Lum was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a Japanese woman and American soldier and was adopted as a baby by a Chinese couple, Mun Luke and Winnifred Lum. He became a star left-handed quarterback at President Theodore Roosevelt High School, winning the Interscholastic League of Honolulu\'s Back of the Year award in 1962. He attracted interest from Michigan State University, and attended Brigham Young University on a football scholarship for one semester in the fall of 1963 after having signed with the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent back in June.\n', '

A speedy runner, Lum was converted to an outfielder in the Braves\' organization after having played first base in high school. He logged just a .925 fielding percentage his first professional season with the Waycross Braves Georgia–Florida League, but his defense steadily improved over his five seasons in the minors.\n', '

Making his major league debut as a pinch hitter on September 12, 1967, Lum singled in his first major league at-bat against the New York Mets\' Jack Fisher. With the Braves trailing 3-2 in the ninth, Lum came around to score the game tying run of their 4-3 victory. He started the second game of a September 17 double header in centerfield, and remained the team\'s starting center fielder over the remainder of the season.\n', '

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