Today
we come to the last subject in my thread of elected players to the Hall
of Fame during the decade, former Chicago Cubs slugger Hack Wilson:
Selected by the Veterans Committee, Wilson was a true character of the
game during the 1920’s and 1930’s, slugging his way into the record
books.
While he did have a productive career, it’s arguably the 1930 season
alone that got him on the road to Cooperstown when he hit 56 home runs, a
National League record that stood until guys like McGwire and Sosa came
along, while driving in a STILL record 191 runs, along with 146 runs
scored, 208 hits and a .356 batting average.
Easily one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history, it
kept Wilson on the minds of baseball fans decades after his playing days
were over.
He hit a total of 244 homers during his 12-year career, with 1063 RBI’s
and 884 runs scored to go along with his .307 batting average.
A bit of a drinker in his lifetime, his career was derailed by the time
he was in his early 30’s, having his last productive season in 1932 at
the age of 32 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
He was out of the game by 34 after a handful of games with the
Philadelphia Phillies, and sadly died at the age of 48 penniless in part
because of his drinking and hard life.