Hoyt Wilhelm with the Jacksonville Tars

Photo credit: The Charlotte Observer

1948: Hoyt Wilhelm's time with the Jacksonville (FL) Tars (NY Giants Class A team, South Atlantic League) started out rough in 1948, as he posted an 0-0 record, 9 walks, and an 8.18 ERA in 11 innings during 6 games before being sent to the Knoxville (TN) Smokies (NY Giants Class B team, Tri-State League) where he flourished (see Knoxville Smokies page on Wilhelm).

1949: Wilhelm would redeem himself, however, in 1949, when he started and finished the season with the Jacksonville Tars, posting a 17-12 record (most wins on the team and sixth-best in the league) and a 2.66 ERA (best on the team and ninth-best in the league). At the plate Wilhelm hit .244 and had 2 doubles.

Photo credit: Collection (1949 Jacksonville Tars team; Wilhelm, back row, far left)

The 1949 Jacksonville Tars finished 73-81 and 5th place in the South Atlantic League.

Photo credit: Collection (close-up view of Wilhelm from the team photo)

South Atlantic League Hall of Fame: Hoyt Wilhelm was inducted into the South Atlantic League Hall of Fame along with six others in 1996 (the third year of the Hall of Fame's existence). Others inducted were: Bill Bethea (pitcher); Roy Majtyka (manager); Pat Putnam (first base); Jim Baynes (team executive), Ed Holtz (team executive); Pat Williams (team executive).

Photo: Durkee Field, Jacksonville, Florida (1939)

 The Jacksonville Tars played at Durkee Field, which was rebuilt in 1934 and hosted a minor league team until 1954 when a new stadium was built. Durkee Field was later renamed J.P. Small Ballpark and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Joseph E. Durkee Athletic Field.  

Hoyt Wilhelm with the Knoxville Smokies

Photo: June 15, 1948, The Charlotte News

Hoyt Wilhelm began the 1948 season with the Jacksonville (FL) Tars (NY Giants Class-A team, South Atlantic League), but after 6 games he moved to the Knoxville (TN) Smokies (NY Giants Class-B team, Tri-State League) and finished the season there, compiling a 13-9 record and a 3.62 ERA in 189 innings pitched in 24 games. 

**The 1948 Smokies finished 71-76 and sixth in the league standings.

Box Score: June 15, 1948, The Knoxville Journal

June 14, 1948: In likely the best game of his career at the plate, Wilhelm went 4-for-4, with 3 RBIs, 1 run scored and had an inside-the-park home run, but he was surprisingly pinch-hit for in the top of the ninth with the bases loaded. The pinch-hitter grounded out. Wilhelm allowed 7 hits, issued 8 walks and struck out 2, but Knoxville made 5 errors in the 10-6 road loss against the Charlotte Hornets.

Photo: June 27, 1948, The Knoxville News-Sentinel

 Hoyt Wilhelm played first base for Knoxville, in addition to pitching. In 37 games (24 of those as a pitcher), he hit .211, with 4 doubles, 1 triple and 1 home run (inside-the-park) in 114 at-bats.

Hoyt Wilhelm in the Minors - Briefly

Photo credit: Collection

Hoyt Wilhelm began his minor league career in 1941, signing with the Mooresville (NC) Moors on May 6, but he was released three weeks later, on May 27, without playing a game. He was signed again on April 13, 1942, released on June 28, and then re-signed before finishing the season with a 10-3 record and a 4.25 ERA. He entered the U.S. Army in 1943, fought in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, earned a Purple Heart from injuries sustained in battle in 1945, and then rejoined the Moors for the 1946 and 1947 seasons. He went 21-8, 2.47 ERA in 1946 (earning all-star recognition), and 20-7, 3.38 ERA in 1947, helping Mooresville win the North Carolina State League both years.

Photo credit: The Charlotte News

 In 1948, Wilhelm played for the Knoxville (TN) Smokies (Class B, Tri-State League), going 13-9 and posting a 3.62 ERA. He began the season with the Jacksonville (FL) Tars (Class A, South Atlantic League), but only pitched in six games before heading to Knoxville.

Photo credit: The Charlotte Observer

In 1949 he would begin the season where he did the previous year, in Jacksonville (Class A, South Atlantic League). This time he would finish there, going 17-12 and posting a 2.66 ERA.

