Elliott Taylor "Bump" Wills (born July 27, 1952) is an American former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player, a second baseman in the major leagues for the Texas Rangers (1977–1981) and Chicago Cubs ( 1982). He also played two seasons in Japan for the Hankyu Braves (1983–84). Wills is the son of a major league

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

who later managed the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

Playing career

A switch hitter, Wills played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

at Arizona State University under College Baseball Hall of Fame coach

Jim Brock Jim Brock (July 24, 1936 – June 12, 1994) was the head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team for 23 seasons from 1972 until his death in 1994. During his first year as head coach, Brock managed his team to a 64–6 record. That m ...

. As a major league rookie in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

, he was on the cover of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'' That season at Yankee Stadium, Wills and Ranger teammate Toby Harrah hit back-to-back

inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score ...

s on Saturday, only the second time this feat has ever occurred in a major league game, and the only time on consecutive pitches. Harrah's came on a drive to the right-center field gap; on the play,

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United S ...

outfielder

Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and ...

hit the wall and was injured. By the time another player was able to retrieve the ball, Harrah was being waved home. Wills' HR came on a drive to center field over the head of

Mickey Rivers John Milton "Mickey" Rivers (born October 30, 1948) is an American former baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1984 for the California Angels, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. As a member of the Yankees, he was pa ...

; both were off reliever

Ken Clay Kenneth Earl Clay (born April 6, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. Following his brief major league career, Clay had several run ins with the law. Most recently, he was sentenced to five years in jail for grand theft fo ...

. Earlier that year at spring training in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Wills controversially replaced Lenny Randle at second base, which led to Randle's punching Rangers manager Frank Lucchesi in the face, sending him to the hospital with a facial fracture. Like his father Maury, Wills was respected for his speed. In 1978, Wills stole 52 bases, breaking

Dave Nelson David Earl Nelson (June 20, 1944 – April 22, 2018) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, and Kansas City Royals from 1968 through 19 ...

's single-season franchise record of 51 in ; the number remains a Ranger record for stolen bases in a season. After playing with the Chicago Cubs in 1982, Wills played the 1983–1984 seasons in Japan before retiring. His MLB career

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

was .266 with 36 home runs and 302 RBI.

Personal life

Born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Wills grew up in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...

, and graduated from Central Valley High School in 1970, where he was a three-sport star and later coached. He went to college at Arizona State university where he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He regularly managed clinics for younger players in the area as well. In 1977, Bump married Laverne Capilla, with whom he had one child, daughter Mauricia Morning Wills (named after his father Maury). He and Laverne later divorced and Bump married Marla Boland in 1989. They had two daughters during their marriage: Meagan and Madeline Wills. They subsequently divorced. Wills now lives in

Garland, Texas Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is located within Dallas County except for small portions located in Collin and Rockwall Counties. At the ...

, with his wife Deborah (Shriver), whom he married in 2015. He coaches for the Dallas Mustangs, a youth select baseball club. He was slated to be the manager of the Royse City Griffins of planned the

Southwest League of Professional Baseball The Southwest League of Professional Baseball was a planned independent professional baseball league. The first two announced teams were the Waco BlueCats and the Royse City Griffins followed by the Joplin Miners. In July 2018, it was announced t ...

in 2019, but the league folded before ever playing.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wills, Bump 1952 births Living people Major League Baseball second basemen African-American baseball players Baseball players from Washington, D.C. Texas Rangers players Chicago Cubs players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Hankyu Braves players Minor league baseball managers Pittsfield Rangers players Sacramento Solons players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople Anchorage Glacier Pilots players

Playing career

Personal life

See also

References

External links