Hoyt Wilhelm Stats

Hoyt Wilhelm was born on Thursday, July 26, 1923, in Huntersville, North Carolina. Wilhelm was 28 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 18, 1952, with the New York Giants. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Hoyt Wilhelm baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"He (Hoyt Wilhelm) had the best knuckleball you'd ever want to see. He knew where it was going when he threw it, but when he got two strikes on you, he'd break out one that even he didn't know where it was going." - Robinson, Brooks. ESPN Classic. Wilhelm first reliever elected to Hall of Fame. 29 August 2002.

Hoyt Wilhelm

Hoyt 'Old Sarge' Wilhelm Autograph on a 1954 Topps Archive Baseball Card (#36)

Hoyt 'Old Sarge' Wilhelm Autograph on a 1954 Topps Archive Baseball Card (#36)

CareerCollegeAll-StarWild CardDivisionLCSWorld SeriesManagerTradesAwardsVideosCardsmlb   espn
Birth Name:   James Hoyt Wilhelm
Nickname:   Old Sarge
Born On:   07-26-1923  (Leo)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Huntersville, North Carolina
Year of Death Data Died On:   08-23-2002 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Sarasota, Florida
Cemetery:   Palms Memorial Park, Sarasota, Florida Click For Grave Photo
High School:   Cornelius High School (Cornelius, NC)
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-00   Player Weight Chart Weight:   195
First Game:   04-18-1952 (Age 28)
Last Game:   07-10-1972
Draft:   Not Applicable

Hoyt Wilhelm

Hoyt Wilhelm Pitching Stats

1952 29 Giants 71 0 32 15 3 .833 2.43 0 0 11 159.1 646 127 43 60 12 57 4 108 3 5 0 -
1953 30 Giants 68 0 39 7 8 .467 3.04 0 0 15 145.0 628 127 49 61 13 77 8 71 9 4 0 -
1954 31 Giants 57 0 30 12 4 .750 2.10 0 0 7 111.1 456 77 26 32 5 52 0 64 2 5 1 -
1955 32 Giants 59 0 14 4 1 .800 3.93 0 0 0 103.0 449 104 45 53 10 40 5 71 6 2 0 -
1956 33 Giants 64 0 38 4 9 .308 3.83 0 0 8 89.1 403 97 38 45 7 43 10 71 6 2 0 -
1957 34 Cardinals 40 0 30 1 4 .200 4.25 0 0 11 55.0 231 52 26 28 7 21 1 29 0 3 0 -
1957 34 Indians 2 0 2 1 0 1.000 2.45 0 0 1 3.2 15 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 -
1958 35 Indians 30 6 16 2 7 .222 2.49 1 0 5 90.1 371 70 25 32 4 35 2 57 2 1 0 -
1958 35 Orioles 9 4 1 1 3 .250 1.99 3 1 0 40.2 155 25 9 9 2 10 2 35 0 1 2 -
1959 36 Orioles 32 27 2 15 11 .577 2.19 13 3 0 226.0 902 178 55 64 13 77 3 139 5 10 0 -
1960 37 Orioles 41 11 24 11 8 .579 3.31 3 1 7 147.0 599 125 54 69 13 39 0 107 6 1 1 -
1961 38 Orioles 51 1 43 9 7 .563 2.30 0 0 18 109.2 458 89 28 35 5 41 5 87 3 4 0 -
1962 39 Orioles 52 0 44 7 10 .412 1.94 0 0 15 93.0 371 64 20 28 5 34 2 90 11 3 0 -
1963 40 White Sox 55 3 40 5 8 .385 2.64 0 0 21 136.1 545 106 40 47 8 30 1 111 4 4 0 -
1964 41 White Sox 73 0 55 12 9 .571 1.99 0 0 27 131.1 510 94 29 35 7 30 1 95 3 2 0 -
1965 42 White Sox 66 0 45 7 7 .500 1.81 0 0 20 144.0 545 88 29 34 11 32 7 106 10 2 0 -
1966 43 White Sox 46 0 30 5 2 .714 1.66 0 0 6 81.1 308 50 15 21 6 17 2 61 3 1 0 -
1967 44 White Sox 49 0 30 8 3 .727 1.31 0 0 12 89.0 360 58 13 21 2 34 4 76 2 4 0 -
1968 45 White Sox 72 0 39 4 4 .500 1.73 0 0 12 93.2 368 69 18 20 4 24 5 72 1 2 0 -
1969 46 Angels 44 0 35 5 7 .417 2.47 0 0 10 65.2 256 45 18 21 4 18 4 53 5 3 0 -
1969 46 Braves 8 0 7 2 0 1.000 0.73 0 0 4 12.1 47 5 1 1 0 4 0 14 1 1 0 -
1970 47 Braves 50 0 37 6 4 .600 3.10 0 0 13 78.1 339 69 27 29 7 39 7 67 4 1 0 -
1970 47 Cubs 3 0 2 0 1 .000 9.82 0 0 0 3.2 18 4 4 4 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 -
1971 48 Braves 3 0 0 0 0 .000 15.43 0 0 0 2.1 13 6 4 5 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 -
1971 48 Dodgers 9 0 7 0 1 .000 1.02 0 0 3 17.2 59 6 2 2 1 4 0 15 0 0 0 -
1972 49 Dodgers 16 0 9 0 1 .000 4.62 0 0 1 25.1 112 20 13 16 0 15 0 9 4 0 0 -
21 Years 1,070 52 651 143 122 .540 2.52 20 5 227 2,254.1 9,164 1,757 632 773 150 778 73 1,610 90 62 4 -

