Artie Wilson
Encyclopedia
Arthur Lee Wilson was a shortstop in Major League
and Negro league baseball
who was an all-star for the Birmingham Black Barons
of the Negro leagues before playing one season in the major leagues for the New York Giants
. He was born in Springville, Alabama
.
of the Negro American League
from 1942 to 1948, where he was considered the league's best shortstop
, and was named the starting shortstop of the league All-Star team four times from 1944 to 1948 (missing out only in 1945, when he was beat out by Jackie Robinson
, shortly before he broke the baseball color line
in 1947). During his time with the Black Barons, the team won the league championship in 1943, 1944 and 1948, advancing to, but never winning, the Negro League World Series
.
In the regular season, Wilson, who was known as an opposite field
hitter, batted
.402, and is sometimes credited as the last player in a top-level league to bat over .400 (Ted Williams
hit .406 in 1941). In 1948, Wilson mentored a young Willie Mays
, who was just breaking into baseball.
Following the 1948 Negro World Series, Wilson played for the Mayaguez Indians
of the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League
, leading them to their first championship title in . (Wilson, coincidentally, is credited for giving future Puerto Rican comedic actor Shorty Castro
his nickname while playing in Mayagüez).
purchased Wilson's contract, and he was assigned to their Newark Bears
minor league team; but since his salary would have been less than he was making with Birmingham, he negotiated another contract with the San Diego Padres
of the Pacific Coast League
. The Yankees protested to baseball commissioner Happy Chandler
, who voided Wilson's Padres contract. The Yankees then sold Wilson to the Oakland Oaks
of the Pacific Coast League, where he was the team's first black player and the roommate of Billy Martin
. With Oakland, Wilson won the PCL batting title with a .348 average and also led in stolen base
s with 47. In 1950, he led the PCL in runs
with 168 and hits
with 264, helping the Oaks to the 1950 PCL championship.
, and he was called up for the 1951 season, where he was used as a utility infielder
and as a pinch runner
and pinch hitter
. But Wilson struggled in the big leagues, hitting only .182 in 22 at bat
s; when the Giants called up Wilson's former protege Willie Mays, they sent Wilson back to Oakland, ending his major league career. Back in the PCL, Wilson finished the 1951 season with the Oaks and was sold to the Seattle Rainiers
in 1952. Wilson also played with the Portland Beavers
and Sacramento Solons
of the PCL, winning three more PCL batting titles before ending his career with the Beavers in 1962.
, in 1955, and with his wife, Dorothy, raised two children. Following his retirement from baseball, he worked at Gary Worth Lincoln Mercury in Portland for more than 30 years, and stayed on there until the fall of 2008 at the age of 88 still greeting customers. He was named to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
in 1989, and the PCL Hall of Fame in 2003.
Wilson died in Portland, Oregon on October 31, 2010, three days after celebrating his 90th birthday. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease
.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
and Negro league baseball
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams predominantly made up of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in...
who was an all-star for the Birmingham Black Barons
Birmingham Black Barons
The Birmingham Black Barons played professional baseball for Birmingham, Alabama, in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1960 when the Major Leagues successfully integrated...
of the Negro leagues before playing one season in the major leagues for the New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
. He was born in Springville, Alabama
Springville, Alabama
Springville is a town in St. Clair County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 2,521.-Geography:Springville is located at .According to the U.S...
.
Negro leagues and Puerto Rico League
Wilson played for the Birmingham Black BaronsBirmingham Black Barons
The Birmingham Black Barons played professional baseball for Birmingham, Alabama, in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1960 when the Major Leagues successfully integrated...
of the Negro American League
Negro American League
The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues which were created during the time organized baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and continued to exist until 1960...
from 1942 to 1948, where he was considered the league's best shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
, and was named the starting shortstop of the league All-Star team four times from 1944 to 1948 (missing out only in 1945, when he was beat out by Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
, shortly before he broke the baseball color line
Baseball color line
The color line in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Organized Baseball, or the major leagues and affiliated minor leagues, until Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization for the 1946 season...
in 1947). During his time with the Black Barons, the team won the league championship in 1943, 1944 and 1948, advancing to, but never winning, the Negro League World Series
Negro League World Series
The Negro League World Series was a post-season baseball tournament which was held from 1924-1927 and from 1942-1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east coast counterparts....
.
