View source for Hack Wilson

{{Short description|American baseball player (1900–1948)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Hack Wilson
|position=[[Outfielder]]
|image= Hack Wilson BBHOF (cropped).png
|birth_date= {{birth date|1900|4|26|mf=y}}
|birth_place= [[Ellwood City, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|death_date= {{death date and age|1948|11|23|1900|4|26}}
|death_place= [[Baltimore]], Maryland, U.S.
|bats= Right
|throws= Right
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate= September 29
|debutyear= 1923
|debutteam= New York Giants
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate= August 25
|finalyear= 1934
|finalteam= Philadelphia Phillies
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label= [[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat2label= [[Home run]]s
|stat3label= [[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat1value= .307
|stat2value= 244
|stat3value= 1,063
|teams=
*[[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] ({{baseball year|1923}}–{{baseball year|1925}})
*[[Chicago Cubs]] ({{baseball year|1926}}–{{baseball year|1931}})
*[[Brooklyn Dodgers]] ({{baseball year|1932}}–{{baseball year|1934}})
*[[Philadelphia Phillies]] ({{baseball year|1934}})
|highlights=
*4× [[List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders|NL home run leader]] (1926–1928, 1930)
*2× [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders|NL RBI leader]] (1929, 1930)
*MLB record 191 RBI, single season
* [[Chicago Cubs#Cubs Hall of Fame|Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame]]
|hoflink = National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
|hoftype = National
|hofdate=[[1979 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1979]]
|hofmethod=Veterans Committee
}}
'''Lewis Robert''' "'''Hack'''" '''Wilson''' (April 26, 1900 – November 23, 1948) was an American [[Major League Baseball]] player who played 12 seasons for the [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]], [[Chicago Cubs]], [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] and [[Philadelphia Phillies]].<ref name="Hack Wilson statistics">{{Cite web |title=Hack Wilson statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wilsoha01.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204200337/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wilsoha01.shtml |archive-date=December 4, 2019 |access-date=February 21, 2011 |publisher=Baseball Reference}}</ref> Despite his diminutive stature, he was one of the most accomplished power hitters in the game during the late 1920s and early 1930s.<ref name="Hack Wilson Belted Homers, Hecklers with Equal Gusto">{{Cite magazine |last=Holway |first=John |date=June 1996 |title=Hack Wilson Belted Homers, Hecklers with Equal Gusto |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_baseball-digest_1996-06_55_6 |url-access=limited |access-date=2025-02-17 |magazine=[[Baseball Digest]] |pages=78–84 |volume=55 |issue=6}}</ref> His 1930 season with the Cubs is widely considered one of the most memorable individual single-season hitting performances in baseball history. Highlights included 56 [[home run]]s, the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] record for 68 years; and 191 [[runs batted in]], a mark yet to be surpassed. "For a brief span of a few years," wrote a sportswriter of the day, "this hammered down little strongman actually rivaled the mighty [[Babe Ruth|Ruth]]."{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=195}}

While Wilson's combativeness and excessive alcohol consumption made him one of the most colorful sports personalities of his era,<ref name="Death Overtakes Hack Wilson Of Home Run Fame">{{Cite news |date=November 24, 1948 |title=Death Overtakes Hack Wilson Of Home Run Fame |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7ABQAAAAIBAJ&pg=6624,4503899&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122035122/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7ABQAAAAIBAJ&pg=6624%2C4503899&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=November 22, 2021 |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=The Evening Independent |page=19 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> his drinking and fighting undoubtedly contributed to a premature end to his athletic career and, ultimately, his premature death.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Dolgan |first=Bob |date=March 1978 |title=Former Teammates Recall Hack Wilson |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_baseball-digest_1978-03_37_3 |url-access=limited |access-date=2025-02-17 |magazine=Baseball Digest |pages=64–72 |volume=37 |issue=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Drooz |first=Al |date=October 1974 |title=But Memories of Hack Wilson Fade Away |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_baseball-digest_1974-10_33_10 |url-access=limited |access-date=2025-02-17 |magazine=Baseball Digest |pages=56–65 |volume=33 |issue=10}}</ref> He was inducted into the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] in [[1979 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1979]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hack Wilson at The Baseball Hall of Fame |url=http://baseballhall.org/hof/wilson-hack |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101214112005/http://baseballhall.org/hof/wilson-hack |archive-date=December 14, 2010 |access-date=February 28, 2011 |publisher=baseballhall.org}}</ref>

==Baseball career==

===Early life and minor leagues===
Lewis Robert Wilson was born April 26, 1900, in the [[Pennsylvania]] steel mill town of [[Ellwood City]], north of [[Pittsburgh]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parker |first=Clifton Blue |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qu1TJLiZjbEC&pg=PA7 |title=Fouled Away: The Baseball Tragedy of Hack Wilson |date=June 28, 2010 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-8139-2 |pages=7 |access-date=April 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426120639/https://books.google.com/books?id=Qu1TJLiZjbEC&pg=PA7 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> His mother, Jennie Kaughn, 16, was an unemployed drifter from [[Philadelphia]]; his father, Robert Wilson, 24, was a steel worker. His parents never married; both were heavy drinkers, and in 1907 his mother died of [[appendicitis]] at the age of 24.{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=7}}

In 1916, Wilson left school to take a job at a locomotive factory, swinging a sledge hammer for four dollars a week.<ref name="Hack Wilson Belted Homers, Hecklers with Equal Gusto" /> Although only {{Height|ft=5|in=6|out=unit}} tall, he weighed {{Convert|195|lb|kg|abbr=unit}} with an 18-inch neck, and feet that fit into size {{Fraction|5|1|2}} shoes. Sportswriter [[Shirley Povich]] later observed that he was "built along the lines of a beer keg, and was not wholly unfamiliar with its contents."<ref name="Conner">{{Cite book |last=Connery |first=Floyd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DrQB0z6nEfcC&q=hack%20wilson%20beer%20barrel&pg=PA58 |title=Baseball's Most Wanted II: The Top 10 Book of More Bad Hops, Screwball Players, and Other Oddities |date=2003 |publisher=Potomac Books |isbn=1-57488-362-3 |location=Washington, D.C. |page=58 |access-date=January 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426120717/https://books.google.com/books?id=DrQB0z6nEfcC&q=hack+wilson+beer+barrel&pg=PA58 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> While his unusual physique was considered an oddity at the time,{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=12}} his large head, tiny feet, short legs, and broad, flat face are now recognized as hallmarks of [[fetal alcohol syndrome]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Collier |first=Gene |date=May 23, 2010 |title=No One Stacks Up to Hack |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10143/1060238-150.stm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526160909/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10143/1060238-150.stm |archive-date=May 26, 2010 |access-date=March 28, 2011 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 11, 2010 |title=Book Review: Fouled Away, the Story of Hack Wilson |url=http://wickershamsconscience.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/book-review-fouled-away-the-story-of-hack-wilson/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902091405/http://wickershamsconscience.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/book-review-fouled-away-the-story-of-hack-wilson/ |archive-date=September 2, 2011 |access-date=March 28, 2011 |website=Wickersham's Conscience}}</ref>

In 1921, Wilson moved to [[Martinsburg, West Virginia]], to join the [[Martinsburg Mountaineers]] of the Class "D" [[Blue Ridge League]].<ref name="Hack Wilson minor league statistics">{{Cite web |title=Hack Wilson minor league statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=wilson001lew |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629080958/http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=wilson001lew |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |access-date=February 21, 2011 |publisher=Baseball Reference}}</ref> After breaking his leg while sliding into [[home plate]] during his first professional game, he was moved from the catcher's position to the outfield.{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=16}} In 1922, he met Virginia Riddleburger, a 34-year-old office clerk; they married the following year.{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |pp=16, 22}} In 1923, playing for the "B" division [[Portsmouth Truckers]], he led the [[Virginia League]] in hitting with a .388 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]].<ref name="Hack Wilson minor league statistics" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=1923 Virginia League Batting Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/leader.cgi?type=bat&id=14479 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629081012/http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/leader.cgi?type=bat&id=14479 |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |access-date=February 28, 2011 |publisher=Baseball Reference}}</ref> Late in the season, [[New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] manager [[John McGraw]] purchased his contract from Portsmouth for $10,500 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=25000|start_year=1932|r=-3|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="Hack Wilson statistics" />

===New York Giants===
Wilson made his major league debut with the Giants on September 29, 1923, at the age of 23, and became the starting [[left fielder]] the following season.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 11, 1924 |title=Hack Wilson Cost The Giants Price Of A Bag Of Peanuts |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4htgAAAAIBAJ&pg=2863,4015960&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426120625/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4htgAAAAIBAJ&pg=2863%2C4015960&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |access-date=February 27, 2011 |work=Rochester Evening Journal |page=8 |agency=King Features Syndicate}}</ref> By mid-July he was ranked second in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] (NL) in hitting.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 17, 1924 |title=Hack Wilson Is The Old-Style Type Of Bull-Necked Slugger |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QS5eAAAAIBAJ&pg=1602,798237&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121231715/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QS5eAAAAIBAJ&pg=1602%2C798237&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=November 21, 2021 |access-date=February 27, 2011 |work=The Washington Reporter}}</ref> He ended the season with a .295 average, 10 [[home run]]s, and 57 [[runs batted in]] (RBIs) as New York won the NL [[Pennant (sports)|pennant]].<ref name="Hack Wilson statistics" /> In the [[1924 World Series]] he averaged only .233 in a seven-game loss to the [[1924 Washington Senators season|Washington Senators]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1924 World Series |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1924_WS.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112042905/https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1924_WS.shtml |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |access-date=February 28, 2011 |publisher=Baseball Reference}}</ref>

Multiple stories exist to explain the origin of Wilson's nickname. By one account, a New York newspaper held a nicknaming contest; the winning entry was "Hack" because he reminded many fans of another stocky athlete, the popular wrestler [[Georg Hackenschmidt]].<ref name="Hack Wilson Belted Homers, Hecklers with Equal Gusto" /> In another version, McGraw is said to have remarked that Wilson's physique was reminiscent of a "hack" (slang for [[taxicab]] in that era). Giants teammate [[Bill Cunningham (outfielder)|Bill Cunningham]] claimed that the nickname was based on Wilson's resemblance to [[Hack Miller]], an outfielder with the Chicago Cubs. The ''[[New York Times]]'' printed the first documented usage of "Hack" on June 10, 1924.{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=29}}

