Skip to main content

Sunday School: History Lesson 35

Jimmie Wilson spent 10 total years with the Phillies, from 1923-1928, then from 1934-1938. Initially, Wilson was just a catcher with the Phils, but later became manager of his hometown team.

Wilson grew up in the Kensington section of the city. He grew up playing soccer but was convinced to try baseball as well, around age 20. He played both sports until he was moved from New Haven of the Eastern League to the Phillies in 1923.

At first, Wilson shared the Phillies' catching duties with veteran Butch Henline, but Wilson's superior offensive performance gradually won him the starting assignment. Wilson batted over .300 in both the 1925 and 1926 seasons. His true value was behind the plate, however, and he was regarded as one of the era's best signal callers. In 1927, he played in a career high 128 games, but his batting average and OPS dropped, as did his value to the team.

On May 11, 1928, Wilson made baseball history when he was traded by the Phillies to the Cardinals, for young catcher Spud Davis and outfielder Homer Peel, during a game between the two teams. According to one account, "Wilson was a Phillie for two innings, then darted into Redbird regalia, and sat on the St. Louis bench, for the remainder of the game."

With the Cardinals, Wilson played 6 solid seasons, helping the team win 3 NL pennants over 4 seasons. In 1929, Wilson had his best season, batting .325, scoring 59 times and driving home 71 runs.

In the 1933-1934 offseason, the Phillies and Cardinals reversed the 1928 deal, by trading Wilson for Davis again, this time with infielder Eddie Delker going over to St. Louis. Wilson was named player/manager of the Phillies for the 1934 season, and he stayed in that role until 1938.

Wilson played parts of the next two seasons with the Reds, while serving on their coaching staff. He was active in the 1940 postseason and went 6-for-17 (.353 avg) in 6 World Series games that year. His stardom in the Series helped get Wilson another managing gig with the Cubs in 1941. He would manage and coach till 1946, when he retired from baseball and soon after passed away due to heart problems.

-------------------------------

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE!


BallHype: hype it up!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...

Yankees Fans Misled By Pepsi Promotion

**** Today, New York Yankees fans attended a Pepsi promotion in Times Square hoping for chances to win opening day tickets to the new stadium, but the tickets, which were difficult to track down due to poor organization on Pepsi's part, were actually for a game in June. Furthermore, the 250 pairs that were promised were actually only 100 pairs. The fans, who were made to sprint through traffic over multiple city blocks when locations for the promotion changed, quickly turned against the soda brand by pooring out their beverages and chanting anti-Pepsi phrases. Yankees fans are even threatening a boycott of Pepsi. An appearance by Yankee great Goose Gossage could not even settle the angry mob, as he had to be whisked away, as a precaution, according to the Daily News . Ooo , I'd hate to see what "the worst fans in sports" (Philadelphia fans) would have done to their free Pepsi cans and beloved reliever in that situation. Because this happened in a non-Philly city, th...

5th spot, Wall, Old timers, Links

The race for the Phillies' fifth starter spot is still on. While it's not fully fair to compare Grapefruit League stats, when some of the pitchers have had "B game" and scrimmage outings mixed in, Kyle Kendrick and Carlos Carrasco look to be falling behind Chan Ho Park and "Jay" Happ. Happ added to his solid Grapefruit League stats (2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP in 4 games) today against the Rays. Pitching coach Rich Dubee had been displeased with Kendrick even before he surrendered 8 earned runs in 3 innings of work yesterday against the Braves. Park has been working on improving his change up, with (Coach) Jamie Moyer. Park noticed Moyer's location control on his change, so he sought out Moyer to teach him the grip and positioning of the ball. Moyer, of course, feels good about helping anyone on the Phils' staff. Park has been coached by greats like Nolan Ryan with the Rangers and Sandy Koufax with the Dodgers, so Moyer is in great company. Park is working h...