Al Wingo
| Al Wingo | |||
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| Left fielder | |||
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Born: May 6, 1898 Norcross, Georgia | |||
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Died: October 9, 1964 (aged 66) Detroit, Michigan | |||
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MLB debut | |||
| September 9, 1919 for the Philadelphia Athletics | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 28, 1928 for the Detroit Tigers | |||
Career statistics | |||
| Batting average | .308 | ||
| Home runs | 9 | ||
| Runs batted in | 191 | ||
Teams | |||
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Absalom Holbrook Wingo (May 6, 1898 – October 9, 1964), nicknamed "Red",[1] was a professional baseball player. He played all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics (1919) and Detroit Tigers (1924–28), primarily as an outfielder.
Life
Born in Norcross, Georgia, Wingo attended Oglethorpe University where he played for the "Stormy Petrels"—the nickname of the Oglethorpe team.[2]
Career
Wingo's older brother Ivey Wingo reached the major leagues in 1911 and became a fixture for the Cardinals and Reds in 17 seasons. Al Wingo got his first shot at the majors in 1919, when he played 15 games for the Philadelphia Athletics. Brought up at the end of the 1919 season, Wingo hit .305, but did not play another game in the major leagues for five years.
After playing two seasons with the Atlanta Crackers in the Southern Association and two more for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League, Wingo was picked up by the Tigers before the 1924 season. He played five seasons in the Detroit outfield, although in only two of those, 1925 and 1926, did he play in more than 90 games.
In 1925, Wingo played in 130 games and hit .370, fifth-best in the American League, trailing Detroit's other starting outfielders, Harry Heilmann (who won the batting championship with a .393 average) and Ty Cobb (who hit .378 in 1925). This was the only time in MLB history that every member of an outfield hit .370 or better. Wingo was also among the AL leaders in 1925 with a .456 on-base percentage (5th in the AL), an OPS of .938 (8th best), and 104 runs scored (9th best). At the end of the season, he came in 12th in the American League Most Valuable Player voting.
Wingo's production dropped off dramatically in 1926, with a .282 batting average in 108 games. Wingo never equalled his 1925 performance, finishing his career batting .234 in 1927 and .285 in 1928. At the end of the 1927 season, the Tigers traded Wingo to the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League for Roy Johnson.
In 6 seasons, Wingo played in 493 games, scored 224 runs, collected 409 hits (including 115 extra base hits), 191 RBIs, and 211 bases on balls. Boosted by his 1925 season, Wingo had a career .308 batting average, with a .404 on-base percentage and a .423 slugging percentage.
He died in a road accident in Detroit, Michigan in 1964 at age 66.
Notes
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Al Wingo Photograph: (http://www.thedeadballera.com/Photos/WingoAl_photo.html)