Tim Harkness

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 tall and (13 stone).

Baseball career Harkness was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies before the 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.

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. He finished the 1961 season with four hits (including two doubles) in eight at bats, for a .500 batting average.

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. In the 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.

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. 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.