Happy Birthday to Lewis Robert "Hack" Wilson, Hall of Fame Outfielder for the New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Philadelphia Phillies. In 1930, Wilson put together arguably the greatest offensive season by a player in baseball history.
(1930 Season): .356 BA, 208 HITS, 56 HR, 191 RBI, 146 RUNS, .454 OBP
Hack Wilson's Career Statistics (1923-1934):
.307 BA, 1,461 HITS, 244 HR, 1063 RBI, .395 OBP, 884 RUNS
His upbringing was all but unfortunate. He was born to a 17-year-old mother and a 24-year-old father, both irresponsible alcoholics. After his mom died when he was just seven, his father abandoned him. At 16, he gave up school to work 12-hour days for just $4 a week to support himself. His talent for playing baseball at a young age would become his only ticket out of poverty. In 1923, John McGraw, the manager for the Giants at the time, purchased his contract for $10,500. During his time with the Giants, he struggled and couldn't get consistent playing time. Once he got traded to Chicago, it was a perfect fit. Despite only being 5 feet and 6 inches tall, his five-year peak with the Chicago Cubs 1926-1930 is one of the best of all time from an offensive standpoint. In 1930, he set an MLB record by driving 191 RBIs. Also, during those five years, he led the NL in HRs four times and RBIs twice.
.331 BA, 914 HITS, 177 HR, 708 RBI, .419 OBP, 586 RUNS (738 Games)
.331 BA, 183 HITS, 35 HR, 142 RBI, .419 OBP, 117 RUNS
Despite having occasional hiccups in the Outfield, Hack Wilson was as dominant as you can get at the plate. Unfortunately, he couldn't escape the nightmares he had during his troubled upbringing and would struggle with alcohol and other on-and-off-the-field problems. In 1931, after losing Joe McCarthy to the Yankees, a very close mentor to Wilson, his struggles worsened under manager Rogers Hornsby. After the Cubs moved on from him, he had one more dominant season with the Dodgers, but his struggles would finally reach a breaking point, and by 1934, he fell out of baseball for good.
People considered Wilson a lost cause and a waste of talent at the time. But, given how he was raised physically and emotionally, hard to feel sorry for him. Unfortunately, even today, there are many instances of people who had or have a similar upbringing to what Wilson had. In other words, Hack Wilson lived his life and played baseball feeling like he already had two strikes against him. The fact that he could have the type of success he had, with all the odds stacked against him, was remarkable. If someone could provide Wilson with the help he needed and keep his eye on the game, he would've gone down as one of the all-time greats. Unfortunately, times were different back then. Forty years after his death in 1979, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. His five-year peak and his historic 1930 season shall never be forgotten.
Written & Published by Robert Dobek
Follow on Twitter @RobTheYankee
References:
Hack Wilson Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wilsoha01.shtml
Schott, Thomas E. Hack Wilson via SABR: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/hack-wilson/
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