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Wilbur Wood, Dick Allen, and the 1972 White Sox Photo Gallery
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Let’s Remember Baseball’s Rodney Dangerfield: Knuckleballer Wilbur Wood!

 

“Who did you say? Wilbur Wood? Yeah, I remember him. Wasn’t he one of those trick-pitch knuckleballers? 

Be honest…Wasn’t that your first response when you caught sight of the title of this essay? Unless you’re a die-hard White Sox fan, you could easily be forgiven for taking a pass on this one. I have to admit that would have been my response, too. That is, until I read about Wilbur Wood in the outstanding book, Chili Dog MVP by David Fletcher, which recounts the White Sox’ magical 1972 season.

It was a year that elevated MVP Dick Allen into superstar status. Having lost 106 games just two years previously, this team came out of nowhere to challenge the Oakland A’s for the 1972 American League West Division title, falling just a few games short at the end largely due to the season-ending injury to slugger Bill Melton. Thanks to the exploits of Allen and a paunchy, knuckleballing teammate from Belmont, Massachusetts named Wilbur Wood, they almost pulled off an impossible dream.

Knuckleballers are the Rodney Dangerfields of baseball. They get no respect. Six-foot-five fireballers like Don Drysdale or intimidators like Bob Gibson are the ones that get our juices flowing. Maybe it’s because we tend to downplay the

accomplishments of knuckleballers, thinking their success only comes from mastering a “trick pitch.” Maybe it’s because guys like Wilbur Wood, with his chubby physique and rapidly receding hairline, remind us of someone pitching in our Sunday morning church softball league. For whatever reason, Wilbur’s accomplishments in the ‘70s have never received the acclaim they deserve.

Edgar Munzel of The Sporting News offered this apt description of Wilbur Wood:

“There isn’t anyone in the major leagues…who looks less like a ballplayer. He’s a pot-bellied guy with thinning blond hair, blue eyes, and a pleasant round face. Soft-spoken with a distinct Boston accent, he has a sense of humor he would often display around teammates.”

I hope to convince you that Wilbur Wood was a pretty darn good pitcher, worthy of a few minutes of your time. Before I do, here’s a little background on Wilbur and his remarkable ascent to (overlooked) superstar status:

Wilbur had toyed with the knuckler earlier in his professional career, but never developed it into a staple of his repertoire. After making his major league debut on June 30, 1961 with the Red Sox, he spent five undistinguished years as a reliever. He was perceived as a marginal pitcher with good control but a not-very-intimidating fastball. Sensing that his career was at a standstill, he contemplated retiring and joining his father in the plumbing business back in Massachusetts. An outstanding year in 1966 at AAA Columbus convinced him to give his major league aspirations one more shot.

Fate was smiling on Wilbur when the White Sox purchased his contract on October 12, 1966. His career underwent a dramatic change as he came under the wing of two great mentors: first, knuckleball artist Hoyt Wilhelm; and later, legendary pitching coach Johnny Sain.

“When I got to Chicago, my record was poor and my fastball was a few yards too short. I told myself I was going to do anything. I needed to change, period. Being with Hoyt Wilhelm, it was pretty simple: Hoyt told me you either throw the knuckleball all the time or not at all. It’s not a part-time pitch. From that point, I just made up my mind up. I’m going to go out there and throw knuckleballs and then I’m going to throw more knuckleballs.”

Under Wilhelm’s tutelage, Wilbur excelled in a relief role, including winning the 1968 “Fireman of the Year” award. In 1971, injuries forced Manager Chuck Tanner and Pitching Coach Johnny Sain to elevate him into the starting rotation, a move at which he initially scoffed. The turnaround was immediate and netted dramatic results.

(In the featured photo above, we see Wilbur Wood on the left, with Pitching Coach Johnny Sain and teammate Eddie Fisher. They’re demonstrating the knuckleball grip. But don’t be fooled: Sain admitted he knew nothing about the knuckler!)

Wilbur blossomed into one of the most effective pitchers in the game: 42 starts, seven shutouts, 334 innings, 210 strikeouts, 22 complete games, and an amazing 1.91 ERA while giving up only 62 walks, a truly remarkable stat for a knuckleballer. His WAR (Wins Above Replacement) was, to put it mildly, off-the-charts. According to Sabermetrics, any WAR around eight or above is considered an MVP-caliber season. Wilbur logged in at 11.3.

