As a player (1949–1959) with the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies, Hemus was primarily a shortstop, although he also saw significant time as a second baseman. Hemus compiled a lifetime batting average of .273 in 961 games and collected 736 hits, with 51 home runs. The Phoenix native batted left-handed and threw right-handed. During his playing days, Hemus stood 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall, weighing 165 pounds (75 kg).\n', '

Hemus was a hard-nosed player and manager known for battling with opponents and umpires; he was ejected 30 times between 1952 and 1965. When he was traded to the Phillies in May 1956, Hemus wrote a letter to Cardinals owner August "Gussie" Busch, expressing his pride in being a Cardinal and his gratitude to the baseball club. Nearing the end of his playing career, he was reacquired by the Cardinals on September 29, 1958 — one day after the 1958 season ended — and named the St. Louis player-manager by Busch, who admired Hemus\' fiery personality and remembered his letter from 2½ years before.\n', '

As a player in 1959, Hemus appeared in 24 games — mostly as a pinch-hitter — before concentrating on his managerial responsibilities. His Cardinals were inconsistent. Hemus\' first club lost 15 of its first 20 games and stumbled to a seventh place (71–83) finish in 1959. That was followed by a 15-game improvement (86–68) and a leap to third place in his second season (1960). The Redbirds followed with a mediocre start in 1961 and were mired in sixth place on July 5 (at 33–41), when Hemus was replaced by one of his coaches, Johnny Keane. His career managing record was 190–192 (.497). He was thrown out of 11 of the 382 games he managed, comprising over one-third of his career MLB ejections.\n', '

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