| Earl Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | |
| Born: October 2, 1934 Ponchatoula, Louisiana |
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| Died: April 23, 2005 (aged 70) Southfield, Michigan |
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| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| July 28, 1959 for the Boston Red Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 22, 1970 for the San Diego Padres | |
| Career statistics | |
| Win–Loss record | 121–109 |
| Earned run average | 3.69 |
| Strikeouts | 1452 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Robert Earl Wilson (born Earl Lawrence Wilson) (October 2, 1934 – April 23, 2005) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox (1959–60, 1962–66), Detroit Tigers (1966–1970) and San Diego Padres (1970). Wilson batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Ponchatoula, Louisiana.
In an eleven-season career, Wilson posted a 121-109 record with 1452 strikeouts and a 3.69 ERA in 2051.2 innings pitched.
A 6-foot-3, 215-pound pitcher who relied on sliders and fastballs, Wilson made his major league debut with the Red Sox on July 31, 1959, as their first black pitcher. Previously, infielder Pumpsie Green was the first black player on the Red Sox, joining them earlier that season, when Boston was the last of the 16 major league clubs to break the color barrier.
On June 26, 1962, at Fenway Park, Wilson no-hit the Los Angeles Angels 2-0 and helped his own cause with a home run off Bo Belinsky — himself a no-hit pitcher on May 5 of that same 1962 season. (Wes Ferrell in 1931 and Rick Wise in 1971 are the only two other no-hit pitchers to homer in the same game; the latter homered twice in pitching his no-hitter.) Wilson also became the first black major leaguer to pitch an American League no-hitter.
In five-plus seasons, Wilson won 45 games for Boston with a high of 13 victories in 1963. He was traded to the Detroit Tigers in the 1966 midseason, and finished with a combined 18-11 record, a career-high in strikeouts with 200, and a 3.07 ERA. His most productive season came in 1967, when he won a career-high 22 games, tying Jim Lonborg for the American League lead.
In the 1968 World Series, when the Tigers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games, Wilson was part of a starting rotation that included 31-game winner Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich, who won three games in the Series.
Originally a catcher, Wilson switched to pitching in 1953. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Wilson hit 35 home runs in his career: 33 while as a pitcher, two as a pinch-hitter, two in one game (1965), and seven in a season twice, in 740 at-bats. Only Wes Ferrell (37 HRs), Bob Lemon and Warren Spahn (35 each) and Red Ruffing (34) hit more home runs as pitchers, according to ESB.
Wilson was sent to the San Diego Padres in 1970, and he finished his career at the end of the season. After retiring, he founded an automotive parts company.
Wilson died from a heart attack at his home in Southfield, Michigan, on April 23, 2005, and was interred in Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery.
Contents |
| Preceded by Bo Belinsky |
No-hitter pitcher June 26, 1962 |
Succeeded by Sandy Koufax |
| Preceded by Jim Kaat |
American League Wins Champion 1967 (with Jim Lonborg) |
Succeeded by Denny McLain |
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