diego. He played at the Triple-A level for the rest of his professional career, retiring after the 1966 season at age 28.
===Career summary and retirement=== In 259 big-league games played through all or parts of four seasons, Harkness collected 132 hits, with 18 doubles and four triples accompanying his 14 home runs. He batted .235 overall.
==Death== Harkness died in Courtice, Ontario on November 30, 2025, at the age of 87.<ref>[https://www.newsweek.com/sports/mlb/former-mets-dodgers-first-baseman-dies-11137495 Former Mets, Dodgers First Baseman Dies]</ref><ref>[https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=harknti01 Tim Harkness]</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Baseballstats |mlb= |espn= |br=h/harknti01 |fangraphs= |cube=}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harkness, Tim}} Category:1937 births Category:2025 deaths Category:Anglophone Quebec people Category:Atlanta Crackers players Category:Baseball people from Quebec Category:Baseball players from Montreal Category:Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Category:Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Category:Cedar Rapids Raiders players Category:Columbus Jets players Category:Des Moines Bruins players Category:Green Bay Bluejays players Category:Kokomo Dodgers players Category:Los Angeles Dodgers players Category:Major League Baseball first basemen Category:Major League Baseball players from Canada Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen Category:Montreal Royals players Category:New York Mets players Category:Olean Oilers players Category:People from Lachine, Quebec Category:San Diego Padres (minor league) players Category:San Diego Padres scouts Category:Spokane Indians players Category:Victoria Rosebuds players