Harold Joseph Wallis is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

center fielder who spent 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), ...

with the Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics. He was

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

d ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

'' because of his penchant for cliff diving. A native of

East St. Louis, Illinois East St. Louis is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois. It is directly across the Mississippi River from Downtown St. Louis, Missouri and the Gateway Arch National Park. East St. Louis is in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois. Once a b ...

, Wallis attended

McCluer High School McCluer High School is a high school located in Florissant, Missouri. It is a part of the Ferguson-Florissant School District. The principal is Cedric Gerald, and the school is the home of the McCluer Comets. Pre-history When McCluer opened in ...

and

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 st ...

. In 1971 and 1972, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Chatham A's The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was selected by the Cubs in the sixth round of the 1973 MLB Draft. On September 24, 1975, while playing for the Cubs, Wallis broke up

Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...

's bid for a no-hitter with two outs in the 9th inning of a game against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. The Cubs went on to win the game in 11 innings. On June 15, , Wallis was traded twice on the same day. First, the Cubs traded him to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

for outfielder

Mike Vail Michael Lewis Vail (born November 10, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. St. Louis Cardinals farm system Vail was original drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the seventeenth round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft as a ...

. Then the Indians sent him on to the Oakland Athletics for catcher/outfielder Gary Alexander.Joe Wallis transactions at Baseball Reference
/ref> Wallis finished his major league career with Oakland the following season.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallis, Joe Major League Baseball outfielders Chicago Cubs players Oakland Athletics players Quincy Cubs players Midland Cubs players Key West Conchs players Wichita Aeros players Southern Illinois Salukis baseball players Chatham Anglers players Baseball players from Illinois 1953 births Living people All-American college baseball players People from East St. Louis, Illinois