Arthur Lee Wilson (October 28, 1920October 31, 2010) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. He was an all-star for the

Birmingham Black Barons The Birmingham Black Barons were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1920 until 1960, including 18 seasons recognized as Major League by Major League Baseball. They shared their home field of Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, wi ...

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

before playing part of one season in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in 1951. He was born in

Springville, Alabama Springville is a city in St. Clair County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in December 1880. At the 2020 census the population was 4,786, up from 4,080 in 2010. Geography Springville is located at (33.768950, −86.471037). According ...

. Wilson is recognized as the last player in the Negro leagues to hit .400, having batted .435 (some records say .437) in 1948, albeit in only 28 games played that season.

Negro leagues and Puerto Rico League

Wilson played for the

of the

Negro American League The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season. Negro American League franchises :''An ...

from 1942 to 1948, where he was considered the league's best

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

, and was named the starting shortstop of the league All-Star team seven times from 1944 to 1948 (missing out only in 1945, when he was beaten out by

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...

, shortly before the latter broke the

baseball color line The color line, also known as the color barrier, in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Major League Baseball and its affiliated Minor League Baseball, Minor Leagues until 1947 (with a few notable exceptions in the 1 ...

in 1947). During Wilson's time with the Black Barons, the team won the league championship in 1943, 1944 and 1948, advancing to, but never winning, the

Negro League World Series The Negro World Series was a post-season baseball tournament that was held from 1924 to 1927 and from 1942 to 1948 between the champions of the Negro leagues, matching the mid-western winners against their east-coast counterparts. The series was a ...

. In the 1948 regular season, Wilson, who was known as an

opposite field This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

hitter, batted .437, which resulted in his winning the NAL batting title. Not only was it the last NAL season with a recognized batting title, it also meant that Wilson was the ninth and final player in the Negro league baseball era to win multiple league batting titles. In 1948, Wilson mentored a young

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of ...

, who was just breaking into baseball. Following the 1948 Negro World Series, Wilson played for the Mayagüez Indians of the

Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

, leading them to their first championship title in 1949. Wilson is credited for giving future Puerto Rican comedic actor

Shorty Castro Israel Castro Vélez, better known as Shorty Castro (January 28, 1928 – January 22, 2018) was a Puerto Rican comedian, actor, comedy writer, stage director, radio host, singer, dancer, composer and musician, with a career spanning over 60 year ...

his nickname while playing in Mayagüez.

Pacific Coast League

In 1948, the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

purchased Wilson's contract, and he was assigned to their

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American independent league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Bas ...

minor league team; but since his salary would have been less than he was making with Birmingham, he negotiated another contract with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. The Yankees protested to baseball commissioner

Happy Chandler Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler Sr. (July 14, 1898 – June 15, 1991) was an American politician from Kentucky. He represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate and served as its List of Governors of Kentucky, 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his ...

, who voided Wilson's Padres contract. The Yankees then sold Wilson to the

Oakland Oaks Oakland Oaks may refer to one of the following sport teams, listed chronologically: *Oakland Oaks (PCL), a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955 *Oakland Oaks (ice hockey), a professional ice hockey te ...

of the Pacific Coast League, where he was the team's first black player and the roommate of

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yankees. First known ...

. With Oakland, Wilson won the PCL batting title with a .348 average and also led in

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s with 47. In 1950, he led the PCL in runs with 168 and

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

with 264, helping the Oaks to the 1950 PCL championship.

Major leagues

Wilson's accomplishments were noticed by the

, and he was called up for the 1951 season, where he was used as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player or utility man is a player who has the ability to play more than one position in the field and is primarily used as a substitute. The term super utility player may be used to refer to a player who can play all or mos ...

and as a

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

and

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

. But Wilson struggled in the big leagues, hitting only .182 in 22

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s; when the Giants called up Wilson's former protégé Willie Mays, they sent Wilson back to Oakland, ending his major league career. Back in the PCL, Wilson finished the 1951 season with the Oaks and was sold to the

Seattle Rainiers The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were prev ...

in 1952. Wilson also played with the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

and

Sacramento Solons The Sacramento Solons were a Minor League Baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods (1903, 1905, 1909–1914, 1918–1960, 1974–1976). The current Sacramento River Cats began ...

of the PCL, winning three more PCL batting titles before leaving baseball in 1957. His career ultimately ended with a short comeback for the Beavers in 1962.

Personal life

Wilson settled in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, in 1955, and with his wife, Dorothy, raised two children. Following his retirement from baseball, he worked at Gary Worth Lincoln Mercury in Portland for more than 30 years, and stayed on there until the fall of 2008 at the age of 88 still greeting customers. He was named to the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

in 1989, and the PCL Hall of Fame in 2003. Wilson died in Portland, Oregon on October 31, 2010, three days after celebrating his 90th birthday. He had been suffering from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

References

External links

an
Seamheads
*Artie Wilson biography fro
Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)
*Artie Wilson a

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Artie 1920 births 2010 deaths African-American baseball players Major League Baseball infielders New York Giants (baseball) players Birmingham Black Barons players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Ottawa Giants players Seattle Rainiers players Portland Beavers players Sacramento Solons players Tri-City Braves players Baseball players from Alabama Caribbean Series managers Baseball players from Portland, Oregon People from Springville, Alabama Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Oregon African-American history in Portland, Oregon African-American history of Oregon 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen