View source for Vic Willis

{{Short description|American baseball player (1876–1947)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}} {{Use American English|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Vic Willis
|image=Vic Willis, Pittsburgh Pirates, baseball card portrait LCCN2008676406.jpg
|caption=Willis in 1909
|position=[[Pitcher]]
|birth_date={{birth date|1876|4|12}}
|birth_place=[[Cecil County, Maryland]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1947|8|3|1876|4|12}}
|death_place=[[Elkton, Maryland]], U.S.
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|debutleague=MLB
|debutdate=April 20
|debutyear=1898
|debutteam=Boston Beaneaters
|finalleague=MLB
|finaldate=September 5
|finalyear=1910
|finalteam=St. Louis Cardinals
|statleague=MLB
|stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
|stat1value=249–205
|stat2label=[[Earned run average]]
|stat2value=2.63
|stat3label=[[Strikeout]]s
|stat3value=1,651
|teams=
* [[Boston Beaneaters]] ({{mlby|1898}}–{{mlby|1905}})
* [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] ({{mlby|1906}}–{{mlby|1909}})
* [[St. Louis Cardinals]] ({{mlby|1910}})
| highlights=
* [[World Series champion]] ([[1909 World Series|1909]])
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders|MLB ERA leader]] (1899)
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders|MLB strikeout leader]] (1902)
* Pitched a [[no-hitter]] on August 7, 1899
|hoflink = National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
|hoftype = National
|hofdate = [[1995 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1995]]
|hofmethod = Veterans Committee
}}
'''Victor Gazaway Willis''' (April 12, 1876 – August 3, 1947) was an American [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) [[pitcher]]. He played for the [[Boston Beaneaters]], [[Pittsburgh Pirates]], and [[St. Louis Cardinals]] in 13 seasons in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] (NL) from 1898 to 1910. In 513 career games, Willis pitched 3,996 [[innings pitched|innings]] and posted a [[Win–loss record (pitching)|win–loss record]] of 249–205, with 388 [[complete game]]s, 50 [[shutouts in baseball|shutouts]], and a 2.63 [[earned run average]] (ERA). Nicknamed "'''the Delaware Peach'''", he was inducted into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame]] in [[1995 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1995]].

==Early life==
Willis was born on April 12, 1876, in [[Cecil County, Maryland]]. He moved to [[Newark, Delaware]], as a young boy, where he attended school. He attended high school at [[Newark High School (Delaware)|Newark Academy]] and played both on the high school baseball team and in semi-pro baseball leagues throughout Delaware.<ref name=sabr>{{cite web|url=http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&pid=15298&bid=879|work=The Baseball Biography Project|title=Vic Willis|first=Daniel R.|last=Levitt|publisher=The Society for American Baseball Research|access-date=August 10, 2010}}</ref> Prior to joining the major leagues, Willis played [[American football|football]] and baseball for the [[University of Delaware]], then known as Delaware College, despite never attending the college. This was due to their low enrollment at the time, which allowed them to add local talent to fill out their roster.<ref>Fleitz, 177</ref>

Willis began his professional baseball career in 1895 with the [[Harrisburg Senators (1893–1952)|Harrisburg Senators]] of the [[Pennsylvania State League]]. After the team ceased operations in June, he moved to the [[Lynchburg Hill Climbers]] of the [[Virginia League (1894–96)|Virginia State League]]. The following year, he was promoted to the [[Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball)|Syracuse Stars]] of the [[International League|Eastern League]]. He finished the season with a 10–6 win–loss record, but had spent most of the season battling illness, which caused him to end his season in July.<ref name=sabr/> Willis returned to the Stars for the 1897 season and, after establishing a [[curveball]] in the offseason, finished the season with 21 wins, with Syracuse winning the league championship in the process. After the season ended, he was purchased by the [[Boston Beaneaters]] for [[Fred Lake]] and $1,000.<ref name=sabr/> The Beaneaters acquired Willis to fill the void left by [[Jack Stivetts]], who was near retirement due to an arm injury.<ref>Fleitz, 178</ref>

==Major League Baseball career==
Willis began his major league career with the Beaneaters on April 20, 1898, in a relief appearance against the [[Baltimore Orioles (1882–99)|Baltimore Orioles]], allowing eight [[run (baseball)|runs]], three [[base on balls|walks]], and a [[wild pitch]] in an 18–2 loss while also [[hit by pitch|hitting]] two batters. In his next appearance, he beat the [[Washington Senators (1891–99)|Washington Senators]], 11–4, in his first career start. He remained in the starting rotation throughout the season but at times struggled with his control. In one game against the [[Philadelphia Phillies]], opposing pitcher [[Red Donahue]] threw a [[no-hitter]], while Willis allowed eight walks in a 5–0 loss.<ref>Fleitz, 179</ref> He finished the season with 25 wins, 13 losses, a 2.84 ERA, 148 walks, and 160 [[strikeout]]s. He finished second in walks and third in strikeouts in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]].<ref name=br>{{cite web |url= https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/willivi01.shtml|title= Vic Willis Statistics and History |website= Baseball-Reference.com |publisher= Sports Reference, LLC |access-date= August 10, 2010}}</ref> In 1899, Willis became the last pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the 1800s.

