Artie Wilson
Artie Wilson | |
---|---|
Infielder | |
Born: Springville, Alabama, U.S. | October 28, 1920|
Died: October 31, 2010 Portland, Oregon, U.S. | (aged 90)|
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
Professional debut | |
NgL: 1942, for the Birmingham Black Barons | |
MLB: April 18, 1951, for the New York Giants | |
Last MLB appearance | |
May 23, 1951, for the New York Giants | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .367 |
Hits | 157 |
Home runs | 0 |
Runs batted in | 48 |
Stolen bases | 15 |
Teams | |
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Arthur Lee Wilson (October 28, 1920 – October 31, 2010) was a
Negro leagues and Puerto Rico League
Wilson played for the
In the 1948 regular season, Wilson, who was known as an
Following the 1948 Negro World Series, Wilson played for the
Pacific Coast League
In 1948, the New York Yankees 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.[7] With Oakland, Wilson won the PCL batting title with a .348 average and also led in stolen bases with 47.[8] In 1950, he led the PCL in runs with 168 and hits with 264, helping the Oaks to the 1950 PCL championship.[4]
Major leagues
Wilson's accomplishments were noticed by the
Personal life
Wilson settled in Portland, Oregon, 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.[4][9] He was named to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1989,[11] and the PCL Hall of Fame in 2003.[10]
Wilson died in Portland, Oregon on October 31, 2010, three days after celebrating his 90th birthday. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.[12]
References
- ^ "Artie Wilson Stats".
- ^ "MLB is Finally Recognizing the Negro Leagues as the Major Leagues They Always Were". December 16, 2020.
- ^ a b c Federman, Stan (August 8, 1991). "I Loved the Game". The Oregonian.
- ^ a b c d Spicer, Osker (November 14, 1995). "A Legend of the Leagues". The Oregonian. pp. B2.
- ^ a b "Artie Wilson". PitchBlackBaseball.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
- ^ Hunt, John (May 23, 2004). "Portland 8, Iowa 6 – Beavers Win Negro Leagues Tribute". The Oregonian. pp. C3.
- ^ "Artie Wilson". Negro League Baseball Players Association. Archived from the original on April 5, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
- ISBN 0-7867-1335-6.
- ^ a b c Czerwinski, Kevin T. "Wilson carved a niche in PCL". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
- ^ a b "Hall of Fame: Artie Wilson". Pacific Coast League. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
- ^ "Inductees: Baseball". Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
- ^ House, Kelly (October 31, 2010), Negro Leagues Star and Former Portland Beaver Artie Wilson Has Died at Age 90, OregonLive.com, archived from the original on November 3, 2010, retrieved November 1, 2010
Further reading
- House, Kelly (November 1, 2010). "Negro Leagues star and former Portland Beaver Artie Wilson has died at age 90". The Oregonian.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors) and Seamheads
- Artie Wilson biography from Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)
- Artie Wilson at Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
- Artie Wilson at Find a Grave