Early in the [[1925 New York Giants (MLB) season|1925 season]], Wilson hit the longest home run on record at [[Ebbets Field]] against the [[1925 Brooklyn Robins season|Brooklyn Robins]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 20, 1925 |title=Homers By Hack Wilson And Kelly Play Important Part In Giants Win Over Robins |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w7EgAAAAIBAJ&pg=1620,1529214&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201040652/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w7EgAAAAIBAJ&pg=1620%2C1529214&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=December 1, 2021 |access-date=February 27, 2011 |work=The Lewiston Daily Sun |page=9}}</ref> but fell into a slump in May, and was replaced in left field by [[Irish Meusel]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 30, 1925 |title=Irish Meusel In Giants' Outfield |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H94gAAAAIBAJ&pg=3248,1840538&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426120632/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H94gAAAAIBAJ&pg=3248%2C1840538&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |access-date=February 27, 2011 |work=The Norwalk Hour |page=12}}</ref> On July 2, Wilson hit two home runs in one [[inning]], tying [[Ken Williams (baseball)|Ken Williams]]' major league record set in 1922,<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 2, 1925 |title=Hack Wilson Ties Record With Two Home Runs In One Inning |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wokhAAAAIBAJ&pg=6405,388132&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426120625/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wokhAAAAIBAJ&pg=6405%2C388132&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |access-date=February 27, 2011 |work=Reading Eagle |page=18 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> but his hitting slump continued. In August, McGraw told reporters that he had "... made the mistake of rushing [Wilson] along,"{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=39}} and sent him to the Giants' minor league affiliate, the [[Toledo Mud Hens]] of the [[American Association (20th century)|American Association]]. At season's end, a front office oversight — or possibly, deliberate inaction{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |pp=42-3}} — left him unprotected on the Toledo roster, and the last-place Chicago Cubs acquired him on [[Major League Baseball transactions#Waivers|waivers]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Dexter |first=Charles |date=June 1956 |title=Will They Beat 56 In '56? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-zIDAAAAMBAJ&q=hack+wilson+baseball+digest&pg=PA38 |access-date=February 28, 2011 |magazine=Baseball Digest}}{{dead link|date=February 2014}}</ref> "They let go the best outfielder I ever played alongside," said Giants right fielder [[Ross Youngs]], "and they're going to regret it."{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=44}}

During the [[1925 World Series]], Wilson's son, Robert, was born.{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=47}}

===Glory years with the Cubs===
[[File:Hack Wilson plaque.jpg|thumb|upright|right|110px|Plaque of Hack Wilson at the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]]]]
Wilson regained his form as the Cubs' [[center fielder]] in [[1926 Chicago Cubs season|1926]], and he quickly became a favorite of Chicago fans.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 19, 1926 |title=Take Hack For Your Example |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1JFXAAAAIBAJ&pg=2104,2371472&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426120626/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1JFXAAAAIBAJ&pg=2104%2C2371472&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |access-date=February 27, 2011 |work=The Toledo News-Bee |page=14}}</ref> On May 24, he hit the center field scoreboard with one of the longest home runs in [[Wrigley Field]] history as the Cubs came from behind to defeat the [[1926 Boston Braves season|Boston Braves]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 24, 1926 |title=Cubs Overcome Braves |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AaAhAAAAIBAJ&pg=3509,5215055&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118115855/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AaAhAAAAIBAJ&pg=3509%2C5215055&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=November 18, 2021 |access-date=February 27, 2011 |work=Reading Eagle |page=14}}</ref> Later that evening, he made news again when he was arrested during a police raid of a [[Prohibition]]-era [[speakeasy]] while trying to escape through the rear window<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 24, 1926 |title=Hack Wilson Found In "Beer Parlor" Is Taken to Lock Up |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fTVFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5416,1339434&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426120626/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fTVFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5416%2C1339434&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |access-date=February 27, 2011 |work=The Telegraph-Herald |agency=INS}}</ref> and was fined $1 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=1|start_year=1926|r=0|fmt=eq}}).{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=53}} He ended the season with a league-leading 21 home runs along with 36 [[double (baseball)|double]]s, 109 RBIs, a .321 batting average, and a .406 [[on-base percentage]].<ref name="Hack Wilson statistics" /> The Cubs improved to fourth place, and Wilson ended the year ranked fifth in voting for the NL's [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1926 National League Most Valuable Player Award |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1926.shtml#NLmvp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216190826/http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1926.shtml#NLmvp |archive-date=February 16, 2009 |access-date=February 28, 2011 |publisher=Baseball Reference}}</ref>
[[File:Lewis "Hack" Wilson from Sports Exchange All-Stars trade cards (W603) MET DPB882283 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Wilson circa 1929]]
Another strong performance followed in [[1927 Chicago Cubs season|1927]] as Wilson once again led the league in home runs. Although the Cubs were in first place heading into the final month of the season, the team faltered and again finished fourth.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1927 Chicago Cubs |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/1927-schedule-scores.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207170959/https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/1927-schedule-scores.shtml |archive-date=December 7, 2019 |access-date=February 28, 2011 |publisher=Baseball Reference}}</ref> Wilson posted a .318 average with 30 home runs and 129 RBIs<ref name="Hack Wilson statistics" /> and led NL outfielders with 400 [[putout]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1927 National League Fielding Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1927-fielding-leaders.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408070753/https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/1927-fielding-leaders.shtml |archive-date=April 8, 2019 |access-date=February 28, 2011 |publisher=Baseball Reference}}</ref> He led the NL in home runs for a third consecutive year in [[1928 Chicago Cubs season|1928]] with 31, along with 120 RBIs and a .313 average as the Cubs improved to third place.<ref name="Hack Wilson statistics" />

Wilson had a combative streak and sometimes initiated fights with opposing players and fans. On June 22, 1928, a near-riot broke out in the ninth inning at Wrigley Field against the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] when Wilson jumped into the box seats to attack a heckling fan.<ref name="Cubs And Cards Divide Twin Bill">{{Cite news |date=June 22, 1928 |title=Cubs And Cards Divide Twin Bill |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=G65FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2963,2075011&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426120626/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=G65FAAAAIBAJ&pg=2963%2C2075011&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |access-date=February 27, 2011 |work=The Telegraph-Herald and Times-Tribune |page=3 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> An estimated 5,000 spectators swarmed the field before police could separate the combatants and restore order.<ref name="Cubs And Cards Divide Twin Bill" /> The fan sued Wilson for $20,000, but a jury ruled in Wilson's favor.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 24, 1948 |title=Hack Wilson Was Great Baseball Player But Headache To Managers |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hdFQAAAAIBAJ&pg=7272,4976616&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119042625/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hdFQAAAAIBAJ&pg=7272%2C4976616&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=November 19, 2021 |access-date=March 2, 2011 |work=The Portsmouth Times |page=11 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> The following year, Wilson took offense at a remark by [[Cincinnati Reds]] [[pitcher]] [[Ray Kolp]], and — upon reaching [[first base]] after hitting a [[single (baseball)|single]] — he charged into the Reds dugout, punching Kolp several times before they could be separated.<ref name="Ball Players In Fistic Encounter">{{Cite news |date=July 5, 1929 |title=Ball Players In Fistic Encounter |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CwkuAAAAIBAJ&pg=5002,3522627&dq=hack+wilson+fight&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426120626/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CwkuAAAAIBAJ&pg=5002%2C3522627&dq=hack+wilson+fight&hl=en |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |access-date=February 27, 2011 |work=Ottawa Citizen |page=3 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Later that evening at the train station, Wilson exchanged words and blows with Cincinnati pitcher [[Pete Donohue]].<ref name="Ball Players In Fistic Encounter" /> In late 1929, he signed a contract to fight [[Art Shires]] of the [[Chicago White Sox]] in a boxing match,<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 14, 1929 |title=Hack Wilson Signs To Meet Art Shires |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KSlYAAAAIBAJ&pg=3677,5807376&dq=hack+wilson+art+shires&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426120627/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KSlYAAAAIBAJ&pg=3677%2C5807376&dq=hack+wilson+art+shires&hl=en |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |access-date=February 23, 2011 |work=The Toledo News-Bee |page=12}}</ref> but reneged after Cubs president [[William Veeck, Sr.]] enlisted Wilson's wife Virginia to dissuade him,{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |pp=90–92}} and then Shires lost a fight to [[George Trafton]] of the [[Chicago Bears]]. There was nothing to gain, Wilson said, by fighting a defeated boxer.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 18, 1929 |title=Baseball Solons Breathe Easier Since Shires' Rout |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qCAbAAAAIBAJ&pg=3851,2046646&dq=hack+wilson+art+shires&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201040725/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qCAbAAAAIBAJ&pg=3851%2C2046646&dq=hack+wilson+art+shires&hl=en |archive-date=December 1, 2021 |access-date=February 23, 2011 |work=The Pittsburgh Press |page=34 |agency=United Press International}}</ref>

Wilson's "penchant for festivities" is also well documented. Biographer Clifton Blue Parker described him as "... the [[Roaring Twenties|Roaring '20s]] epitome of a baseball player, primed for an age of American excess ... at a time when baseball was America's favorite sport."{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |pp=53–55}} His love of drinking and partying did not endear him to Cubs owner [[William Wrigley Jr.|William Wrigley]], who abhorred alcohol consumption. (Wilson always insisted that he never played drunk; "hung over, yes; drunk, no."{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=53}}) Manager [[Joe McCarthy (manager)|Joe McCarthy]] worked hard to shield Wilson from Wrigley and to keep him on an even keel. "Better than any other manager," wrote sportswriter [[Frank Graham (writer)|Frank Graham]], "Joe understood Hack, made allowances for him when he failed, and rewarded him with praise when he did well. Joe could be strict and stern with his players ... but he never was with Hack, and Hack repaid him by playing as he never had before, nor would again."{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |pp=53–54}}

In [[1929 Chicago Cubs season|1929]], Wilson hit .345 with 39 home runs and a league-record 159 RBIs.<ref name="Hack Wilson statistics" /><ref name="Hack Wilson Belted Homers, Hecklers with Equal Gusto" /> He and new teammate [[Rogers Hornsby]] (who also contributed 39 home runs) led the Cubs to their first NL pennant in 11 years. In the [[1929 World Series|World Series]] against [[Connie Mack]]'s [[1929 Philadelphia Athletics season|Philadelphia Athletics]], Wilson's .471 hitting performance was eclipsed by two fielding [[Error (baseball)|errors]] at [[Shibe Park]]. Though trailing the Series two games to one, the Cubs were leading by a score of 8–0 in the fourth game when the Athletics mounted a 10-[[Run (baseball)|run]] rally in the seventh inning. Wilson lost two fly balls in the sun; the second, with two runners on base, led to an [[inside-the-park home run]] by [[Mule Haas]] as the Athletics won 10–8.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1929 World Series Game 4 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHA/PHA192910120.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117083418/https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHA/PHA192910120.shtml |archive-date=November 17, 2020 |access-date=March 1, 2011 |publisher=Baseball Reference}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Boone |first=Robert |last2=Grunska |first2=Gerald |date=January 1979 |title=Hack Wilson: He Was One Of A Kind |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_baseball-digest_1979-01_38_1 |url-access=limited |access-date=2025-02-17 |magazine=Baseball Digest |volume=38 |issue=1}}</ref> After the game, McCarthy reportedly told a boy asking for a souvenir baseball, "Come back tomorrow and stand behind Wilson, and you'll be able to pick up all the balls you want!"<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 17, 2008 |title=On cue, Drew caps miraculous Sox rally |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081016&content_id=3625822&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627032847/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081016&content_id=3625822&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb |archive-date=June 27, 2009 |access-date=October 2, 2009 |website=Ian Browne |publisher=MLB.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 17, 2008 |title=Comeback among October's best |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081017&content_id=3627098&vkey=ps2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021012230/http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081017&content_id=3627098&vkey=ps2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb |archive-date=October 21, 2008 |access-date=October 2, 2009 |website=MLB.com}}</ref> The Athletics won again the next day to take the Series in five games.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1929 World Series |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1929_WS.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030033833/https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1929_WS.shtml |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |access-date=February 28, 2011 |publisher=Baseball Reference}}</ref>

====1930 peak====
Wilson's [[1930 Chicago Cubs season|1930 season]], aided by a lively ball wound with special Australian wool, is considered one of the best single-season hitting performances in baseball history.<ref name="Hack Wilson Belted Homers, Hecklers with Equal Gusto" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=League by League Totals for Batting Average |url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hibavg4.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113133712/https://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hibavg4.shtml |archive-date=November 13, 2020 |access-date=March 1, 2011 |publisher=Baseball Almanac}}</ref> By the middle of July, he had accumulated 82 RBIs. In August, he hit 13 home runs and 53 RBIs, and by September 17 he had reached 174 RBIs, breaking [[Lou Gehrig]]'s major league record established three years earlier.<ref name="Hack Wilson Belted Homers, Hecklers with Equal Gusto" /> He finished the season with 190 RBIs, along with a then-NL-record 56 home runs, .356 batting average, .454 on-base percentage, and league-leading .723 [[slugging percentage]].<ref name="Hack Wilson statistics" /> He was unofficially voted the NL's most "useful" player by the [[Baseball Writers' Association of America]] (which did not inaugurate its official MVP award until 1931).<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 8, 1930 |title=Hack Wilson Is Picked as Most Useful Player |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=v6ZQAAAAIBAJ&pg=6659,6340651&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426120627/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=v6ZQAAAAIBAJ&pg=6659%2C6340651&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |access-date=February 23, 2011 |work=The Milwaukee Journal |page=2 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

In 1999, the [[Commissioner of Baseball (MLB)|Commissioner of Baseball]] officially increased Wilson's 1930 RBI total to 191 after a [[Box score (baseball)|box score]] analysis by baseball historian [[Jerome Holtzman]] revealed that [[Charlie Grimm]] had been mistakenly credited with an RBI actually driven home by Wilson during the second game of a doubleheader on July 28.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 23, 1999 |title=Wilson's record increases to 191 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3TwdAAAAIBAJ&pg=3089,4576555&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426120628/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3TwdAAAAIBAJ&pg=3089%2C4576555&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=The Tuscaloosa News |page=5 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Wilson's 191 RBIs remains one of baseball's most enduring records; only Gehrig (185) and [[Hank Greenberg]] (184) ever came close, and there have been no serious challenges in the last 85 years. (The best effort since 1938 was 165 by [[Manny Ramirez]] in 1999.)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Single-Season Leaders & Records for Runs Batted In |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/RBI_season.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102190131/https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/RBI_season.shtml |archive-date=January 2, 2021 |access-date=February 28, 2011 |publisher=Baseball Reference}}</ref>

