Aloysius Jerome "Wish" Egan (June 16, 1881 – April 13, 1951) was a

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), ...

player and scout.

Playing career

Born in

Evart, Michigan Evart ( ) is a city in Osceola County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,903 at the 2010 census. The city lies on the northern edge of Evart Township and is partially within neighboring Osceola Township, although the city is ad ...

, Egan played three seasons as a pitcher for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1902) and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1905–1906). He started 3 games for the Tigers in September 1902. Despite pitching 2 complete games with a 2.86 earned run average, Wish was 0–2 for the Tigers. In 1905, Wish was 6–15 as a starter for the Cardinals (including 19 complete games) before an arm injury ended his playing career.

Scout

Wish joined the Tigers organization as a scout (and occasionally as a coach) in 1910 and remained with the club for over 40 years until his death in 1951. His discoveries as a scout included

Hal Newhouser Harold Newhouser (May 20, 1921 – November 10, 1998), nicknamed "Prince Hal," was an American professional baseball player. In Major League Baseball (MLB), he pitched 17 seasons on the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians, from 1939 through 1 ...

Dizzy Trout Paul Howard "Dizzy" Trout (June 29, 1915 – February 28, 1972) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from to , most notably as a member of the Detroit Tigers team that finishe ...

Jim Bunning James Paul David Bunning (October 23, 1931 – May 26, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher and politician who represented Kentucky in both chambers of the United States Congress. He was the sole Major League Baseball athlete to ha ...

, Roy Cullenbine,

Hoot Evers Walter Arthur "Hoot" Evers (February 8, 1921 – January 25, 1991) was an American baseball outfielder, scout, coach, and executive. Evers played professional baseball from 1941 to 1942 and 1946 to 1956, including 12 seasons in Major League Bas ...

Dick Wakefield Richard Cummings Wakefield (May 6, 1921 – August 25, 1985) was a left fielder in Major League Baseball for 9 seasons with the Detroit Tigers (1941, 1943–1944, 1946–1949), New York Yankees (1950), and New York Giants (1952). Wakefield was ...

Johnny Lipon John Joseph Lipon (November 10, 1922 – August 17, 1998) was an American Major League Baseball shortstop for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Browns and Cincinnati Redlegs over the course of nine seasons (1942; 1946; 1948–1954). T ...

Stubby Overmire Frank W. Overmire (May 16, 1919 – March 3, 1977) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played ten seasons for the Detroit Tigers (1943–1949), St. Louis Browns (1950–1952), and New York Yankees (1951). In ten seasons, Overmire won 58 games ...

Art Houtteman Arthur Joseph Houtteman (August 7, 1927 – May 6, 2003) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for 12 seasons in the American League with the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles. In 3 ...

, and

Barney McCosky William Barney McCosky (April 11, 1917 – September 6, 1996) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. From 1939 through 1953, he played for the Detroit Tigers (1939–42, 1946), Philadelphia Athletics (1946–1948, 1950–1951), Cincinnati Re ...

. And it was at his urging that the Tigers traded

for

George Kell George Clyde Kell (August 23, 1922 – March 24, 2009) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman who played 15 seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics (1943–1946), Detroit Tigers (1947–1952), Boston Red Sox (1952–1954), Chicago W ...

in 1946. Egan reportedly started scouting

when Newhouser was playing Legion ball at age 15. Egan developed a reputation as a tenacious talent scout. After his death, sportswriter Francis Stann wrote in ''

Baseball Digest ''Baseball Digest'' is a baseball magazine resource, published in Orlando, Florida by Grandstand Publishing, LLC. It is the longest-running baseball magazine in the United States. History and profile It was created by Herbert F. Simons, a spor ...

'':

He used to descend into mine shafts to talk to fathers of boys who couldn't sign contracts because they were under age. He's been known to time a visit to a youngster's home while school still was in session and wipe dishes for the mother awaiting the boy's return. 'Parents are often underrated people,' Wish philosophized on occasion. 'I liked 'em on my side.'

In addition to his player discoveries, Wish Egan is also credited with having chosen the Tigers' spring training location in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...

. An article from ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' in 1933 included an interview with Egan about the new training location. The article credited Egan as "the Tiger scout, who selected the site." The article also noted: "Egan made many contacts in Lakeland and found the city happy over the prospect of once more being the host to a big league club. It has not had such an opportunity since the Cleveland Indians decided to move from there several years ago and is looking forward eagerly to renewing the experience." The relationship between the Tigers and Lakeland is now the longest relationship in baseball between a team and its spring training home.

Death

In 1949, Egan was diagnosed with cancer, and he spent much of the next two years in a hospital. He died in 1951.

References

External links

Baseball-Reference.com

Wish Egan
- Baseballbiography.com
Motownsports.com Tribute page on Wish Egan

The Sporting News Obituary

Wish Egan Playfield location
{{DEFAULTSORT:Egan, Wish St. Louis Cardinals players Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Michigan Sportspeople from Lakeland, Florida 1881 births 1951 deaths Detroit Tigers scouts Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players San Jose Prune Pickers players Newark Indians players People from Evart, Michigan