Hack Wilson

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Hack Wilson

Outfielder
Born: April 26, 1900(1900-04-26)
Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
Died: November 23, 1948(1948-11-23) (aged 48)
Baltimore, Maryland
Batted: Right Threw: Right 
MLB debut
September 29, 1923 for the New York Giants
Last MLB appearance
August 25, 1934 for the Philadelphia Phillies
Career statistics
Batting average     .307
Home runs     244
Runs batted in     1063
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • National League pennant: 1924, 1929
  • Single-season RBI record holder (191)
  • National League home run champion: 1926-1928, 1930
  • National League RBI champion: 1929, 1930
  • 2-time National League base on balls leader
  • 4 seasons with 30+ home runs
  • 6 seasons with 100+ RBIs
Member of the National
Empty Star.svg Empty Star.svg Empty Star.svg Baseball Hall of Fame Empty Star.svg Empty Star.svg Empty Star.svg
Induction     1979
Election Method     Veteran's Committee

Lewis Robert "Hack" Wilson (April 26, 1900 – November 23, 1948) was an American professional baseball player who played 12 seasons with the New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.[1] He is best remembered for his 1930 season with the Cubs, one of the best individual single-season hitting performances in Major League Baseball history, during which he hit 56 home runs (the National League record for 68 years) and 191 runs batted in, a mark that has withstood serious challenge for over 80 years. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.[2]

Wilson was one of the most accomplished power hitters in the game during the late 1920s and early 1930s.[3] His batting talent and propensities for fighting and excessive alcohol consumption made him one of the most colorful sports personalities of his era.[4] His drinking and fighting undoubtedly contributed to a premature end to his athletic career and, ultimately, his premature demise.[5][6]

Contents

[edit] Baseball career

[edit] Early life and minor leagues

Wilson grew up in the Pennsylvania steel mill town of Ellwood City.[3] Although only five feet six inches tall, he weighed 195 pounds, and had an 18-inch neck and size-6 shoes. One sportswriter observed that he was "built along the lines of a beer keg, and was not wholly unfamiliar with its contents."[citation needed] His odd physique — large head, tiny feet, short legs and broad, flat face, described in detail in a recent biography[7] — are now readily recognizable as hallmarks of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, making his later accomplishments, in the face of a crippling congenital disability, all the more remarkable.[8][9]

Wilson dropped out of school in the sixth grade, then went to work swinging a sledge hammer at a locomotive factory for a salary of four dollars a week.[3] In 1921 he traveled to Martinsburg, West Virginia to play for the Martinsburg Mountaineers of the Blue Ridge League.[10] In his first professional appearance he broke a leg, and was forced to switch from catcher to outfielder.[11] In 1923 he played for the Portsmouth Truckers and led the Virginia League in hitting with a .388 batting average in 115 games.[10][12] New York Giants manager John McGraw purchased Wilson's contract from Portsmouth for $10,500 late in the season, and he made his major league debut with the Giants on September 29, 1923.[1]

[edit] New York Giants

Wilson's stocky physical appearance earned him the nickname Hack, after a popular wrestler of the day named Georg Hackenschmidt.[3] He became the starting left fielder for the Giants in 1924 after Billy Southworth fell into a hitting slump.[13] By mid-July he was ranked second in the National League in hitting.[14] Wilson ended the season with a .295 average along with 10 home runs and 57 runs batted in as the Giants clinched the National League pennant.[1] In the 1924 World Series he posted a .233 average as the Giants were defeated by the Washington Senators in seven games.[15]

On April 19, 1925 Wilson hit the longest home run on record at Ebbets Field during a game against the Brooklyn Robins,[16] but he fell into a slump in May and was replaced in left field by Irish Meusel.[17] On July 2 Wilson tied a major league record set by Ken Williams in 1922 by hitting two home runs in one inning.[18] In August the Giants sent him to their minor league affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association. At season's end a Giants front office oversight left him unprotected on the Toledo roster, and the last-place Chicago Cubs acquired him on waivers.[19]

[edit] Glory years with the Cubs

Wilson regained his form as the Cubs' centerfielder in 1926 and soon became a favorite of Chicago fans.[20] On May 24 he hit the center field scoreboard with one of the longest home runs in Wrigley Field history as the Cubs came from behind to defeat the Boston Braves.[21] Later that evening he made news again when he was arrested during a police raid of a Prohibition-era speakeasy while trying to escape through the rear window.[22] Wilson ended the season with a league-leading 21 home runs along with 36 doubles, 109 runs batted in, a .321 batting average and a .406 on base percentage.[1] The Cubs improved to fourth place, and Wilson ended the year ranked fifth in voting for the National League's Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award.[23]