Reds catcher [[Clyde Sukeforth]] asserted that Wilson should have been credited with an additional home run in 1930 as well. "He hit one in Cincinnati one day," he said, "way up in the seats, hit it so hard that it bounced right back onto the field. The umpire had a bad angle on it and ruled that it had hit the screen and bounced back. I was sitting in the Cincinnati bullpen, and of course, we weren't going to say anything. But Hack really hit 57 that year."{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |pp=113–114}} Wilson's official total of 56 stood as the NL record until the 1998 season, when it was broken by [[Sammy Sosa]] (66) and [[Mark McGwire]] (70).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Single-Season Leaders & Records for Home Runs |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/HR_season.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070620135024/http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/HR_season.shtml |archive-date=June 20, 2007 |access-date=February 28, 2011 |publisher=Baseball Reference}}</ref>

===Decline===
Wilson's success in the 1930 season served only to fuel his drinking habits, and in [[1931 Chicago Cubs season|1931]] he reported to [[spring training]] 20 pounds overweight.<ref name="Hack Wilson Belted Homers, Hecklers with Equal Gusto" /> In addition, the NL responded to the prodigious offensive statistics of the previous year (the only season, other than 1894, in which the league as a whole batted over .300<ref>National League year-by-year batting averages. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/bat.shtml Baseball-Reference.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803134515/https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL/bat.shtml |date=August 3, 2018 }}. Retrieved September 2, 2014.</ref>) by introducing a heavier ball with raised stitching to allow pitchers to gain a better grip and throw sharper [[curveball]]s.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 4, 1931 |title=National League Changes Ball To Curtail Slugging |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SStPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6893,1920686&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426120628/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SStPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6893%2C1920686&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=St. Petersburg Times |page=2 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Wilson complained that the new Cubs manager, Hornsby, did not allow him to "swing away" as much as Joe McCarthy had.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 31, 1938 |title=Hack Wilson Raps Hornsby's Tactics |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w1VjAAAAIBAJ&pg=4308,5771258&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426120628/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w1VjAAAAIBAJ&pg=4308%2C5771258&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |page=6}}</ref> He hit his 200th career home run — only the fourth player ever to do so, behind Ruth, [[Cy Williams]], and Hornsby{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=134}} —  at Ebbets Field on June 18, but then fell into a protracted slump, and was benched in late May.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 25, 1931 |title=Hack Wilson Benched For Light Hitting |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ygRRAAAAIBAJ&pg=2554,694433&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=The Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal |page=9 |agency=United Press International}}</ref> By late August, Wrigley publicly expressed his desire to trade Wilson.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 31, 1931 |title=Cubs To Trade Hack Wilson |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gZUxAAAAIBAJ&pg=5070,3260599&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |page=2 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> On September 6, he was suspended without pay for the remainder of the season after a fight with reporters aboard a train in Cincinnati.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 9, 1931 |title=Wilson Loses Fielding Job After Brawl |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=R5BSAAAAIBAJ&pg=2604,487134&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=The Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal |page=9 |agency=INS}}</ref> He was hitting .261 with only 13 home runs (his 1930 production during August alone) at the time.<ref name="Hack Wilson statistics" />

In December 1931, the Cubs traded Wilson, along with [[Bud Teachout]], to the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] for [[Burleigh Grimes]].<ref name="Hack Wilson statistics" /> Less than a month later, the Cardinals sent him to the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] for minor league outfielder Bob Parham and $25,000 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=25000|start_year=1932|r=-3|fmt=eq}}).<ref name="Hack Wilson statistics" /> Wilson hit .297 with 23 home runs and 123 RBIs for Brooklyn in [[1932 Brooklyn Dodgers season|1932]]. He began [[1933 Brooklyn Dodgers season|1933]] with a ninth-inning game-winning [[Pinch hitter|pinch-hit]] inside-the-park [[Grand slam (baseball)|grand slam]] home run at Ebbets Field—the first pinch-hit grand slam in Dodger history, and only the third inside-the-park pinch-hit grand slam in MLB history.<ref>Hack Wilson Biography [https://baseballbiography.com/hack-wilson-1900 BaseballBiography.com]</ref> By season's end, his offensive totals had dropped substantially, and he was hitting .262 when the Dodgers released him mid-season in [[1934 Brooklyn Dodgers season|1934]].<ref name="Hack Wilson statistics" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 9, 1934 |title=Hack Wilson Given Gate By Brooklyn Club Solons |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wapZAAAAIBAJ&pg=1272,4511814&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119172651/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wapZAAAAIBAJ&pg=1272%2C4511814&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=November 19, 2021 |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=Rochester Evening Journal |page=26 |agency=INS}}</ref> The [[Philadelphia Phillies]] signed him immediately, but after just two hits in 20 [[at bat|at-bat]]s, he was released again a month later.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 6, 1934 |title=Phils Release Hack Wilson |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6oosAAAAIBAJ&pg=2760,443419&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211125164729/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6oosAAAAIBAJ&pg=2760%2C443419&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=November 25, 2021 |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=Herald-Journal |page=7 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> After a final season with the [[Albany Senators (minor league baseball)|Albany Senators]] of the [[Single-A|Class A]] [[New York–Pennsylvania League (1923–37)|New York–Pennsylvania League]], Wilson retired at the age of 35.<ref name="Hack Wilson minor league statistics" />

