36 Triples by Chief Wilson in 1912 : A Baseball Almanac Fabulous Feat

36 Triples by Chief Wilson in a Single Season

In 1912, Forbes Field in Pittsburgh was gripped by drama. There, with the whole city watching, J. Owen "Chief" Wilson of the Pittsburgh Pirates was in the process of rewriting baseball's history books as he hit thirty-six triples in one season. Only two other players, previous record holders Dave Orr and Heinie Reitz, had ever hit more than thirty in a single season. Wilson himself never again (or before 1912 for that matter) collected half the triples he had in 1912, which turned out to be his career year.

Wilson's talent for three-baggers was so evident in 1912, that he was expected to hit triples when he came up to bat. Anything else was a disappointment, as seen in this exert from the Pittsburgh Post from September 14, 1912: "Wilson attempted to triple, but tapped the pellet a trifle too hard and floated it over the right field wall." Other teams attempted shifts to stop Wilson, but saw the ball fly over their heads or to the opposite field. Wilson's triple total even managed to eclipse the American League record also set in 1912 by Joe Jackson.

Baseball Almanac proudly presents a game-by-game look at all thirty-six of Chief Wilson’s record setting triples.

"(Chief) Wilson's three base shots are entitled to be credited as one of the wonders of 1912. Best of it all, few of the smashes have struck in front of fielders. They have been over the their heads or between the fields, all juicy jams. Ask any pitcher if Wilson hits a high ball very hard. " - Sporting Life (September 7, 1912)

Chief Wilson 1912 : The 36 "Three Bagger" Season
Triple	Game	Date	Inning	Location	Opposing:
Triple	Game	Date	Inning	Location	Pitcher	Team
1	2	04-13-1912	2^nd	St. Louis	Bill Steele	Cardinals
2	6	04-18-1912	9^th	Pittsburgh	Slim Sallee	Cardinals
3	9	04-23-1912	6^th	Chicago	Mordecai Brown	Cubs
4	11	04-27-1912	1^st	Pittsburgh	Art Fromme	Reds
5	11	04-27-1912	8^th	Pittsburgh	Hanson Horsey	Reds
6	15	05-03-1912	3^rd	Pittsburgh	Larry Cheney	Cubs
7	16	05-04-1912	4^th	Pittsburgh	Ed Reulbach	Cubs
8	25	05-21-1912	7^th	Pittsburgh	Bill McTigue	Braves
9	29	05-25-1912	4^th	Pittsburgh	Jimmy Lavender	Cubs
10	29	05-25-1912	6^th	Pittsburgh	Jimmy Lavender	Cubs
11	33	05-30-1912	3^rd	Pittsburgh	Slim Sallee	Cardinals
12	48	06-17-1912	8^th	New York	Rube Marquard	Giants
13	49	06-18-1912	9^th	New York	Doc Crandall	Giants
14	50	06-19-1912	4^th	Pittsburgh	Joe Willis	Cardinals
15	51	06-20-1912	2^nd	Cincinnati	Bobby Keefe	Reds
16	51	06-20-1912	10^th	Cincinnati	Harry Gaspar	Reds
17	52	06-20-1912	6^th	Cincinnati	Art Fromme	Reds
18	64	07-02-1912	8^th	Pittsburgh	Larry Cheney	Cubs
19	65	07-04-1912	4^th	Pittsburgh	Ben Taylor	Reds
20	70	07-08-1912	8^th	Pittsburgh	Toots Schultz	Phillies
21	77	07-16-1912	4^th	Pittsburgh	Earl Yingling	Dodgers
22	78	07-17-1912	9^th	Pittsburgh	Christy Mathewson	Giants
23	79	07-19-1912	3^rd	Pittsburgh	Rube Marquard	Giants
24	82	07-22-1912	3^rd	Pittsburgh	Buster Brown	Braves
25	84	07-25-1912	1^st	Pittsburgh	Eddie Stack	Dodgers
26	85	07-26-1912	1^st	Philadelphia	Earl Moore	Phillies
27	99	08-10-1912	6^th	Brooklyn	Cliff Curtis	Dodgers
28	106	08-16-1912	7^th	Pittsburgh	Grover Alexander	Phillies
29	114	08-23-1912	9^th	Pittsburgh	Jeff Tesreau	Giants
30	116	08-26-1912	6^th	Pittsburgh	Otto Hess	Braves
31	117	08-26-1912	6^th	Pittsburgh	Ed Donnelly	Braves
32	117	08-26-1912	8^th	Pittsburgh	Ed Donnelly	Braves
33	118	08-27-1912	4^th	Pittsburgh	Walt Dickson	Braves
34	129	09-07-1912	6^th	St. Louis	Pol Perritt	Cardinals
35	148	09-29-1912	8^th	Chicago	Ed Reulbach	Cubs
36	152	10-06-1912	9^th	Cincinnati	Frank Gregory	Reds
Triple	Game	Date	Inning	Location	Pitcher	Team
Game-by-Game Research by Glenn Rooth					Opposing:

Countless historians are quick to point out the dimensions of Forbes Field during the era (360' left field, 462' center field, 376' right field), but did you know that three (3) Hall of Fame teammates never came close to the record: Max Carey (nineteen in 1923), Fred Clarke (fifteen in 1901, 1903, 1905 & 1908), and Honus Wagner (twenty-two in 1900).

Opposing teams tried to stop Chief Wilson, but it did not work as seen by this August 29, 1912 Pittsburgh Gazette article, "The Pittsburgh players are wondering how many more triples Chief Wilson will add to his already long list before the season closes. Foxy John Kling went to a great deal of trouble during the Boston series to place his outfield when Chief was at bat, but it was no discredit to the Boss of the Braves that his strategy failed as Wilson sent one long drive to extreme left, another to right and one to right center It is because he can drive hard to any field that he is so dangerous."

Single seasons of nearly two-hundred games were played in the Minor Leagues throughout history, yet the Minor League record is thirty-two (32) hit by Jack Cross in 1925.

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