Wilson had another strong performance in 1927, once again leading the league in home runs to help drive the Cubs into first place heading into the final month of the season; but the team faltered, finishing once again in fourth place.[24] He ended the year posting a .318 average, 30 home runs and 129 runs batted in.[1] Wilson also led National League outfielders with 400 put-outs.[25] He led the National League in home runs for a third consecutive year in 1928 with 31, along with 120 RBIs and a .313 average, as the Cubs improved to third place.[1]

Wilson had a combative streak, and frequently initiated fights with opposing players as well as fans. On June 22, 1928, a near-riot broke out in the ninth inning of a game at Wrigley Field against the St. Louis Cardinals when Wilson jumped into the box seats to attack a heckling fan.[26] An estimated 5,000 spectators swarmed the field before police could separate the combatants and restore order.[26] The fan sued him for $20,000, but a jury ruled in Wilson's favor.[27] The following year, Wilson took offense at a remark made by Cincinnati Reds pitcher Ray Kolp. Upon reaching first base after hitting a single, Wilson charged into the Reds dugout and punched Kolp several times before they could be separated.[28] Later that evening at the train station, Wilson exchanged words with Cincinnati player Pete Donohue before lashing out with two blows, sending Donohue to the ground.[28] In late 1929 Wilson signed a contract to fight Art Shires of the Chicago White Sox in a boxing match;[29] but when Shires lost a fight to Chicago Bears player George Trafton in December, Wilson backed out, claiming no benefit to fighting a defeated boxer.[30]

In 1929 Wilson hit .345 with 39 home runs and a National League record 159 RBIs.[1][3] He and new teammate Rogers Hornsby (who also contributed 39 home runs) led the Cubs to their first National League pennant in eleven years. In the World Series against Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics, Wilson's .471 hitting performance was eclipsed by two fielding errors at Shibe Park. Though trailing the Series 2 games to 1, the Cubs were leading by a score of 8-0 in game 4 when the Athletics mounted a 10-run rally in the seventh inning. Wilson lost two fly balls in the sun; the second, with two runners on base, led to an inside-the-park home run by Mule Haas as the Athletics won 10-8.[31][32] After the game, Cubs manager Joe McCarthy reportedly told a boy asking for a souvenir baseball, "Come back tomorrow and stand behind Wilson, and you'll be able to pick up all the balls you want!"[33][34] The Athletics won again the next day to take the Series in five games.[35]

[edit] 1930: The peak

Wilson's 1930 season, aided by a lively ball wound with special Australian wool, is considered one of the best single-season hitting performances in baseball history.[3][36] By the middle of July he had accumulated 82 RBIs. In August he hit 13 home runs and 53 RBIs, and by September 15 he had reached 176 RBIs, breaking Lou Gehrig's 1927 MLB record.[3] He ended the season with 190, along with a National League record 56 home runs, .356 batting average, .454 on-base percentage, and league-leading .723 slugging percentage.[1] He was unofficially voted the National League's most "useful" player by the Baseball Writers Association of America (which did not inaugurate its official MVP award until 1931).[37]

In 1999 the Commissioner of Baseball officially increased Wilson's 1930 RBI total to 191 after a box score analysis by baseball historian Jerome Holtzman revealed that Charlie Grimm had been mistakenly credited with an RBI actually driven home by Wilson.[38] 191 RBIs remains one of baseball's most enduring records; only Gehrig (184) and Hank Greenberg (183) ever came close, and there have been no serious threats in the last 70 years. (Closest was 165 by Manny Ramirez in 1999.)[39] Wilson's 56 home runs that year stood as the National League record until 1998 when it was broken by Sammy Sosa (66) and Mark McGwire (70).[40]

[edit] Decline

Wilson's success in the 1930 season only served to fuel his drinking habits, and in 1931 he reported to spring training 20 pounds overweight.[3] In addition, the National League responded to the prodigious offensive statistics of the previous year (the only season ever in which the league as a whole batted over .300) by introducing a heavier ball with raised stitching to allow a better grip and sharper curveballs.[41] Wilson complained that the new Cubs manager, former teammate Rogers Hornsby, didn't allow him to "swing away" as much as Joe McCarthy had.[42] He went into a protracted hitting slump and was benched in late May.[43] By late August, Cubs owner William Wrigley, Jr. publicly expressed his desire to trade him.[44] On September 6 the Cubs suspended him without pay for the remainder of the season after a fight with reporters just after boarding a train in Cincinnati;[45] he was hitting only .261 with 13 home runs at the time.[1]

