Jimmie Wilson

Jimmie Wilson
Catcher
Born: July 23, 1900(1900-07-23) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died: May 31, 1947(1947-05-31) (aged 46) Bradenton, Florida
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 17, 1923 for the Philadelphia Phillies
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1940 for the Cincinnati Reds
Career statistics
Batting average	.284
Hits	1,358
Runs batted in	621
Teams
Soccer Philadelphia Merchant Ship B 1919-1920 Bethlehem Steel F.C. 1920-1921 Harrison F.C. 1921-1922 Philadelphia Field Club 1922-1923 Baseball As Player Philadelphia Phillies (1923–1928) St. Louis Cardinals (1928–1933) Philadelphia Phillies (1934-1938) Cincinnati Reds (1939–1940) As Manager Philadelphia Phillies (1934–1938) Chicago Cubs (1941–1944)
Career highlights and awards
2x All-Star selection (1933, 1935) 2x World Series champion (1931, 1940)

This article is about the baseball and soccer player and manager. For the Louisiana politician, see Jimmy Wilson. For other people, see Jim Wilson.

James Wilson (July 23, 1900 — May 31, 1947), nicknamed "Ace," was an American professional athlete in soccer and baseball.

He began his professional sports career as a soccer outside right in the National Association Football League and American Soccer League before becoming a catcher, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. In the 1940 World Series, the 40-year-old Wilson came off the coaching lines to take over as the regular catcher for the Cincinnati Reds when the starter, future Baseball Hall of Famer Ernie Lombardi, was injured. Wilson batted .353 in six games, playing a key role in Cincinnati's defeat of the Detroit Tigers, four games to three, for the world championship. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wilson threw and batted right-handed and stood 6 ft 1 ¹⁄₂ in (187 cm) tall and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg).

Soccer

Wilson, the son of Scottish immigrants, grew up in northeast Philadelphia. He left school when he was fourteen to work in a local textile mill. In 1919, he left the mills when he began playing as an outside forward with Philadelphia Merchant Ship B in the National Association Football League. During his time with the team, he met Dick Spalding, another two sport athlete, whom he later hired as his first base coach when Wilson managed the Phillies and Cubs. After Merchant Ship folded following the 1919-1920 season, Wilson moved to Bethlehem Steel F.C., signing with the team in July 1920. During his time in Bethlehem, he also played catcher for the steel company's baseball team which competed in the Steel League. In 1921, Wilson signed with Harrison F.C. in the newly established American Soccer League. He played thirteen league and three National Challenge Cup games, scoring four goals. During the 1922-1923 season, he played four games for Philadelphia Field Club before leaving the sport to concentrate on his baseball career.

Baseball

During his years playing first division soccer, Wilson also made a name for himself as an excellent baseball player. When he signed with Bethlehem Steel in July 1920, the local newspaper stated, "The addition of Wilson would be a most welcome one, due to the fact that his campaigning on the baseball diamond has been as brilliant as that in soccer circles. At present he is on the receiving end of the battery for the New Haven team in the Eastern League."

In February 1923, he gave up his soccer career when he was traded from New Haven in the Eastern League to the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League for Stan Baumgartner and Jack Withrow. Wilson's National League playing career would stretch over 18 seasons (1923–40) with the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals and the Reds. He hit over .300 four times as a regular catcher and for his career batted .284 in 1,525 games.

In 1928, he joined baseball history when he was traded by the Phillies to the Cardinals during a game between the two teams. According to one account, "Wilson was a Phil for two innings, then darted into Redbird regalia, and sat on the St. Louis bench, for the remainder of the game."

From 1934 through 1938, he was the player-manager of his hometown Phillies, one of the worst teams in baseball at the time. He guided the Phils to three seventh place and two eighth (last) place finishes; in his final season, Philadelphia lost 103 of 149 games. He then joined the Cincinnati coaching staff in 1939 and played only four games that season. But in August 1940 the Reds were stunned when Lombardi's backup catcher, Willard Hershberger, committed suicide in his Boston hotel room. Wilson joined the active roster during the pennant race and played in 16 games behind Lombardi, batting only .243. But pressed into service during the Series, Wilson came through.

His stardom in the 1940 Fall Classic led to his second and last major league managing job, with the Chicago Cubs (1941–44), but he never had a winning record in Wrigleyville and his highest finish was fifth, in 1943. The following season, the Cubs lost nine of their first ten games and Wilson was replaced by Charlie Grimm. His final record as a manager, over nine full or partial seasons, was poor: 493 wins and 735 losses (.401).

Wilson returned to Cincinnati as a coach in 1945-46. Released along with Reds manager Bill McKechnie at the end of the 1946 season, Wilson moved to Florida and entered the citrus growing business. He died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 46 the following May in Bradenton.

Personal

Wilson was also the father of 2nd Lt. Robert J Wilson, a B-29 Flight Crew member who died in a training accident in Kharagpur, India November 28, 1944.

External links

• Baseball Reference - playing career and managerial record
• The Deadball Era

Preceded by Burt Shotton	Philadelphia Phillies manager 1934–1938	Succeeded by Doc Prothro
Preceded by Gabby Hartnett	Chicago Cubs manager 1941–1944	Succeeded by Charlie Grimm