Vic Willis
| Vic Willis | |
|---|---|
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| Pitcher | |
| Born: April 12, 1876 Cecil County, Maryland |
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| Died: August 3, 1947 (aged 71) Elkton, Maryland |
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| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| April 20, 1898 for the Boston Beaneaters | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 5, 1910 for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Career statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 249–205 |
| Earned run average | 2.63 |
| Strikeouts | 1651 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame |
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| Induction | 1995 |
| Election Method | Veteran's Committee |
Victor Gazaway Willis (April 12, 1876 – August 3, 1947) was a Major League Baseball player nicknamed "The Delaware Peach." He was a starting pitcher. He is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, enshrined in 1995.[1]
Willis was born in 1876 in Cecil County, Maryland and attended school in nearby Newark, Delaware.[1]
Over a 13-year career, Willis played for three teams, the Boston Beaneaters (1898–1905), Pittsburgh Pirates (1906–1909) and St. Louis Cardinals (1910), compiling a 249–205 record with a 2.63 ERA. He was known as a workhorse and completed 388 of his 471 starts. Willis also holds the post-1900 record for complete games (45, in 1902) in a single season.[1]
Despite being a Hall of Fame pitcher, Willis holds the post-1900 record for most losses in a single season (29, in 1905). For the three seasons from 1903 to 1905, Willis compiled a dismal record with the Boston Beaneaters of 42 wins against 72 losses. However, his ERA during those three years averaged 3.02 and in two of those years his ERA was under 3.00. Despite Willis' performance on the mound during those three seasons, the Boston offense could only muster a combined .238 batting average over those seasons. When he changed teams to the Pittsburgh Pirates for 1906, whose offense had a combined batting average of .256 over the four years Willis was with the team, Willis compiled a record of 88–46. His ERA for those four years was 2.08.
Prior to joining the major leagues, Willis played the 1897 season at the University of Delaware, and later coached the 1907 team and parts of the 1908 team.
Willis was on one World Series championship team, the 1909 Pirates. He lost one game during the Series, pitching against Ty Cobb's Detroit Tigers.[1]
His final major league season was 1910, with the St. Louis Cardinals. Next season Willis pitched for a semipro team in his hometown Newark, Delaware.[2]
After retirement, Willis purchased and operated the Washington House, a hotel in his hometown of Newark, Delaware.[3] Willis died in 1947 and is interred in St. John Cemetery in Newark, Delaware.[1]
The National Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Vic Willis in 1995, as the Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame had done in 1977.
He was the last pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the 19th century.
See also[edit]
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- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
- List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
- List of Major League Baseball saves champions
- List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
- MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen List
- List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "Vic Willis". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ Lanctot, Neil (1994). Fair Dealing and Clean Playing: the Hilldale Club and the development of black professional baseball, 1910-1932. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. p. 10. ISBN 0-89950-988-6.
- ^ Levitt, Dan. "Vic Willis". The Baseball Biography Project. The Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
External links[edit]
- Vic Willis at the Baseball Hall of Fame
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- UD Hall of Fame
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Deacon Phillippe |
No-hitter pitcher August 7, 1899 |
Succeeded by Noodles Hahn |
| Preceded by Clark Griffith |
National League ERA Champion 1899 |
Succeeded by Rube Waddell |
| Preceded by Noodles Hahn |
National League Strikeout Champion 1902 |
Succeeded by Christy Mathewson |
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- 1876 births
- 1947 deaths
- Baseball players from Maryland
- Boston Beaneaters players
- Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens baseball coaches
- Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens baseball players
- Harrisburg Senators players
- Lynchburg Hill Climbers players
- National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
- National League ERA champions
- National League strikeout champions
- People from Cecil County, Maryland
- People from Newark, Delaware
- Pittsburgh Pirates players
- St. Louis Cardinals players
- Syracuse Stars (minor league) players
- 19th-century baseball players