The following season, 1972, injuries to Bart Johnson and Joel Horlen forced the White Sox to go to a three-man rotation consisting of Wood, Stan Bahnsen, and Tom Bradley. It was Johnny Sain who convinced Wilbur to pitch on just two days’ rest, which he did an astonishing 28 times. Wilbur put up incredible numbers for the second straight year: 49 stars, eight shutouts, 24 wins, 2.51 ERA, and WAR of 10.3. Again demonstrating his remarkable control, he faced 1490 batters and averaged only one walk every 20.3 innings. According to author David Fletcher:

“Wood’s 376 2/3 innings in 1972 were the most in the American League since Big Ed Walsh’s 393 in 1912. His 49 stars not only tied the 63-year-old White Sox mark, it was also only two fewer than Jack Chesbro’s 51 for the 1904 Yankees.”

I hope I’ve at least convinced you that old Wilbur was a pretty good pitcher. Now let’s examine his period of dominance: 1971 to 1974.

Wilbur Wood was arguably the best pitcher in the majors during this time with four straight seasons of 20 or more wins, leading the American League with 24 wins in 1972 and 1973. His 90 wins during this span (23 average) were the most by any pitcher in either league.

But that hardly tells the complete story. In this four-year span, he pitched more innings than anyone. He was a throw-back to the Dead Ball Era days of pitchers like Christy Mathewson, Eddie Planck, and Chief Bender. His 1390.1 innings, averaging 348 per year, seem otherworldly to us, with league-leading totals of 376.2 and 359.1 in 1972 and ’73 respectively. He averaged 45 starts, 193 strikeouts, 21 complete games, five shutouts, and a 2.86 ERA.

It gets even better. His 1971 WAR of 11.5 bested Cy Young Award winner Vida Blue’s nine. Based on this WAR alone, Wood’s 1971 season is considered one of the best in major league history since 1920, as there have been only 22 seasons in which a pitcher generated a WAR of 10.0 or higher. Also hard to believe is that only seven pitchers have done it twice, elite Hall of Famers all…except, of course, for underappreciated Wilbur Wood: Bob Gibson (1968-’69), Randy Johnson (2001-‘02), Sandy Koufax (1963, 1966), Steve Carlton (1972, 1980) and Tom Seaver (1971,1973). You can add baseball’s Rodney Dangerfield to this list: Wilbur Wood (1971-’72).

During his 17-year career, the three-time All-Star led the league in many categories, including appearances, games started, games finished, innings pitched, batters faced, wins, and inducing ground ball double plays. He had scoreless streaks of 29 and 29.2 innings. He twice started both games of a doubleheader. He finished his career at 164-156 with a 3.24 ERA.

Pitching coach Johnny Sain wasn’t buying any of the slights about Wilbur’s athletic ability or his mental toughness:

“What they call natural ability is standing six-four and being able to throw a ball 100 miles per hour. Well, it turns out that Wilbur has as much God-given ability as any man I’ve ever met. Wood’s success rested as much on his mental preparation as physical abilities. He had tremendous poise and perfect temperament. He never gets rattled.”

The drop-off in Wilbur’s career came quickly. In 1976, he took a liner off the bat of Ron Leflore that shattered his kneecap. When he returned in 1977, he wasn’t the same pitcher. He seemed gun-shy to pitch inside, perhaps fearful of taking another shot. He hung around for four more uneventful seasons and was out of the game by 1979.

Now 81 years old, Wilbur still resides in the Boston area, where fishing, gardening, and cooking are his hobbies.

So today we gladly shine our baseball spotlight on Wilbur Wood, an often-overlooked knuckleball specialist who, for the four year span 1971-1974, put up numbers that placed him among baseball’s elite. As baseball’s “Everyman,” Wilbur proved you don’t have to be a 6’4” fireballer to excel in this game. Grit, determination, and mental toughness often count just as much. And Wilbur had those in spades.

Gary Livacari 

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Sources; Background information and quotes from Chili Dog MVP, by Dr. David Fletcher (Eckhartz Press, 2021); the Wilbur Wood Wikipedia page; and the Wilbur Wood page on Baseball-Reference.

Photo Credits: All from Google search