Photo credit: Collection

He spent the 1950 and 1951 seasons with the Minneapolis (MN) Millers (Class AAA, American Association), posting a 15-11 record, 4.95 ERA, and 99 Ks in 1950, and an 11-14 record, 3.94 ERA with 148 Ks in 1951. He helped the Millers to a 90-64 record in 1950 to give them the regular-season title, but they fell in the playoffs to Columbus, 4 games to 2 games.

Photo credit: Collection

During the winters of 1950-51 and 1951-52, Hoyt Wilhelm played for the Habana Leones (Havana Lions) or Reds in Cuba. He was an all-star in 1950-51 (going 8-6, with a league-leading 2.36 ERA), helping Habana win the Cuban Winter League title (after going 41-32-1) and advance to the Caribbean Series (before losing). In the 1951-52 season, he went 2-5, and posted a 3.52 ERA, as Habana (41-30-1) won the Cuban Winter League title again and also went on to win the Caribbean Series. However, Wilhelm was called back to the states to prepare for his first spring training with a major league club, the NY Giants, and didn't participate in the Caribbean Series.

Photo credit: Collection

On June 29, 1971, Wilhelm was released by the Atlanta Braves. But 11 days later, on July 10, 1971, he was signed by the L.A. Dodgers and assigned to the Spokane (WA) Indians (Class AAA, Pacific Coast League) to help young knuckleballer Charlie Hough and to give Wilhelm a chance to make it back to the big leagues. In eight games with Spokane, he went 2-3, with a 3.89 ERA, and 1 save, earning a trip back to the majors where he would spend the rest of the 1971 season and part of the 1972 season before being released on July 21, 1972, five days before his 50th birthday.

Hoyt Wilhelm's Career - Briefly

Photo credit: Collection

In 1939, Hoyt Wilhelm began playing baseball at Cornelius (NC) High School, where he learned to throw his famous knuckleball after reading about four knuckleballers on the Washington Senators pitching staff and seeing a picture of pitcher Dutch Leonard's grip (Wilhelm threw a no-hitter at Cornelius High and also had a two-homer game in 1941 during his senior year).

Photo credit: Collection

During his summers in high school (1939-1941), Wilhelm played for the Davidson (NC) American Legion Post 86 baseball team.

Photo credit: Collection

He broke into professional baseball by signing with the Mooresville (NC) Moors on May 6, 1941 (Kannapolis Daily Independent, May 7, 1941), but was released three weeks later (Kannapolis Daily Independent, May 28, 1941). He signed and played  his first game for the Moors in 1942.

Photo credit: The Charlotte Observer

He served in the army during World War II from 1943-1945, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and earning a Purple Heart from injuries sustained in battle. He played baseball for the 395th Infantry Division of the 99th Infantry in 1943 (Camp Van Dorn, Mississippi) and 1944 (Camp Maxey, Texas).

Photo credit: Collection

After six more years in the minors (with the Mooresville Moors, Knoxville Smokies, Jacksonville Tars and Minneapolis Millers), he debuted in the majors with the N.Y. Giants in 1952, homering in his first at-bat (never hitting another) and winning his lone World Series in 1954.

Photo credit: Collection

After brief stints with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians, Wilhelm threw a no-hitter for the Baltimore Orioles against the eventual World Series champion N.Y. Yankees in 1958.

Photo credit: Collection

After joining the Chicago White Sox, he pitched in his 907th game to break Cy Young's record for games pitched.

Photo credit: Collection
After the White Sox left Wilhelm unprotected in the 1968 expansion draft, the Kansas City Royals drafted him. Before playing for Kansas City, the Royals traded him to the California Angels (where he played in 1969) before being traded to the Atlanta Braves (where he pitched in his record 1,000th major league game - seen in photo above, May 10, 1970).

Photo credit: Collection

After playing for the California Angels, Atlanta Braves (twice), and Chicago Cubs, Wilhelm's playing days ended in 1972 when the Los Angeles Dodgers released him five days before his 50th birthday.

Photo credit: Brett Honeycutt

He retired from baseball in 1995 after 22 years as a minor league coach, 20 of those as a pitching coach in the N.Y. Yankees farm system. 

Photo credit: Collection

In 1985 he was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and became the first relief pitcher to be inducted.