| Red Wilson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born:(1929-03-07)March 7, 1929 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. | |
| Died: August 8, 2014(2014-08-08) (aged 85) Fitchburg, Wisconsin, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 22, 1951, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 24, 1960, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .258 |
| Home runs | 24 |
| Runs batted in | 189 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| |
Robert James "Red"Wilson (March 7, 1929 – August 8, 2014) was a professionalbaseball and college baseball and football player. He played 10 seasons inMajor League Baseball for theChicago White Sox (1951–1954),Detroit Tigers (1954–1960), andCleveland Indians (1960), primarily as acatcher.
Born inMilwaukee, Wisconsin,[1] Wilson attended theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison where he was a star football player for theWisconsin Badgers. He won Most Valuable Player honors as thecenter for theBadgers football team in 1947 and 1948, and was also an all-conference center in 1947.
In his senior year, 1949, Wilson was the team captain and won theBig Ten Most Valuable Player award as an end. Besides, he led theBadgers baseball team in hitting withbatting averages of .342 and .426 in 1948 and 1949, respectively. As apitcher, he posted a 17–7 record and earned a spot in the 1950College World Series. He graduated from Wisconsin in 1951 as an insurance major.
Wilson was selected in the fourth round, 52nd pick overall of the1950 NFL draft by theCleveland Browns underPaul Brown,[2] but opted for a baseball career after leaving Wisconsin. He was signed by theChicago White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1950, playing 85 games for them from 1951 to 1953. In May 1954, Wilson was traded to the Tigers in exchange forMatt Batts. Wilson played for Detroit during seven seasons years from 1954 through 1960, before ending his career with theCleveland Indians in 1960.[1]
Wilson served as the primary catcher for Tigers pitcherFrank Lary, who was known asThe Yankee Killer because of his 16–3 record against theNew York Yankees with Wilson catching. Wilson batted .354 in the 21 games where he was paired with Lary against the Yankees, .096 above his career average.[3]
His most productive season came in 1958, when he played in a career-high 103 games, while collecting a .299 average with a .373on-base percentage and 10stolen bases, eighth-best mark in the American League.[1] Wilson also had an excellent year as a catcher in 1958, recording arange factor of 5.93, 0.59 points ahead of the league average for catchers, and caughtJim Bunning'sno-hitter against theBoston Red Sox on July 20 of that year.[4] The next season, he improved to a career-high range factor of 6.23 – 0.92 points above the league average.
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In 602 Major League Baseball games, 580 as a catcher, Wilson hit a .258 average and a .338 on-base percentage.[1]
On December 14, 1960, Wilson was selected by theLos Angeles Angels in the1960 MLB expansion draft, but he retired rather than continue his playing career. Then, pitcherTed Bowsfield was sent by Cleveland to the Angels in terms of compensation.[5]
Wilson's 1958 baseball card,Topps No. 213, showed him in a truly bizarre pose. The company painted out the natural background of the pictures that year and, in a photo showing Wilson swinging his bat, painted the bat out of the picture too—showing Wilson looking as if his right arm had beenamputated a few inches below the shoulder.[6]
After his playing career, Wilson was a founder and President of the Westgate Bank inMadison, Wisconsin. He was also President of the Wisconsin Alumni Association from 1971 to 1972. Wilson was elected to theWisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.[7]
Wilson died in 2014 inFitchburg, Wisconsin, at the age of 85, and was buried atForest Hill Cemetery in Madison.