==Career statistics==
In a 12-year major league career, Wilson played in 1,348 games and accumulated 1,461 [[Hit (baseball)|hits]] in 4,760 at-bats for a .307 career batting average and a .395 on-base percentage. He hit 244 home runs and batted in 1,063 runs, led the NL in home runs four times, and surpassed 100 RBIs six times. Defensively, he finished his career with a .965 [[fielding percentage]].<ref name="Hack Wilson statistics" /> For players {{Height|ft=5|in=6|out=unit}} or shorter, he had the most home runs for any player in major league history (starting in 1927) until he was passed by [[Jose Altuve]] in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=For combined seasons, player height 5-6 or shorter, in the regular season, sorted by descending Home Runs. |url=https://stathead.com/tiny/dzJld |access-date=July 15, 2025 |website=[[Sports Reference|Stathead]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=For combined seasons, up to 1927, player height 5-6 or shorter, in the regular season, sorted by descending Home Runs. |url=https://stathead.com/tiny/GeM4z |access-date=July 15, 2025 |website=[[Sports Reference|Stathead]]}}</ref>

==Life after baseball==
[[File:Hack Wilson's gravestone, Martinsburg, WV.jpg|left|thumb|Hack Wilson's grave marker, located in Rosedale Cemetery in [[Martinsburg, West Virginia]].]]
Wilson returned to Martinsburg where he opened a pool hall but encountered financial problems due to a failed sporting goods business venture and then a rancorous divorce from Virginia.<ref name="Hack Wilson Belted Homers, Hecklers with Equal Gusto" />{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=177}} By 1938, he was working as a bartender near Brooklyn's Ebbets Field, where he sang for drinks. He had to quit when customers became too abusive.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Freeman |first=Ed |date=1948-11-24 |title=Hack Wilson Dies; Set Homer Record |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/newspaper-clippings/title/zogusitxjatecydpumxmqroadpzknvfc_ip-10-166-46-69_1739760571701 |access-date=2025-02-17 |work=The News and Courier |page=10 |publication-place=Charleston, South Carolina |via=[[GenealogyBank.com]]}}</ref> A night club venture in suburban Chicago was another financial failure.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 11, 1939 |title=Hack Wilson Becomes Night Club Impresario |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_c1PAAAAIBAJ&pg=5537,3317567&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=The Evening Independent |page=12 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> In 1944, he took a job as a goodwill ambassador for a professional basketball team in Washington, D.C., where he lamented that fans remembered his two dropped fly balls in the 1929 World Series far more vividly than his 56 home runs and 191 RBIs in 1930.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 26, 1944 |title=Where's Hack Wilson? Very Much On Deck |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gB4hAAAAIBAJ&pg=2861,1663252&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |page=2 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Unable to find work in professional baseball, he moved to Baltimore where he worked as a tool checker in an airplane manufacturing plant and later as a laborer for the City of Baltimore. When municipal authorities realized who he was, he was made the manager of a city swimming pool.<ref name="Hack Wilson Now Managing City Swim Pool">{{Cite news |date=July 22, 1948 |title=Hack Wilson Now Managing City Swim Pool |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZIMuAAAAIBAJ&pg=1423,2762041&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118115856/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZIMuAAAAIBAJ&pg=1423%2C2762041&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=November 18, 2021 |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=Schenectady Gazette |page=29 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

On October 4, 1948, Wilson was discovered unconscious after a fall in his home.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 5, 1948 |title=Hack Wilson Is Hospitalized |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1QgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3938,439096&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |page=19 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Though the accident did not appear serious at first, [[pneumonia]] and other complications developed and he died of internal [[hemorrhaging]] on November 23, 1948, at the age of 48.<ref name="Death Overtakes Hack Wilson Of Home Run Fame" />

Wilson — once the highest-paid player in the National League<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite news |last=Berkow |first=Ira |author-link=Ira Berkow |date=September 5, 1998 |title=ON BASEBALL; Hack Wilson's Lesson Still Valid |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/05/sports/on-baseball-hack-wilson-s-lesson-still-valid.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928082844/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/05/sports/on-baseball-hack-wilson-s-lesson-still-valid.html |archive-date=2018-09-28 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> — died penniless; his son, Robert, refused to claim his remains. NL President [[Ford Frick]] finally sent money to cover his funeral expenses.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 27, 1948 |title=Last Rites Held For Hack Wilson |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nh8iAAAAIBAJ&pg=1984,5384665&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=The Day |page=8 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Steadman, John |date=February 1990 |title=The Sad Demise of Home Run King Hack Wilson |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_baseball-digest_1990-02_49_2 |url-access=limited |access-date=2025-02-17 |magazine=Baseball Digest |pages=65–67 |volume=49 |issue=2}}</ref> His gray burial suit was donated by the undertaker.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> In marked contrast to [[Death and funeral of Babe Ruth|Babe Ruth's funeral]], which had been attended by thousands just three months earlier, only a few hundred people were present for Wilson's services.<ref name="Services Held For Hack Wilson">{{Cite news |date=November 28, 1948 |title=Services Held For Hack Wilson |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g2YcAAAAIBAJ&pg=3733,4675298&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127052748/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g2YcAAAAIBAJ&pg=3733%2C4675298&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=November 27, 2021 |access-date=March 1, 2011 |work=The Pittsburgh Press |page=28 |agency=United Press International}}</ref> He was buried in Rosedale Cemetery in the town where he made his professional playing debut, Martinsburg, West Virginia.<ref name="Services Held For Hack Wilson" />

