Hooks Wiltse
| Hooks Wiltse | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Pitcher | |||
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Born: September 7, 1879 Hamilton, New York | |||
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Died: January 21, 1959 (aged 79) Long Beach, New York | |||
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 21, 1904, for the New York Giants | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 25, 1915, for the Brooklyn Tip-Tops | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 139-90 | ||
| Earned run average | 2.47 | ||
| Strikeouts | 965 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
George Leroy "Hooks" Wiltse (September 7, 1879 – January 21, 1959) was a professional baseball pitcher. He played twelve seasons in Major League Baseball from 1904 to 1915. He was the brother of pitcher Snake Wiltse.
"Hooks" earned his nickname because of his exceptional curveball and was one of the earliest pitchers to have a curveball that was regarded as more effective than his fastball. From 1904 to 1914, he pitched for the National League's New York Giants. During that time, he combined with teammate Christy Mathewson for 435 wins, making them one of the best lefty-righty duos in history. Wiltse won five pennants with the Giants and pitched 3.1 innings in the 1911 World Series.
On July 4, 1908, Wiltse pitched a perfect game through 26 batters until he hit Philadelphia Phillies pitcher George McQuillan on a 2–2 count in a scoreless game. This was the only occurrence of a pitcher losing a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning by hitting a batter until Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer did so on June 20, 2015. Like Wiltse, Scherzer eventually completed a no-hitter, but unlike Wiltse, Scherzer had a 6-0 lead and was able to retire the next batter to end the game. Umpire Cy Rigler later admitted that he should have called the previous pitch strike three, which would have ended the inning. Wiltse pitched on, winning 1–0 in ten innings, with the hit-batsman the only lapse separating him from a perfect game. Wiltse's ten-inning complete game no-hitter still remains a Major League record.
In 1915, he jumped to the Brooklyn Tip-Tops of the Federal League, which is where he ended his major league career. He continued to play minor league baseball on and off until 1926. His last appearance came with the Reading Keystones, where he played in five games at the age of 46.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
- List of Major League Baseball single-inning strikeout leaders
Sources
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- BaseballLibrary.com
- SABR biography
- The Editors of Total Baseball (2000). Baseball:The Biographical Encyclopedia. Sports Illustrated. p. 343. ISBN 1-892129-34-5.
| Preceded by Cy Young |
No-hitter pitcher July 4, 1908 |
Succeeded by Nap Rucker |