Despite being a Hall of Fame pitcher, Willis holds the post-1900 single season records for most losses (29)<ref name="Burke">{{cite book|last1=Burke|first1=Larry|title=The Baseball Chronicles - A Decade-by-Decade History of the All-American Pastime|date=1995|publisher=Smithmark Publishing|location=New York, NY|isbn=0831706805|pages=18}}</ref> and most complete game losses (25);<ref>{{cite web|title=Player Pitching Game Finder: In the Regular Season, since 1901, Pitcher Lost, Complete Game, sorted by most games.|url=https://stathead.com/tiny/eD6eY|website=Stathead|access-date=April 14, 2021}}</ref> both records were set in 1905. For the three seasons from 1903 to 1905, Willis compiled a dismal record with the Beaneaters of 42 wins against 72 losses. However, his [[earned run average]] during those three years averaged 3.02, and in two of those years his ERA was under 3.00. Despite Willis' performance on the mound during those three seasons, the Boston offense could only muster a combined .238 batting average over those seasons. When he changed teams to the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] for 1906, whose offense had a combined batting average of .256 over the four years Willis was with the team, he compiled a record of 88–46. His ERA for those four years was 2.08.

Willis was on one [[World Series]] championship team, the [[1909 Pittsburgh Pirates season|1909 Pirates]]. He lost one game during the Series pitching against [[Ty Cobb]]'s [[Detroit Tigers]].<ref name=br/> Willis' final major league season was 1910, with the [[St. Louis Cardinals]]. The following season, he pitched for a semipro team in his hometown of Newark, Delaware.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lanctot|first=Neil|year=1994|title=Fair Dealing and Clean Playing: the Hilldale Club and the development of black professional baseball, 1910–1932|place=Jefferson, North Carolina|publisher=McFarland|isbn=0-89950-988-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/fairdealingclean00lanc/page/10 10]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/fairdealingclean00lanc/page/10}}</ref>

==Later life==
After retiring from baseball, Willis purchased and operated the Washington House, a hotel in Newark, Delaware. Willis died in 1947 and is interred in St. John Cemetery in Newark.<ref name=br/>

In 1977 he was inducted into the [[Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame|Delaware Sports Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.desports.org/inductees/1977/|title=Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame in Wilmington, Delaware - 1977|website=www.desports.org}}</ref> The National Baseball Hall of Fame inducted him in 1995.

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
* [[List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career ERA leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career shutout leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career hit batsmen leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual shutout leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual saves leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball no-hitters]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{cite book|title=Ghosts in the Gallery at Cooperstown: Sixteen Forgotten Members of the Hall of Fame|last=Fleitz|first=David L.|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2004|isbn=0-7864-1749-8}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*{{bbhof|willis-vic}}
*{{baseballstats|mlb=|espn=|br=w/willivi01|fangraphs=1014042|brm=willis001vic}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080117111423/http://www.udel.edu/sportsinfo/hall_of_fame/2003/willis.html UD Hall of Fame]
*{{find a Grave|18831}}

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{{S-ach|ach}}
{{succession box|title=[[List of Major League Baseball no-hitters|No-hitter pitcher]]|before=[[Deacon Phillippe]]|years=August 7, 1899|after=[[Noodles Hahn]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{1995 Baseball HOF}}
{{Baseball Hall of Fame members}}
{{St. Louis Cardinals HOF}}
{{1898 Boston Beaneaters}}
{{1909 Pittsburgh Pirates}}
{{Atlanta Braves Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{St. Louis Cardinals Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{NL ERA champions}}
{{NL strikeout champions}}
{{Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens baseball coach navbox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Vic}}
[[Category:1876 births]]
[[Category:1947 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century baseball players]]
[[Category:19th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Cecil County, Maryland]]
[[Category:Boston Beaneaters players]]
[[Category:Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens baseball coaches]]
[[Category:Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens baseball players]]
[[Category:Harrisburg Senators players]]
[[Category:Lynchburg Hill Climbers players]]
[[Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:National League ERA champions]]
[[Category:National League strikeout champions]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Newark, Delaware]]
[[Category:Baseball players from New Castle County, Delaware]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Pirates players]]
[[Category:St. Louis Cardinals players]]
[[Category:Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players]]
[[Category:Newark High School (Delaware) alumni]]