This just came in from Paul Kaplan of Libertyville:
“We have an 80-year-old friend who recently regaled my 9-year-old with tales of Hack Wilson. She remembers how he was good with kids–a ready signer of their autograph books.
“A lot of younger fans don’t know about the rich history of the Cubs and the great players who wore Cub uniforms. Could you write something about Hack Wilson? The 96th anniversary of his birth occurs this month.”
Lewis “Hack” Wilson was born April 26, 1900, in Ellwood City, Pa. He was with the Cubs for six seasons, from 1926 through 1931, half of his major-league career, and in 1930 set two single-season National League slugging records that still stand: 190 runs batted in (also the major-league mark) and 56 home runs.
He was known for hitting the bottle as much as for hitting baseballs. He was a drinker of such prodigious proportions that many baseball writers refused to vote for him for the Hall of Fame. Through the considerable efforts of Edgar Munzel, a Chicago scribe long since retired, Wilson finally was anointed in 1979.
Wilson had the appearance of a wrestler. Full grown, he was 5 feet 6 inches and 210 pounds. A rebellious and rowdy student, he had a hard childhood and left school at 16 while still in the 6th grade. He began his professional baseball career in 1921 with the Martinsburg (W.Va.) club in the Blue Ridge League. He broke his leg in his first game.
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Two years later he was purchased by the New York Giants, then managed by John McGraw. Wilson, an outfielder, wasn’t ready. McGraw farmed him out twice. In three seasons with the Giants he showed only occasional power–16 home runs in 573 at-bats. When the Giants failed to protect him in the winter draft, the Cubs, on the advice of manager Joe McCarthy, purchased his contract for the $5,000 draft price for the 1926 season.
The glory days followed. Wilson hit 20 or more home runs and drove in 100 or more runs in each of the next five seasons. His record-breaking year came in 1930, when the ball was juiced. The aggregate NL batting average was .303. The Cubs’ outfield of Wilson, Riggs Stephenson and Kiki Cuyler hit a combined .358. Wilson batted .356, a career high, and had 53 RBIs in August alone. The 56 homers aren’t a major-league record. Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961 and Babe Ruth 60 in ’27. The 190 RBIs has been approached only twice. Lou Gehrig drove in 184 runs in 1931, and Hank Greenberg 183 in 1937.
Wilson was never able to duplicate his 1930 season. The following year his average dropped 95 points, to .261. And like Samson, he also was shorn of his power: from 56 to 13 home runs, from 190 RBIs to 61. It has become a trivia question: What player drove in 129 fewer runs than in his previous season?
Off the field, Wilson was a champion boozer, constantly fined for brawling and for assaulting hecklers. Pat Malone, an equally rowdy pitcher who also kept late hours, was his principal running mate. Malone, among other things, once punched a Chicago baseball writer, shattering his teeth. The club gave the damaged scribe $1,000 for a new set of dentures; instead, he used the money to buy a car.
Wilson died a pauper on Nov. 23, 1948, in Baltimore, at the age of 48. The body was unclaimed for four days. Finally, the NL was contacted and paid for the burial expenses.
On a wall in the Cubs clubhouse is a newspaper article adorned with a head shot of Wilson headlined “Hack’s Last Warning.” It reads in part: “Talent isn’t enough. You need common sense and good advice. If anyone tries to tell you different, tell them the story of Hack Wilson.
“In 1930 I was at the top of my career. I won the Most Valuable Player award. I received a salary of $40,000. I started to drink heavily. I argued with my manager and fellow players. I spent the winter in taprooms.
“When spring training rolled around I was 20 pounds overweight. I was suspended before the season ended. I drank more than ever. I got booted from one minor-league club to another. I worked jobs. I spent my money in barrooms.
“There are kids in and out of baseball who think because they have talent they have the world by the tail. It isn’t so. Kids, don’t be too big to accept advice. Don’t let what happened to me happen to you.”