Hoyt Wilhelm

Hoyt Wilhelm Hitting Stats

1952 29 Giants 71 38 4 6 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 11 3 0 0 0 .158 .179 .237
1953 30 Giants 68 33 5 5 2 1 0 0 1 4 0 8 5 0 0 2 .152 .243 .273
1954 31 Giants 57 21 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 8 1 0 0 0 .048 .048 .048
1955 32 Giants 59 19 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 1 0 0 0 .158 .200 .158
1956 33 Giants 64 9 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .222 .222 .222
1957 34 Cardinals 40 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1957 34 Indians 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1958 35 Indians 30 21 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 6 3 0 0 2 .095 .136 .095
1958 35 Orioles 9 11 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 .091 .091 .091
1959 36 Orioles 32 76 2 4 0 0 0 0 2 5 0 23 4 0 0 1 .053 .111 .053
1960 37 Orioles 41 42 1 3 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 14 3 1 0 1 .071 .111 .071
1961 38 Orioles 51 20 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 10 2 0 0 1 .050 .136 .050
1962 39 Orioles 52 16 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 10 0 0 0 0 .125 .176 .125
1963 40 White Sox 55 29 3 2 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 11 3 0 0 1 .069 .182 .069
1964 41 White Sox 73 21 2 3 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 7 2 0 0 0 .143 .182 .143
1965 42 White Sox 66 22 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 12 4 0 0 0 .000 .083 .000
1966 43 White Sox 46 8 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 .125 .125 .250
1967 44 White Sox 49 13 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 .077 .077 .077
1968 45 White Sox 72 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1969 46 Angels 44 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1969 46 Braves 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1970 47 Braves 50 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 6 0 0 0 0 .091 .231 .091
1970 47 Cubs 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1971 48 Braves 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1971 48 Dodgers 9 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1972 49 Dodgers 16 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
21 Years 1,070 432 24 38 3 1 1 0 21 26 0 166 34 1 0 8 .088 .139 .106

Hoyt Wilhelm

Hoyt Wilhelm Fielding Stats

1952 Giants P 71 0 478 43 0.6 41 9 32 2 0 n/a n/a n/a .953 2.32
1953 Giants P 68 0 435 31 0.5 30 11 19 1 1 n/a n/a n/a .968 1.86
1954 Giants P 57 0 334 30 0.5 30 5 25 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.43
1955 Giants P 59 0 309 35 0.6 34 6 28 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .971 2.97
1956 Giants P 64 0 268 24 0.4 24 4 20 0 2 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.42
1957 Cardinals P 40 0 165 11 0.3 11 3 8 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.80
1957 Indians P 2 0 11 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1958 Indians P 30 6 271 24 0.8 24 8 16 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.39
1958 Orioles P 9 4 122 7 0.8 7 1 6 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.55
1959 Orioles P 32 27 678 45 1.4 45 13 32 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.79
1960 Orioles P 41 11 441 33 0.8 32 4 28 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .970 1.96
1961 Orioles P 51 1 329 30 0.6 28 6 22 2 1 n/a n/a n/a .933 2.30
1962 Orioles P 52 0 279 22 0.4 22 10 12 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.13
1963 White Sox P 55 3 409 29 0.5 28 4 24 1 1 n/a n/a n/a .966 1.85
1964 White Sox P 73 0 394 21 0.3 21 5 16 0 2 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.44
1965 White Sox P 66 0 432 27 0.4 27 7 20 0 2 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.69
1966 White Sox P 46 0 244 12 0.3 12 2 10 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.33
1967 White Sox P 49 0 267 14 0.3 13 2 11 1 1 n/a n/a n/a .929 1.31
1968 White Sox P 72 0 281 13 0.2 13 3 10 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.25
1969 Angels P 44 0 197 12 0.3 11 3 8 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .917 1.51
1969 Braves P 8 0 37 2 0.3 2 0 2 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.46
1970 Braves P 50 0 235 18 0.4 17 4 13 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .944 1.95
1970 Cubs P 3 0 11 3 1.0 3 0 3 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 7.36
1971 Braves P 3 0 7 2 0.7 2 0 2 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 7.71
1971 Dodgers P 9 0 53 2 0.2 2 1 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.02
1972 Dodgers P 16 0 76 8 0.5 8 3 5 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.84
P Totals 1,070 52 6,763 498 0.5 487 114 373 11 17 n/a n/a n/a .978 1.94
21 Years 1,070 52 6,763 498 0.5 487 114 373 11 17 n/a n/a n/a .978 1.94

