Earl Wilson

Robert Earl Wilson
(Name changed from Earl Lawrence Wilson)
Born: Oct. 2, 1934 in Ponchatoula, La.
Died: April 23, 2005 in Detroit, Mich.
Debut: 1959 | Pos: P
H: 6'3" | W: 216 | B: R | T: R

Yrs	W	L	G	Sv	IP	SO	ERA
11	121	109	338	0	2,051.2	1,452	3.69

>> Visit the Earl Wilson biography on Baseball Almanac for complete statistics.

Earl Wilson, a pitcher who won 121 games in the major leagues, died of a heart attack on April 23, 2005 in Detroit, Mich. He was 70.

Wilson finished his 11-year major league career with a 121-109 record in 338 games. He posted a 3.69 ERA and struck out 1,452 batters in 2,051.2 innings. According to reports, he was originally signed as a catcher, but he switched to pitching in 1953.

He debuted with the Red Sox in 1959 and pitched in 22 games between 1959 and 1960. He was back in the majors in 1962 and posted a 12-8 record for Boston with a 3.90 ERA in 191.1 innings pitched. His efforts that season included a no-hitter against the Angels on June 26. Wilson also hit a home run in the game.

He pitched for Boston from 1963-1966 and never posted another winning season for the Red Sox.

In June 1966, the Red Sox traded Wilson, along with Joe Christopher to the Detroit Tigers for Don Demeter and Julio Navarro. He was 13-6 for the Tigers over the rest of the season and had a career-high of 22 wins for Detroit in 1967.

He started, and was the losing pitcher, in one game of the 1968 World Series against St. Louis.

He pitched for the Tigers until midway through 1970 when his contract was purchased by San Diego. That would be his last season in the major leagues.

The pitcher hit 35 home runs and drove in 111 runs in 740 career at-bats.

Wilson had served as a volunteer board member of the Baseball Assistance Team charity since 1988. He was president from from 2000-2004, according to his obituary.