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Hack Wilson

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Baseball Player

The Resume

    (April 26, 1900-November 23, 1948)
    Born in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
    Birth name was Lewis Robert Wilson
    Outfielder for the New York Giants (1923-25), Chicago Cubs (1926-31), Brooklyn Dodgers (1932-34) and Philadelphia Phillies (1934)
    .307 career batting average
    244 home runs
    1063 RBIs
    Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee (1979)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was arrested in a police raid on a speakeasy, caught trying to escape through a rear window (May 24, 1925).
    He was nicknamed 'the Dempsey of the Dugout' for getting into fights with other players.
    He triggered a near riot in Wrigley Field when he jumped into the stands to attack a heckling fan (June 22, 1948).
    In the seventh inning of Game Four of the 1929 World Series, he twice lost fly balls in the sun, a key factor in allowing the Philadelphia Athletics to score ten runs and come back from an 8-0 deficit.
    He said, 'I never played drunk. Hungover yes, but never drunk.'
    He was suspended for the remainder of the season after getting into a fight with reporters (September 6, 1931).
    After his death, his remains went unclaimed for three days until National League President Ford Frick sent a check for $350 to cover funeral expenses.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His unusual physique -- large head, short legs, tiny feet -- may have been the result of fetal alcohol syndrome. (Both his parents were heavy drinkers.)
    People with fetal alcohol syndrome tend to have poor impulse control, which may explain all the fights.
    He hit 56 home runs in 1930, which was the National League record until 1998.
    In 1930, he also hit 191 RBIs, which remains the Major League record through the end of the 2012 season.
    Commenting on his rags to riches to rags life shortly before his death, he said 'There are many kids in and out of baseball who think that just because they have some natural talent, they have the world by the tail. It isn't so. In life you need many more things besides talent. Things like good advice and common sense.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 40 Votes: 45.00% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 22 Votes: 22.73% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 24 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying