Wilmer Joseph Harris (March 1, 1924 – December 23, 2004) was an American
pitcher who played in
Negro league baseball
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...
. Listed at 6' 0", 175 lb., he batted and threw right handed.
Biography
Born in
Philadelphia, Wilmer Harris started playing
sandlot ball at an early age with the boys of his neighborhood. He attended Central High School for Boys, where he graduated in 1941. In addition, he served as captain for the school's baseball and basketball teams, and also played for the Passon Stars club of the Fairmount Park League, which won four straight championships.
[Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues]
Harris was known as having a fearsome curveball
In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...
. He entered the league in 1945 with the Philadelphia Stars, playing for them his entire eight-year career through 1952. In his debut, he faced pitching legend Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Monarchs before a 40000 crowd in the original Yankee Stadium. Late in the year, he struck out Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...
, by then a rookie who was pinch-hitting
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Ameri ...
for the Monarchs.[
The highlight of his career came in 1946, while pitching against the Newark Eagles at Connie Mack Stadium. With the bases loaded and no outs, Harris struck out in order three of the greatest hitters in Negro League history: Larry Doby, ]Lennie Pearson
Leonard Curtis Pearson (May 23, 1918 – December 7, 1980), nicknamed "Hoss", was an American baseball first baseman in the Negro leagues. He played from 1937 to 1949, playing mostly with the Newark Eagles.
Pearson started his Negro league ca ...
and Monte Irvin, to preserve the victory for his team.
In 1947, after the Major League Baseball season ended, Harris played for an All-Star team led by Jackie Robinson, composed of Robinson and other Negro League relevant players. He ended his career with the Stars in 1952, posting a career total of 120 wins and 45 losses for a solid .727 winning percentage.[
A two-time NBL All-Star, Harris hurled the last three innings for the East Division in the 1951 East-West All-Star Game, allowing two hits without walks or runs while striking out four batters. He earned the save in a 3–1 victory. In 1952, his last season, he pitched again three innings of shutout ball in the East-West Game, surrendering two hits with a walk and did not have a strikeout in a 7–3 loss.][
Besides this, he also played winter baseball in the professional leagues of Panama (1945), Venezuela (1949) and Dominican Republic (1950).][
After retiring from baseball, he worked in ]Jenkintown
Jenkintown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Center City Philadelphia.
History
The community was named for William Jenkins, a Welsh pioneer settler.
Jenkintown is located just ...
for SPS Technologies during 37 years, retiring as a supervisor in 1989. He then was employed at Allied Securities Service in Pittsburgh for 12 years.The Deadball Era – Wilmer Harris obituary
/ref>
Wilmer Harris died in 2004 in his hometown of Philadelphia at the age of 80. At the time of his death, he was one of only five surviving members of the Philadelphia Stars.
He had five children.
See also
* List of Negro league baseball players
References
External links
an
Seamheads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Wilmer
Philadelphia Stars players
African-American baseball players
Baseball players from Philadelphia
1924 births
2004 deaths
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American people