In the regular season, Wilson, who was known as an opposite field
Opposite field
Opposite field is a baseball term that refers to the area of the outfield that faces the hitter, which would be right field for a right-hander and left field for a left-hander...
hitter, batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.402, and is sometimes credited as the last player in a top-level league to bat over .400 (Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
hit .406 in 1941). In 1948, Wilson mentored a young Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
, who was just breaking into baseball.
Following the 1948 Negro World Series, Wilson played for the Mayaguez Indians
Indios de Mayagüez
The Indios de Mayagüez are a baseball team in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League . Normally based in Mayagüez, the Indios have won 16 national championships and two Caribbean World Series...
of the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League
Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League
The Puerto Rico Baseball League formerly known as Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico or LBPPR, is the main professional baseball league in Puerto Rico. In 2007, the LBPPR recessed for the first time since its creation...
, leading them to their first championship title in . (Wilson, coincidentally, is credited for giving future Puerto Rican comedic actor Shorty Castro
Shorty Castro
Israel Castro, better known as Shorty Castro is a Puerto Rican comedian, comedy writer and musician, with a career spanning over 60 years. He is regarded as one of the best stage directors in Puerto Rican comedy...
his nickname while playing in Mayagüez).
Pacific Coast League
In 1948, the New York YankeesNew York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
purchased Wilson's contract, and he was assigned to their Newark Bears
Newark Bears
The Newark Bears are an American professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are a member of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 1999 season, the Bears have played their home games at Bears &...
minor league team; but since his salary would have been less than he was making with Birmingham, he negotiated another contract with the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres (PCL)
The San Diego Padres were a minor league baseball team which played in the Pacific Coast League from 1936 through 1968. The team that would eventually become the Padres was well traveled prior to moving to San Diego. It began its existence in 1903 as the Sacramento Solons, a charter member of the PCL...
of the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
. The Yankees protested to baseball commissioner Happy Chandler
Happy Chandler
Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler, Sr. was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. He represented the state in the U.S. Senate and served as its 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his political positions, he also served as the second Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1951 and...
, who voided Wilson's Padres contract. The Yankees then sold Wilson to the Oakland Oaks
Oakland Oaks (PCL)
The Oakland Oaks were a minor league baseball team in Oakland, California that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 through 1955, after which the club transferred to Vancouver, British Columbia...
of the Pacific Coast League, where he was the team's first black player and the roommate of Billy Martin
Billy Martin
Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin, Jr. was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager. He is best known as the manager of the New York Yankees, a position he held five different times...
. With Oakland, Wilson won the PCL batting title with a .348 average and also led in stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s with 47. In 1950, he led the PCL in runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
with 168 and hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
with 264, helping the Oaks to the 1950 PCL championship.
Major Leagues
Wilson's accomplishments were noticed by the New York GiantsSan Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, and he was called up for the 1951 season, where he was used as a utility infielder
Utility infielder
A utility infielder is a baseball player, usually one who does not have a regular starting role on the team and who is capable of playing more than one of the four defensive infield positions: second base, third base, shortstop, and less typically first base...
and as a pinch runner
Pinch runner
A pinch runner is a baseball player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing a player on base. In the typical case, the pinch runner is faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been substituted...
and pinch hitter
Pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...
. But Wilson struggled in the big leagues, hitting only .182 in 22 at bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
s; when the Giants called up Wilson's former protege Willie Mays, they sent Wilson back to Oakland, ending his major league career. Back in the PCL, Wilson finished the 1951 season with the Oaks and was sold to the Seattle Rainiers
Seattle Rainiers
The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a minor league baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903-06 and 1919-68...
in 1952. Wilson also played with the Portland Beavers
Portland Beavers
The Tucson Padres are a minor league baseball team, representing Tucson, Arizona, in the Pacific Coast League . They are the Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The team was formerly known as the Portland Beavers and played its last home game at PGE Park on September 6, 2010...
and Sacramento Solons
Sacramento Solons
The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods . The current Sacramento River Cats began play in 2000...
of the PCL, winning three more PCL batting titles before ending his career with the Beavers in 1962.
Personal life
Wilson settled in Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, in 1955, and with his wife, Dorothy, raised two children. Following his retirement from baseball, he worked at Gary Worth Lincoln Mercury in Portland for more than 30 years, and stayed on there until the fall of 2008 at the age of 88 still greeting customers. He was named to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall...
in 1989, and the PCL Hall of Fame in 2003.
Wilson died in Portland, Oregon on October 31, 2010, three days after celebrating his 90th birthday. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
.