Ten months later, Joe McCarthy organized a second, more complete memorial service, attended by [[Kiki Cuyler]], Charlie Grimm, [[Nick Altrock]] and other players from the Cubs and the Martinsburg team (by then renamed the [[Martinsburg Blue Sox|Blue Sox]]). A granite tombstone was unveiled, with the inscription, "One of Baseball's Immortals, Lewis R. (Hack) Wilson, Rests Here."{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=194}}<ref>Photos of Wilson's Art Deco-style grave monument can be viewed here. (A replica of his Hall of Fame plaque was added to the reverse side in 1982.) [http://www.thedeadballera.com/GravePhotos/GravePhotos_W/Wilson.Hack.Grave.html thedeadballera.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113749/http://www.thedeadballera.com/GravePhotos/GravePhotos_W/Wilson.Hack.Grave.html |date=March 4, 2016 }}. Retrieved September 23, 2013.</ref>

One week before his death, Wilson gave an interview to [[CBS Radio]] which was reprinted in Chicago newspapers. In 1949, Charlie Grimm, the Cubs' new manager, posted a framed excerpt from that interview in the Cubs' clubhouse, where it remains.{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=195}} It reads, in part:

<blockquote>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. ... 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.{{Sfn |Parker |2000 |p=2}}</blockquote>

In 1979, Wilson was inducted into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]] by the [[Veterans Committee]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 8, 1979 |title=Hack Wilson, Giles gain baseball Hall of Fame |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-ogxAAAAIBAJ&pg=5446,2834483&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122035112/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-ogxAAAAIBAJ&pg=5446%2C2834483&dq=hack+wilson&hl=en |archive-date=November 22, 2021 |access-date=March 2, 2011 |work=The Montreal Gazette |page=21}}</ref> A Martinsburg street is named Hack Wilson Way in his honor,<ref>Umstead, M (May 11, 2012). Martinsburg's heritage includes start of Hack Wilson's Hall of Fame career. [http://articles.herald-mail.com/2012-05-11/news/31673529_1_roundhouse-and-shop-first-railroad-strike-east-martin-street ''The Herald Mail'' archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107031056/http://articles.herald-mail.com/2012-05-11/news/31673529_1_roundhouse-and-shop-first-railroad-strike-east-martin-street |date=January 7, 2016 }} Retrieved May 24, 2012</ref><ref>[http://wvde.state.wv.us/ed_directory/index.html?county_id=04&school_id=203 West Virginia Department of Education web site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808154551/http://wvde.state.wv.us/ed_directory/index.html?county_id=04&school_id=203 |date=August 8, 2020 }} Retrieved May 24, 2012</ref> and the access road to a large city park within his hometown, Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, is known as Hack Wilson Drive.<ref>[http://www.ecboro.com/parks.htm Borough of Ellwood City web site] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301083109/http://www.ecboro.com/parks.htm |date=March 1, 2012 }} Retrieved May 24, 2012</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
*[[50 home run club]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball career slugging percentage leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball career OPS leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Parker |first=Clifton B. |title=Fouled Away: The Baseball Tragedy of Hack Wilson |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |year=2000 |isbn=0-7864-0864-2 |edition=Softcover |location=Jefferson, North Carolina}}

==External links==
*{{bbhof|wilson-hack}}
*{{baseballstats |mlb=124412 |espn= |br=w/wilsoha01 |fangraphs=1014083 |retro=Pwilsh102 |brm=wilson000hac}}
:

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box| before = [[Freddie Lindstrom]] | title = [[Hitting for the cycle]]| years = June 23, 1930 | after = [[Chick Hafey]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{NL home run champions}}
{{NL RBI champions}}
{{50 home run club|state=collapsed}}
{{1979 Baseball HOF}}
{{Baseball Hall of Fame members}}
{{Philadelphia Phillies HOF}}
{{Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame}}
{{Chicago Cubs HOF}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Hack}}
[[Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball center fielders]]
[[Category:Chicago Cubs players]]
[[Category:Brooklyn Dodgers players]]
[[Category:New York Giants (baseball) players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Phillies players]]
[[Category:National League home run champions]]
[[Category:National League RBI champions]]
[[Category:Martinsburg Mountaineers players]]
[[Category:Martinsburg Blue Sox players]]
[[Category:Portsmouth Truckers players]]
[[Category:Toledo Mud Hens players]]
[[Category:Albany Senators players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Martinsburg, West Virginia]]
[[Category:People with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder]]
[[Category:People from Ellwood City, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Beaver County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Lawrence County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:1900 births]]
[[Category:1948 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]