Highlighted Year: Jim Wilson, 1955

Pitcher, Baltimore Orioles

Age:  33

1^st season with Orioles

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 200 

Prior to 1955:

Born in San Diego, Wilson moved with his family to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he pitched for Classical High School from 1936-38. The family returned to the West Coast and Wilson finished high school in Seaside, Oregon. After playing some semipro ball in Oregon he attended the Univ. of Oregon for a semester before transferring to San Diego State where he saw more action in 1940 and ’41 at first base and in the outfield due to a sore arm. Time off from baseball in 1942 while he worked on a ferry boat provided needed rest for his throwing arm and following the 1943 college season he was signed by the Boston Red Sox. First assigned to the Louisville Colonels of the Class AA American Association, the 21-year-old had a rough time, going 0-5 with a 5.68 ERA. Back with Louisville in 1944, he turned things around by posting a 19-8 record with a 2.77 ERA, 22 complete games, and 147 strikeouts over 237 innings. Moving up to the Red Sox in 1945, he started off in difficult fashion and his season ended in August when he suffered a fractured skull when struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of Detroit outfielder Hank Greenberg. While it was initially believed that his career was over, he made a complete recovery and was able to return in 1946. For 1945 his record was 6-8 with a 3.30 ERA and 50 strikeouts over the course of 144.1 innings. In the offseason he worked in a defense plant job. After appearing in one game for the Red Sox in 1946 he was sent back to Louisville where he went 10-6 with a 3.02 ERA, 12 complete games, and 126 strikeouts over 158 innings. Wilson spent 1947 with Louisville and had a 4-4 tally with a 2.65 ERA when his season was again cut short by a batted ball, this one striking his left shin and breaking it in four places. In the offseason he was dealt to the St. Louis Browns as part of the trade that brought shortstop Vern Stephens to Boston. Wilson saw scant action with the Browns in 1948 before being sent down to the Toledo Mud Hens of the Class AAA American Association where he produced a 7-13 tally and 4.01 ERA with 108 strikeouts over 175 innings. Sold to the Cleveland Indians in the offseason, he was then selected by the Philadelphia Athletics in the Rule 5 draft. After appearing in two games with the A’s that resulted in a 14.40 ERA, he was returned to Cleveland and then dealt to Detroit in August. Pitching in Class AAA with Baltimore and Buffalo, farm teams of the Tigers and Browns, respectively, he was a combined 7-11 with a 3.94 ERA, although he won a 5-0 rain-abbreviated no-hitter against Jersey City in his first Buffalo start. In 1950 the Tigers assigned Wilson to the Seattle Rainiers of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League and had an excellent season, going 24-11 with a 2.95 ERA, 26 complete games, and 228 strikeouts over 293 innings. Immediately following the season, and now in great demand, Wilson was acquired by the Boston Braves. Relying on a fastball, curve, and changeup, he was showing development as a pitcher. Finally in the majors to stay in 1951, limited by a sore arm early in the season, he made 15 starts in 20 appearances for the 76-78 Braves and posted a 7-7 tally and a 5.40 ERA with 33 strikeouts over 110 innings. With a mediocre seventh-place club in 1952, Wilson started 33 games and went 12-14 with a 4.23 ERA, 14 complete games, and 104 strikeouts over 234 innings. With the move of the Braves to Milwaukee in 1953, the team’s fortunes improved but Wilson’s did not, as he posted a 4-9 record and 4.34 ERA in 18 starts. The club was unable to unload him for the $10,000 waiver price in the offseason, and he returned to have a fine performance in 1954. Used infrequently out of the bullpen until June, an injury opened a slot in the starting rotation, and he pitched a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies in his second start on his way to an All-Star selection and 8-2 record for the year along with a 3.52 ERA, 6 complete games, 4 shutouts, and 52 strikeouts over 127.2 innings. Immediately prior to the 1955 season, Wilson was purchased by the Orioles.

1955 Season Summary

Appeared in 34 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 34

Games Started – 31 [6, tied with five others]

Complete Games – 14 [8]

Wins – 12 [14, tied with Art Ditmar, Ned Garver & Willard Nixon]

Losses – 18 [1]

PCT - .400

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 4 [7]

Innings Pitched – 235.1 [4]

Hits – 200 [8]

Runs – 104 [3]

Earned Runs – 90 [6, tied with Tom Brewer]

Home Runs – 17 [14, tied with six others]

Bases on Balls – 87 [9, tied with Tom Brewer & Tommy Byrne]

Strikeouts – 96 [12]

ERA – 3.44 [12]

Hit Batters – 4

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 7 [4, tied with five others]

League-leading losses were +1 ahead of runner-up Bob Porterfield

Midseason Snapshot: 6-9, ERA - 2.50, SO - 44 in 122.1 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 6 (in 12.2 IP) at Cleveland 5/31, (in 11 IP) vs. NY Yankees 9/5, (in 9 IP) vs. Detroit 9/10

10+ strikeout games – 0

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 9 IP) at Chi. White Sox 7/18

Batting

PA – 92, AB – 89, R – 4, H – 15, 2B – 2, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 4, BB – 1, SO – 18, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .169, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 2, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 56

Put Outs – 15

Assists – 39

Errors – 2

DP – 0

Pct. - .964

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

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The Orioles went 57-97 to finish seventh in the AL, 39 games behind the pennant-winning New York Yankees. The Orioles got off to an 0-6 start and were 4-12 by the end of April. By the end of June, they were in last place at 20-50 and languished in the cellar until a strong September, highlighted by a seven-game winning streak, propelled them into seventh.

Aftermath of 1955:

Wilson got off to a 4-2 start in 1956 before being traded to the Chicago White Sox, who were seeking a starting pitcher, as part of a six-player deal. An All-Star for a third consecutive year, Wilson lost eight straight games at one point and finished with a combined record of 13-14 with a 4.28 ERA, 7 complete games, 3 shutouts, and 113 strikeouts over 208 innings. Although not an All-Star in 1957, he had a solid season in which he led the AL with 5 shutouts while posting a 15-8 tally and 3.48 ERA with 12 complete games and 100 strikeouts over 201.2 innings. Along the way he pitched 8.1 innings of no-hit ball on his way to a 1-0, 10-inning shutout of the Kansas City Athletics in April. Wilson played one more season with the White Sox in 1958 at age 36. He went 9-9 with a 4.10 ERA in his final year as a player. For his major league career, Wilson compiled an 86-89 record with a 4.01 ERA, 75 complete games, 19 shutouts, and 692 strikeouts over 1539 innings. With the Orioles he was 16-20 with a 3.80 ERA, 15 complete games, 4 shutouts, and 128 strikeouts over 286.1 innings pitched. A three-time All-Star, he never appeared in the postseason. Following his playing career he was a scout for the Orioles and Houston before becoming Director of Scouting and Player Development for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1972. He became VP and General Manager of the Brewers until being named Executive Director of the Major League Scouting Bureau in 1974. He died at the age of 64 in 1986.  

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.