Earl Wilson

From SoSH

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Moment in the Sun 3 Achievements 4 Trivia 5 Transactions 6 External Links

Overall Career

Robert Earl Wilson (October 2, 1934 - April 23, 2005), was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for 11 seasons, who relied on sliders and fastballs. Over that career Earl played for the Boston Red Sox (1959-60, 1962-66), Detroit Tigers (1966-1970) and San Diego Padres (1970).

In five-plus seasons, Wilson won 45 games for Boston with a high 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.

Moment in the Sun

• "The King" pitched a no hitter against the Angels at Fenway Park on June 26, 1962. He also hit a home run in the game.
• He was one of the best power-hitting pitchers in baseball history, hitting 35 home runs in his career: 33 while in a game as a pitcher, two as a pinch-hitter, two in one game (1965), and seven in a season twice, in just 740 at-bats.

Achievements

• AL Wins Leader (1967)
• 15 Wins Seasons: 2 (1966 & 1967)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 1 (1967)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 7 (1963-1969)
• 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 1 (1966)

Trivia

• Pitcher Earl Wilson became the first black pitcher on the Boston Red Sox in 1959.
• Earl was converted from catching early in his career.
• In 1966 Earl was traded to the Tigers for Don Demeter. The trade would come back to haunt the Sox as Earl won 22 games for the Tigers in 1967.
• Earl Wilson hit more home runs as a pitcher for Detroit, than Demeter hit as an outfielder for the Red Sox.
• Won a World Series Ring with the Detroit Tigers in 1968.
• In the mid-1960s, Wilson became the first sports figure to be represented by Bob Woolf, a Boston lawyer who was a pioneering agent for athletes and represented entertainers through Bob Woolf Associates.
• After his playing days ended, he was president of the Baseball Assistance Team, which provides financial assistance to former players and baseball personnel.
• Less than five weeks after serving as a pall bearer for Dick Radatz, Wilson died from a heart attack at his home in Southfield, Michigan, on April 23, 2005.

Transactions

• Before 1954 Season: Sent from the Bisbee-Douglas (Arizona-Texas) to the Boston Red Sox in an unknown transaction.
• June 14, 1966: Traded by the Boston Red Sox with Joe Christopher to the Detroit Tigers for Julio Navarro & Don Demeter.
• July 15, 1970: Purchased by the San Diego Padres from the Detroit Tigers.
• January 13, 1971: Released by the San Diego Padres.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis
• Earl Wilson dead at 70 - Article Courtesy of the Boston Globe
• Earl Wilson - Player Page Courtesy of Baseball Almanac
• Earl Wilson - Player Page Courtesy of Baseball Musings