During the 1931-32 off-season the Cubs traded Wilson and Bud Teachout to the St. Louis Cardinals for Burleigh Grimes.[1] The Cardinals traded him to the Brooklyn Dodgers for minor league player Bob Parham in early 1932.[1] Wilson hit .297 with 23 homers and 123 RBIs for Brooklyn in 1932, and began 1933 in spectacular fashion with a 9th-inning game-winning pinch-hit inside-the-park grand slam home run at Ebbets Field—the first pinch-hit grand slam in Dodger history, and only the third inside-the-park pinch-hit grand slam in major league baseball history.[46] However, by season's end his offensive totals had dropped substantially and he was hitting .262 when the Dodgers released him mid-season in 1934.[1][47] The Philadelphia Phillies signed him immediately, but after only 2 hits in 20 at-bats he was released again a month later.[48] After a final season in the minor leagues with the Albany Senators, Wilson retired at the age of 35.[10]

[edit] Career statistics

In a 12-year major league career, Wilson played in 1,348 games and accumulated 1,461 hits in 4,760 at bats for a .307 career batting average and a .395 on-base percentage. He struck 244 homers and batted in 1,063 runs, leading the National League four times in home runs and surpassing 100 RBIs six times. Defensively, he finished his career with a .965 fielding percentage.[1]

[edit] Life after baseball

Wilson returned to Martinsburg where he opened a pool hall, but encountered financial problems due to a failed sporting goods business venture, and then a divorce.[3] By 1938 he was working as a bartender near Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, where he sang for drinks, but had to quit because customers became too abusive.[49] A night club venture in suburban Chicago was another financial failure.[50] In 1944 he took a job as a good-will ambassador for a professional basketball team in Washington D.C., where he lamented that fans remembered his two dropped fly balls in the 1929 World Series far more vividly than his 56 home runs and 191 RBIs in 1930.[51] Unable to find work in professional baseball, he moved to Baltimore where he worked as a tool checker in an airplane manufacturing plant, and later as a laborer for the City of Baltimore. When municipal authorities realized who he was, he was made the manager of a Baltimore public swimming pool.[52]

On October 4, 1948 Wilson was discovered unconscious after a fall in his home.[53] The accident didn't appear serious at first, but pneumonia and other complications developed, and he died of internal hemorrhaging on November 23, 1948 at the age of 48.[4] Wilson died penniless and his son refused to claim his remains. National League President Ford Frick finally sent money to cover his funeral expenses.[54][55] In marked contrast to Babe Ruth's funeral, which had been attended by thousands just three months earlier, only a few hundred people were present for Wilson's services.[56] He is buried in Rosedale Cemetery in the town where he made his professional playing debut, Martinsburg, West Virginia.[56] A Martinsburg street is named Hack Wilson Way in his honor.

