William Harlan Wilson (September 19, 1942 – August 11, 1993) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

who appeared in 179

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

over all or part of five seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

from to . He was born in Pomeroy, Ohio and attended Pomeroy High School, and then attended

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: L ...

. A

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

, he threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Wilson's pro career lasted for 13 years, 1962–1974, all in the Philadelphia organization. He spent seven seasons in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

before making the Phillies' roster at the outset of the campaign. Pitching for Phillie teams that averaged 94 losses per season over Wilson's tenure, he compiled a 9–15

won–lost record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

with 17 career saves and a 4.22

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in the majors. In 258 total

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

, Wilson allowed 229

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

and 131

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, with 171

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s. All of his 179 major league games came as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

, but Wilson also played for one-third of an

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

as part of a one-batter defensive substitution strategy by Phils'

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Frank Lucchesi Frank Joseph Lucchesi ( ; April 24, 1927 – June 8, 2019) was an American professional baseball player, manager, and coach. He was the manager of three Major League Baseball (MLB) teams: the Philadelphia Phillies (–); Texas Rangers (–); ...

during a game in August of .

Played third base against one batter

On August 6, 1971, against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

at Three Rivers Stadium, Wilson entered the game in relief of

Ken Reynolds Kenneth Lee Reynolds (born January 4, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player who had a six-year career in Major League Baseball between and . The left-handed pitcher appeared in 103 games for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Loui ...

in the bottom of the seventh inning with the Phils trailing, 2–1. He held the Pirates scoreless that inning and returned to the mound in the eighth after the Phillies had taken a 3–2 lead on a home run from

Willie Montañez Guillermo Montañez Naranjo (born April 1, 1948) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California Angels (), Philadelphia Phillies (–, ), San Francisco Giants (–), A ...

. Wilson retired future

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

r Roberto Clemente on a ground ball to start the inning. But with another future Hall of Famer, left-handed swinging Willie Stargell, due up next, manager Lucchesi brought in a left-handed relief pitcher,

Joe Hoerner Joseph Walter Hoerner (November 12, 1936 – October 4, 1996) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher, who played 14 years in Major League Baseball (MLB), for seven different teams. A native of Dubuque, Iowa he grew up in nearby Key ...

, to face him. Instead of removing Wilson from the game, however, Lucchesi moved him to third base, where he replaced

Terry Harmon Terry Walter Harmon (born April 12, 1944) is an American former professional baseball second baseman/shortstop who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1967, 1969–77). He was a 5th round pick (85th player chosen ove ...

. Hoerner then struck out Stargell (denying Wilson a

fielding chance In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

at the hot corner) and left the game. Wilson returned to the mound (while

Bobby Pfeil Robert Raymond Pfeil (born November 13, 1943), is an American former professional baseball third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in and for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, respectively. He threw and batted right ...

came off the bench to take over at third base) and got Manny Sanguillén on another ground ball. He then capped off the memorable day by retiring the Pirates in the ninth inning to gain his third victory of the season. Wilson died from cancer in 1993 in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Survivors included daughter Kim Wilson-Davis and two grandchildren, Joseph and Terry Davis, of

Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Schuylkill County (, ; Pennsylvania Dutch: Schulkill Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the heart of Pennsylvania's Coal Region and is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the popula ...

References

External links

1942 births 1993 deaths Bakersfield Bears players Baseball players from Ohio Chattanooga Lookouts players Deaths from cancer in Oklahoma Eugene Emeralds players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball third basemen Marshall Thundering Herd baseball players People from Pomeroy, Ohio Philadelphia Phillies players Reading Phillies players San Diego Padres (minor league) players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1940s-stub