[BluesDuke]

You read it right - one of baseball's signature relief pitchers, once upon a time a starter, was the last man to no-hit the mighty Yankees. To my knowledge, then-Oriole catcher Gus Triandos still holds the single-person passed balls record thanks to catching (or trying to catch) Wilhelm's butterfly pitch (remember when they called the knuckleballer the butterfly?)...

He was a remarkable pitcher. And, from what I've been told, a remarkable man, never shy about passing pitching tips on to the next generations. Au revoir, Kaiser Wilhelm!

[BluesDuke]

*memorial bump*

61*. The line the Oriole manager gave him to start his pitching turn was a line actual Oriole manager Paul Richards did say to Wilhelm before he began his warmups on the mound: Throw him anything but a knuckleball and I'll fine you $500.

[BluesDuke]

*memorial bump*...and proper posting (bloody program!)

Note, too: It was Hoyt Wilhelm whom the Orioles brought in late in the game to stop Roger Maris from nailed home run number 60 in 1961's 154th game, the arbitrary and prejudicial "deadline" set by then-Commissioner Ford Frick for anyone to tie or break Ruthsrecord (yes, they spoke of it such that it could have been one word) "legitimately". Tom Candiotti, a fine knuckleballer of the 1980s and 1990s, portrayed Wilhelm for that sequence in Billy Crystal's film of the Maris-Mantle home run chase, 61*. The line the Oriole manager gave him to start his pitching turn was a line actual Oriole manager Paul Richards did say to Wilhelm before he began his warmups on the mound: Throw him anything but a knuckleball and I'll fine you $500.

[Chairman Fred]

The first major league baseball game I ever attended was on August 10, 1963 at old Comiskey Park. Hoyt Wilhelm finished the game for the White Sox. (The Sox beat the Yankees, 2-1.)

It's already a sad year for baseball, losing first Ted Williams and now Hoyt Wilhelm. And the worst may be just ahead.

[Molly Pitcher]

Thanks for the post. I was lucky enough to watch Wilhelm and his dancing knuckleball when he played at old Comiskey Park.

The mit the catcher used! It was HUGE!

[WarrenC]

So Wilhelm pitched til he was nearly 50 - the knuckleball is an amazing pitch - puts no stress on the arm so the pitcher can give a lot of innings and pitch well into his 40s as a number of others have. I hadn't known about his war record. Sounds like a well lived life. RIP Mr. Wilhelm.

[hole_n_one]

[Dog Gone]

I grew up thinking that guy was so cool. First I heard that he fought in the Battle of the Bulge, though.

Farewell, Hoyt.

[jackbill]

I was able to see Hoyt many times at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. He was a gem.

[RichardW]

I remember him when he pitched for the Cardinals. He was in a class by himself. Definitely belonged in the Hall of Fame. That ERA is almost unbelievable.

[Chi-townChief]

When I first moved to Chicago in '63, Wilhelm was what we would call the closer today. At the time, the White Sox had a catcher named J.C. MArtin who couldn't hit worth a damn but was the only guy who could catch Hoyt's knuckler at least most of the time.

When Wilhelm got the call, J.C. would come in with him with this MASSIVE catcher's mitt and the ones he couldn't catch, he'd at least try to knock down.

I always thought he should have used a first baseman's glove.

RIP Hoyt Wilhelm.

[crz]

Eddie Stanky was the manager of the Sox when Hoyt, Tommy John, and Wilber Wood and one other I cant think of were the big pitchers. The Sox were not a hitting team at that time..but boy did they have pitching and fielding and base running. Next we will hear of Harmon Killebrew et al, passing to the big leagues in the sky. All the good ones are leaving us..all the players who played for the FANS.

[foreverfree]

bump

[Old Professer]

Darn, I'm so old I remember when people used to die of old age.[Wilhelm died Friday, but the cause of death was not released. Baseball records listed him at 79 years old,]

[Tribune7]

Click on the link to the New York Giants and you get the football team. LOL!

[Reagan Man]

Hoyt Wilhelm was the original prototype for the modern day relief pitcher. He set the standards for what being a stopper was all about. 227 saves may not be an all-time record, but it was a significant number in those days, considering the fact that pitchers threw complete games on a regular basis. In six out of seven years, from 1962 to 1968, Wilhelm's ERA was under 2.00, with a low of 1.32 in 1967. The man was real good.