Hoyt Wilhelm

Hoyt Wilhelm Miscellaneous Stats

1952 Giants 0 1 .000 0 0 n/a 38.0 3.5 19.0 1.89 6.10 3.22
1953 Giants 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 4.1 33.0 0.92 4.41 4.78
1954 Giants 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 2.6 21.0 1.23 5.17 4.20
1955 Giants 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 4.8 0.0 1.78 6.20 3.50
1956 Giants 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 9.0 0.0 1.65 7.15 4.33
1957 Cardinals 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.5 0.0 1.38 4.75 3.44
1957 Indians 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00 0.00 2.45
1958 Indians 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 3.5 10.5 1.63 5.68 3.49
1958 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 2.8 0.0 3.50 7.75 2.21
1959 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 3.3 38.0 1.81 5.54 3.07
1960 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 3.0 10.5 2.74 6.55 2.39
1961 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 2.0 10.0 2.12 7.14 3.36
1962 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.6 0.0 2.65 8.71 3.29
1963 White Sox 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 2.6 14.5 3.70 7.33 1.98
1964 White Sox 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 3.0 7.0 3.17 6.51 2.06
1965 White Sox 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.8 0.0 3.31 6.63 2.00
1966 White Sox 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 2.0 0.0 3.59 6.75 1.88
1967 White Sox 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.2 13.0 2.24 7.69 3.44
1968 White Sox 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.0 0.0 3.00 6.92 2.31
1969 Angels 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.3 0.0 2.94 7.26 2.47
1969 Braves 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.50 10.22 2.92
1970 Braves 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.8 11.0 1.72 7.70 4.48
1970 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.33 2.45 7.36
1971 Braves 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.00 3.86 3.86
1971 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.5 0.0 3.75 7.64 2.04
1972 Dodgers 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.60 3.20 5.33
21 Years 0 1 .000 0 0 n/a 432.0 2.6 20.6 2.07 6.43 3.11

Hoyt Wilhelm

Hoyt Wilhelm Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1952 New York Giants 49 $7,500.00 - -
1953 New York Giants 49 $13,000.00 Stats -
1954 New York Giants 49 $15,000.00 - Stats
1955 New York Giants 49 $20,000.00 - -
1956 New York Giants 49 $17,500.00 - -
1957 St. Louis Cardinals 25 $16,000.00 - -
1957 Cleveland Indians 26 "     "     - -
1958 Cleveland Indians 26 $16,000.00 - -
1958 Baltimore Orioles 15 "     "     - -
1959 Baltimore Orioles 15 $17,000.00 Stats -
1960 Baltimore Orioles 15 $20,500.00 - -
1961 Baltimore Orioles 15 $21,500.00 Stats -
1962 Baltimore Orioles 15 $24,000.00 Stats -
1963 Chicago White Sox 31 $25,000.00 - -
1964 Chicago White Sox 31 $25,000.00 - -
1965 Chicago White Sox 31 $29,000.00 - -
1966 Chicago White Sox 31 $31,000.00 - -
1967 Chicago White Sox 31 $32,000.00 - -
1968 Chicago White Sox 31 $35,000.00 - -
1969 California Angels 39 $37,000.00 - -
1969 Atlanta Braves 39 "     "     - -
1970 Atlanta Braves 39 Undetermined Stats -
1970 Chicago Cubs 39 Undetermined Stats -
1971 Atlanta Braves 39 Undetermined - -
1971 Los Angeles Dodgers 31 Undetermined - -
1972 Los Angeles Dodgers 31 Undetermined - -

search this site site glossary Print Friendly and PDF

baseball almanac flat baseball

baseball almanac fast facts

James Hoyt Wilhelm was a Major League Baseball player who pitched for the New York Giants (1952-1956), St. Louis Cardinals (1957), Cleveland Indians (1957-1958), Baltimore Orioles (1958-1962), Chicago White Sox (1963-1968), California Angels (1969), Atlanta Braves (1969-1970), Chicago Cubs (1970), Atlanta Braves (1971), and Los Angeles Dodgers (1971-1972). When Hoyt, who went by his middle name, made his big league debut on April 18, 1952, he became the first Cornelius High School (Cornelius, NC) student to play in the majors. Do you like historical firsts?

