Delbert Quentin Wilber (February 24, 1919 – July 18, 2002), was an American professional baseball player, manager,

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

. A catcher, he appeared in 299 Major League

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

for the St. Louis Cardinals (1946–49),

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(1951–52) and Boston Red Sox (1952–54). The native of Lincoln Park, Michigan, threw and batted right-handed. He stood tall and weighed .

Catcher with three MLB clubs

Wilber signed with the American League St. Louis Browns in 1938, but was acquired by the Cardinals in 1940 and played in their extensive

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

until the outbreak of World War II; he missed the 1942–45 seasons while serving in the United States Army Air Force, where he attained the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In , he resumed his baseball career and made his Major League debut, appearing in four games before being sent to the Triple-A Columbus Red Birds. He did not appear in the

1946 World Series The 1946 World Series was played in October 1946 between the St. Louis Cardinals (representing the National League) and the Boston Red Sox (representing the American League). This was the Red Sox's first appearance in a World Series since their c ...

. Wilber played in 51 games for the 1947 Cardinals and 27 more in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, but did not spend a full season in MLB again until , when he appeared in 84 games, 61 as the starting catcher, for the Phillies. After only two games played for the Phillies, Wilber's contract was purchased by the Red Sox on May 12. He served for three seasons as the Red Sox' second-string and third-string receiver behind Sammy White, through 1954. Boston then traded him to 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

for

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Billy Klaus William Joseph Klaus (December 9, 1928 – December 3, 2006) was an American professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Boston / Milwaukee Braves (–), Boston Red Sox (–), Baltimore Or ...

that December, but the Giants granted Wilber his release to enable him to join the coaching staff of the Chicago White Sox for the season. On August 27, 1951, Wilber hit three

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

off pitcher

Ken Raffensberger Kenneth David Raffensberger (August 8, 1917 – November 10, 2002) was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). From 1939 through 1954, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1939), Chicago Cubs (1940–41), Philadelphia P ...

, each on the first pitch of each at bat, to lead the Phillies to a 3–0 victory over the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. Two years later, while playing for the Red Sox, Wilber had 27

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 se ...

and 29 runs batted in, making him one of the few big leaguers to have more RBIs than hits in a season. In all or parts of eight MLB seasons, Wilber compiled 720 at bats, 67 runs, 174 hits, 35 doubles, seven

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

, 19 homers, 115 RBI, one

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled 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 ...

and 44

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

. He batted .242 with an

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

of .286, a

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

of .389, 280 total bases and five sacrifice hits. According to The Sporting News' ''

Official Baseball Register The ''Baseball Register'', also known as the ''Official Baseball Register'', was an annual almanac of baseball player statistics, published by ''The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Spo ...

'', Wilber had a unique hobby during his catching career. When a pitcher hurled an especially noteworthy game, Wilber would decorate a game baseball, writing the

line score A box score is a chart used in baseball to present data about player achievement in a particular game. An abbreviated version of the box score, duplicated from the field scoreboard, is the line score. The Baseball Hall of Fame credits Henry Chadw ...

of the contest, as well as game highlights, on the ball, then present it to his pitcher.

Manager, scout and coach

Wilber managed in minor league baseball both during his playing career and after it ended. He led the Cardinals' Houston Buffaloes Double-A farm club as a catcher-manager in 1949. Then, after hanging up his catching gear, he managed at the Triple-A level with the Louisville Colonels, Houston Buffs of the American Association, Charleston Senators, Tacoma Twins, Denver Bears and Spokane Indians. He skippered affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles, both the original and

expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansio ...

editions of the Washington Senators, and the Senators' current incarnations as the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

and Texas Rangers. His one-game stint as skipper of the 1973 Texas Rangers—as interim pilot between

Whitey Herzog Dorrel Norman Elvert "Whitey" Herzog (; born November 9, 1931) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager, most notable for his Major League Baseball (MLB) managerial career. He made his MLB debut as a player in 1956 ...

and Billy Martin on September 7, he won his only game as manager, Retrosheetbr>box score: 1973-09-07
/ref> 10–8 against the future world champion

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

—occurred after Wilber led the Rangers' Spokane affiliate to the 1973 championship 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 ...

, one of three league titles in his minor-league resume. Wilber was a coach for the 1955–56 White Sox and the 1970 Senators, serving under former teammates Marty Marion and Ted Williams. He also scouted for the Orioles, Twins, Athletics,

and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. He died in St. Petersburg, Florida at the age of 83. Wilber's son, Rick, is a writer, editor, and teacher. His two other sons, Del Wilber Jr. (Philadelphia Phillies) and Bob Wilber (Detroit Tigers and Oakland A's) both played professional minor league baseball and Bob Wilber followed in his father's footsteps as a scout (Toronto Blue Jays) after his playing days. His grandson

Del Quentin Wilber Del Quentin Wilber is an American journalist who writes for the ''Los Angeles Times''. He rejoined the paper in August 2018 as an enterprise and investigative reporter focusing on criminal justice and national security matters. He previously cove ...

is a journalist.

References

* Wilber, Rick. ''My Father's Game''. McFarland, 2008. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilber, Del 1919 births 2002 deaths Baltimore Orioles scouts Baseball players from Michigan Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox coaches Cincinnati Reds scouts Columbus Red Birds players Detroit Tigers scouts Findlay Browns players Findlay Oilers players Houston Buffaloes managers Houston Buffaloes players Louisville Colonels (minor league) managers Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball catchers Minnesota Twins scouts Oakland Athletics scouts People from Lincoln Park, Michigan Philadelphia Phillies players Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Cardinals players Spokane Indians managers Springfield Cardinals players Washington Senators (1961–1971) coaches