In 1979 Wilson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.[57]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Hack Wilson statistics". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wilsoha01.shtml. Retrieved 21 February 2011. 
  2. ^ "Hack Wilson at The Baseball Hall of Fame". baseballhall.org. http://baseballhall.org/hof/wilson-hack. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Holway, John (June 1996). Hack Wilson Belted Homers, Hecklers with Equal Gusto. Books.Google.com. http://books.google.com/?id=3jADAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA78&dq=hack+wilson+baseball+digest#v=onepage&q=hack%20wilson%20baseball%20digest&f=false. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
  4. ^ a b "Death Overtakes Hack Wilson Of Home Run Fame". The Evening Independent. Associated Press: p. 19. 24 November 1948. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7ABQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jlUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6624,4503899&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  5. ^ Dolgan, Bob (March 1978). Former Teammates Recall Hack Wilson. Books.Google.com. http://books.google.com/books?id=bTQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA64&dq=hack+wilson+baseball+digest&hl=en&ei=2JBsTcT7E5O6tgeGipHhBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=hack%20wilson%20baseball%20digest&f=false. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  6. ^ Drooz, Al (October 1974). ...But Memories of Hack Wilson Fade Away. Books.Google.com. http://books.google.com/books?id=hDIDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56&dq=hack+wilson+baseball+digest&hl=en&ei=2JBsTcT7E5O6tgeGipHhBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=hack%20wilson%20baseball%20digest&f=false. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  7. ^ Parker, Clifton Blue (2000). Fouled Away: The Baseball Tragedy of Hack Wilson. McFarland & Company. ISBN 0786408642.
  8. ^ Collier, Gene. No One Stacks Up to Hack. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette archive Retrieved March 28, 2011.
  9. ^ Wickersham's Conscience. Wordpress.com archive Retrieved March 28, 2011.
  10. ^ a b c "Hack Wilson minor league statistics". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=wilson001lew. Retrieved 21 February 2011. 
  11. ^ "HACK WILSON", MAS Ultra, October 2001.
  12. ^ "1923 Virginia League Batting Leaders". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/leader.cgi?type=bat&id=14479. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
  13. ^ "Hack Wilson Cost The Giants Price Of A Bag Of Peanuts". Rochester Evening Journal. King Features Syndicate: p. 8. 11 September 1924. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4htgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CG4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=2863,4015960&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  14. ^ "Hack Wilson Is The Old-Style Type Of Bull-Necked Slugger". The Washington Reporter. 17 July 1924. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QS5eAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TWANAAAAIBAJ&pg=1602,798237&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  15. ^ "1924 World Series". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1924_WS.shtml. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
  16. ^ "Homers By Hack Wilson And Kelly Play Important Part In Giants Win Over Robins". The Lewiston Daily Sun: p. 9. 20 April 1925. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w7EgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XmkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1620,1529214&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  17. ^ "Irish Meusel In Giants' Outfield". The Norwalk Hour: p. 12. 30 May 1925. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H94gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9GwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3248,1840538&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  18. ^ "Hack Wilson Ties Record With Two Home Runs In One Inning". Reading Eagle. Associated Press: p. 18. 2 July 1925. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wokhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yZcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6405,388132&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  19. ^ Dexter, Charles (June 1956). Will They Beat 56 In '56?. Books.Google.com. http://books.google.com/?id=-zIDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38&dq=hack+wilson+baseball+digest#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
  20. ^ "Take Hack For Your Example". The Toledo News-Bee: p. 14. 19 May 1926. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1JFXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oUQNAAAAIBAJ&pg=2104,2371472&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  21. ^ "Cubs Overcome Braves". Reading Eagle: p. 14. 24 May 1926. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AaAhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7pkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3509,5215055&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  22. ^ "Hack Wilson Found In "Beer Parlor" Is Taken to Lock Up". The Telegraph-Herald. INS. 24 May 1926. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fTVFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=brsMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5416,1339434&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  23. ^ "1926 National League Most Valuable Player Award". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1926.shtml#NLmvp. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
  24. ^ "1927 Chicago Cubs". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/1927-schedule-scores.shtml. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
  25. ^ "1927 National League Fielding Leaders". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1927-fielding-leaders.shtml. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
  26. ^ a b "Cubs And Cards Divide Twin Bill". The Telegraph-Herald and Times-Tribune. Associated Press: p. 3. 22 June 1928. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=G65FAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K70MAAAAIBAJ&pg=2963,2075011&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  27. ^ "Hack Wilson Was Great Baseball Player But Headache To Managers". The Portsmouth Times. Associated Press: p. 11. 24 November 1948. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hdFQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uNAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=7272,4976616&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 2 March 2011. 
  28. ^ a b "Ball Players In Fistic Encounter". Ottawa Citizen. Associated Press: p. 3. 5 July 1929. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CwkuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AtoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5002,3522627&dq=hack+wilson+fight&hl=en. Retrieved 27 February 2011. 
  29. ^ "Hack Wilson Signs To Meet Art Shires". The Toledo News-Bee: p. 12. 14 December 1929. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KSlYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JEUNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3677,5807376&dq=hack+wilson+art+shires&hl=en. Retrieved 23 February 2011. 
  30. ^ "Baseball Solons Breathe Easier Since Shires' Rout". The Pittsburgh Press. United Press International: p. 34. 18 December 1929. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qCAbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FksEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3851,2046646&dq=hack+wilson+art+shires&hl=en. Retrieved 23 February 2011. 
  31. ^ "1929 World Series Game 4". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHA/PHA192910120.shtml. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  32. ^ Boone, Robert; Grunska, Gerald (January 1979). Hack Wilson: He Was One Of A Kind. Books.Google.com. http://books.google.com/?id=1zMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA94&dq=hack+wilson+baseball+digest#v=onepage&q=hack%20wilson%20baseball%20digest&f=false. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
  33. ^ "On cue, Drew caps miraculous Sox rally". Ian Browne. MLB.com. 2008-10-17. Archived from the original on 2009-10-04. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081016&content_id=3625822&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb. Retrieved 2009-10-02. 