Hoyt Wilhelm Rookie Card | Baseball Almanac

Hoyt Wilhelm Rookie Card | 1952 Topps Baseball Card (#392 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library

Do you like historical firsts? Hoyt Wilhelm hit a home run in his first at-bat. Hoyt Wilhelm was the first pitcher to accumulate 200 career saves. Hoyt Wilhelm was the first pitcher to appear in 1,000 career games. Hoyt Wilhelm was the first relief pitcher elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame:

Hoyt Wilhelm Hall of Fame Plaque

Hoyt Wilhelm | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1985 (HOF)

Hoyt Wilhelm was also the first pitcher in a Baltimore Orioles uniform to throw a no-hitter [Box Score]. Earl Hamilton, Ernie Koob, Bob Groom and Bobo Holloman had each thrown a no-no for the franchise, but each of them wore a St. Louis Browns uniform at the time. Join Baseball Almanac as we take a closer look at Hoyt Wilhelm's gem, a rarity by a knuckleball pitcher who rarely even started games:

Hoyt Wilhelm No-Hitter. September 20, 1958.

Throughout virtually his entire career, Hoyt Wilhelm was a reliever. He started just 52 games, more than half with the Orioles, the biggest of which occurred on a rainy afternoon, Saturday September 20, before a crowd of 10,941 at Memorial Stadium.

Facing the first place New York Yankees and World Series perfect game pitcher Don Larsen, the 35-year old Wilhelm was making just his third start for the Orioles, having been purchased August 23 on waivers from the Indians and been pressed into starting service because of a dearth of starters for seventh place Baltimore.

Less than two hours after he began, Wilhelm, who carried a 2-10 record into the game, had delivered the first no-hitter in Orioles modern history. It was also his first victory as an Oriole.

Throwing knuckleballs almost exclusively, Wilhelm used an amazingly low total of 99 pitches while facing just one batter above the minimum. He struck out eight and walked two. Although they hit few balls hard, the Yankees managed to slap 10 balls to Oriole outfielders.

For six innings, Larsen matched Wilhelm nearly pitch for pitch. The hero of the 1956 World Series allowed just one hit before being replaced by Bobby Shantz in the seventh. Shantz wound up allowing the game's only run when he served up a gigantic 425-foot home run to Gus Triandos in the seventh.

Wilhelm had little trouble with the hard-hitting Yankees. He put down Hank Bauer on a popup to short, struck out Jerry Lumpe and got Mickey Mantle on a fly to center in the first inning.

Norm Siebern hit the hardest ball in the early going when he lined a one-out smash in second to Gene Woodling in right. An inning later, the Yanks put their first man on base when Bobby Richardson drew a one-out walk. He was quickly erased trying to steal second before Larsen flew out to right to end the inning.

Wilhelm walked Lumpe with one out in the fourth. The Yankees' infielder moved to second on a passed ball, but stayed there as Mantle flew out to center and Bill Skowron was thrown out at first on a dribbler in front of the plate.

Lumpe would be the last Yankee to reach base. Wilhelm struck out Siebern and Elston Howard in the eighth when Siebern led off with a hard bouncer between first and second. Second baseman Billy Gardner raced far to his left, grabbed the ball and threw on the run to first to nip Siebern. Howard then flew out to left and pinch-hitter Yogi Berra grounded out to second.

Richardson opened the ninth with a routine fly to late-inning defensive replacement Jim Busby in center. Next up was pinch-hitter Enos Slaughter, and he drilled a liner to right that Willie Tasby hauled down after a long run.

Hank Bauer was the final batter. He tried to bunt the first pitch down the third base line, but the ball rolled foul. On the next pitch, Bauer hit a lazy popup near the line in shallow right. Gardner raced over, and calling everybody else off, made the catch for the last out.

Wilhelm, in what was just one of his 20 complete games in his career, had his no-hitter. It was his only Orioles victory of the year. He finished the season with a 3-10 record.

Source: Researched and written by author Rich Westcott. Original text from No-Hitters (McFarland, 02/15/2000, Hoyt Wilhelm, Pages 193-194), exclusively reprinted on Baseball Almanac with written permission.

Hoyt Wilhelm No Hitter

Hoyt Wilhelm No-Hitter | The Racine Journal Times | 21 September 1958 | Page 1
Baseball Almanac Research Library

On May 18, 1969, Hoyt Wilhelm relieved California Angels starter George Brunet in the eighth inning of a 0-0 game in Yankee Stadium. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Joe Pepitone hit a walk-off home run versus Wilhelm, the first game-ending home run in a 1-0 game by a Bronx Bomber.