FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed “Old Sarge“, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers between 1952 and 1972. Wilhelm was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.
Wilhelm grew up in North Carolina, fought in World War II, and then spent several years in the minor leagues before starting his major league career at the age of 29. He was best known for his knuckleball, which enabled him to have great longevity. He appeared occasionally as a starting pitcher, but pitched mainly as a reliever. Wilhelm won 124 games in relief, which is still the major league record. He was the first pitcher to reach 200 saves, and the first to appear in 1,000 games.
Wilhelm was nearly 30 years old when he entered the major leagues, and pitched until he was nearly 50. He retired with one of the lowest career earned run averages, 2.52, in baseball history. After retiring as a player in 1972, Wilhelm held longtime coaching jobs with the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves. He lived in Sarasota, Florida, for many years, and died there in 2002.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
1610s
1750s
1780s
1790s
1810s
1860s
1900s
1910s
1920s
1930s
1940s
1960s
- DIED 1960: OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II (LYRICIST)
- 1961: RANGER I LUNAR PROBE LAUNCHED
- 1966: U.S. LUNAR ORBITER 1 TOOK FAMED PHOTO OF EARTH FROM MOON’S ORBIT
1970s
- BORN 1970: RIVER PHOENIX (ACTOR)
- BORN 1976: SCOTT CAAN (ACTOR)
- BORN 1978: KOBE BRYANT (BASKETBALL PLAYER)
1990s
2000s
- DIED 2002: HOYT WILHELM (BASEBALL PLAYER, FIRST RELIEF PITCHER EVER ELECTED TO THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME)
- DIED 2003: MARION HARGROVE (G.I. WHOSE ACCOUNT OF ARMY BASIC TRAINING, SEE HERE, PRIVATE HARGROVE, BECAME A BEST SELLER IN 1942 AND TURNED HIM INTO A WORLD WAR II CELEBRITY)
- DIED 2003: BOBBY BONDS (BASEBALL PLAYER)
2010s
- 2011: AN 5.8-MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE CENTERED NORTHWEST OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, CAUSED BUILDINGS TO BE EVACUATED ACROSS WASHINGTON, D.C., AND NEW YORK CITY. THE QUAKE WAS FELT AS FAR SOUTH AS CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA.
- 2014: TWO-POUND BLUE LOBSTER CAUGHT OFF PINE POINT IN SCARBOROUGH, MAINE
COURTESY www.almanc.com
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