  34. ^ "Comeback among October's best". MLB.com. 2008-10-17. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081017&content_id=3627098&vkey=ps2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb. Retrieved 2009-10-02. 
  35. ^ "1929 World Series". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1929_WS.shtml. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
  36. ^ "League by League Totals for Batting Average". Baseball Almanac. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hibavg4.shtml. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  37. ^ "Hack Wilson Is Picked as Most Useful Player". The Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press: p. 2. 8 October 1930. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=v6ZQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tCEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6659,6340651&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 23 February 2011. 
  38. ^ "Wilson's record increases to 191". The Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press: p. 5. 23 June 1999. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3TwdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NKYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3089,4576555&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  39. ^ "Single-Season Leaders & Records for Runs Batted In". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/RBI_season.shtml. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
  40. ^ "Single-Season Leaders & Records for Home Runs". Baseball Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/HR_season.shtml. Retrieved 28 February 2011. 
  41. ^ "National League Changes Ball To Curtail Slugging". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press: p. 2. 4 February 1931. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SStPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2k0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6893,1920686&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  42. ^ "Hack Wilson Raps Hornsby's Tactics". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix: p. 6. 31 August 1938. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w1VjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=f24NAAAAIBAJ&pg=4308,5771258&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  43. ^ "Hack Wilson Benched For Light Hitting". The Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal. United Press International: p. 9. 25 May 1931. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ygRRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Gb4MAAAAIBAJ&pg=2554,694433&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  44. ^ "Cubs To Trade Hack Wilson". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press: p. 2. 31 August 1931. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gZUxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RmkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5070,3260599&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  45. ^ "Wilson Loses Fielding Job After Brawl". The Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal. INS: p. 9. 9 September 1931. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=R5BSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Mr4MAAAAIBAJ&pg=2604,487134&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  46. ^ Hack Wilson BaseballLibrary.com Retrieved August 23, 2011
  47. ^ "Hack Wilson Given Gate By Brooklyn Club Solons". Rochester Evening Journal. INS: p. 26. 9 August 1934. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wapZAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4UkNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1272,4511814&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  48. ^ "Phils Release Hack Wilson". Herald-Journal. Associated Press: p. 7. 6 September 1934. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6oosAAAAIBAJ&sjid=s8oEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2760,443419&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  49. ^ "Hack Wilson Dies; Set Homer Record". The News and Courier. INS: p. 10. 24 November 1948. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Hac1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=zBMLAAAAIBAJ&pg=1449,5819851&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 2 March 2011. 
  50. ^ "Hack Wilson Becomes Night Club Impresario". The Evening Independent. Associated Press: p. 12. 11 August 1939. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_c1PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=p1QDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5537,3317567&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  51. ^ "Where's Hack Wilson? Very Much On Deck". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press: p. 2. 26 October 1944. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gB4hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=r2QEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2861,1663252&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  52. ^ "Hack Wilson Now Managing City Swim Pool". Schenectady Gazette. Associated Press: p. 29. 22 July 1948. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZIMuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eYEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1423,2762041&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  53. ^ "Hack Wilson Is Hospitalized". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press: p. 19. 5 October 1948. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1QgNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WmoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3938,439096&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  54. ^ "Last Rites Held For Hack Wilson". The Day. Associated Press: p. 8. 27 November 1948. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nh8iAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tHEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1984,5384665&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  55. ^ Steadman, John (February 1990). The Sad Demise of Home Run King Hack Wilson. Books.Google.com. http://books.google.com/books?id=NC4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA65&dq=hack+wilson+baseball+digest&hl=en&ei=2JBsTcT7E5O6tgeGipHhBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=hack%20wilson%20baseball%20digest&f=false. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  56. ^ a b "Services Held For Hack Wilson". The Pittsburgh Press. United Press International: p. 28. 28 November 1948. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g2YcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Jk4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=3733,4675298&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  57. ^ "Hack Wilson, Giles gain baseball Hall of Fame". The Montreal Gazette: p. 21. 8 March 1979. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-ogxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9qEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5446,2834483&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en. Retrieved 2 March 2011. 

[edit] References

HACK WILSON. MAS Ultra. October 2001. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cookie,uid,url&db=f5h&AN=5392371&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live 

"Historical Player Stats". http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/historical/individual_stats_player.jsp?c_id=mlb&playerID=124412. Retrieved 2009-03-24 

Chalk up another RBI for Hack Wilson. MAS Ultra. October 1999. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cookie,uid,url&db=f5h&AN=2215660&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live 

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Rogers Hornsby		 National League Home Run Champion
1926-1928
(1927 with Cy Williams
1928 with Jim Bottomley)		 Succeeded by
Chuck Klein
Preceded by
Jim Bottomley		 National League RBI Champion
1929-1930		 Succeeded by
Chuck Klein
Preceded by
Chuck Klein		 National League Home Run Champion
1930		 Succeeded by
Chuck Klein
BBWAA Vote
Veterans Committee
J. G. Taylor Spink Award
Ford C. Frick Award
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hack_Wilson&oldid=471942893"
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