Whit Wyatt--1941
He was an All-Star?
The name just stuck out when looking
through the box scores of the All-Star
Games of the 1940s.
Whit Wyatt.
He sounds like a movie star who starred
in cowboy movies alongside William
Holden or Randolph Scott.
The reality is, Whit Wyatt was a four-time
All-Star in the 1940s for the Brooklyn
Dodgers. Having struggled in the 1930s
going 26-43 for the Tigers, White Sox
and Indians, Wyatt developed a slider
which helped him become a consistent
All-Star for the Dodgers.
Known as a "head hunter" under
Brooklyn manager Leo Durocher, Wyatt
ranked among the National League
leaders in hit batters from 1940-42.
However, he also found the strike zone,
walking two less hitters per nine innings
during his days with Brooklyn than when
he bounced around the American
League in the 1930s. He would lead the
NL with 22 victories in '41, helping the
Bums to the World Series where they lost
to the cross-town rival Yankees.
Named to four squads, Wyatt would only
hurl in two Mid-Summer Classics. The
right-hander would start the '41 game,
tossing two shutout innings, walking one.
He would also twirl two scoreless innings
in the 1940 contest, fanning Joe Gordon,
but allowing a single to opposing pitcher
Bobo Newsom.
Wyatt would finish his 16-year career
with a 106-95, 3.79 mark, before
embarking on a coaching career.
He was an interesting character... and
one with a name that would have also
served him well riding atop a horse as he
drove cattle along the Red River.
Whit Wyatt's Obit, Deadball Era web site
(7/12/11)
The name just stuck out when looking
through the box scores of the All-Star
Games of the 1940s.
Whit Wyatt.
He sounds like a movie star who starred
in cowboy movies alongside William
Holden or Randolph Scott.
The reality is, Whit Wyatt was a four-time
All-Star in the 1940s for the Brooklyn
Dodgers. Having struggled in the 1930s
going 26-43 for the Tigers, White Sox
and Indians, Wyatt developed a slider
which helped him become a consistent
All-Star for the Dodgers.
Known as a "head hunter" under
Brooklyn manager Leo Durocher, Wyatt
ranked among the National League
leaders in hit batters from 1940-42.
However, he also found the strike zone,
walking two less hitters per nine innings
during his days with Brooklyn than when
he bounced around the American
League in the 1930s. He would lead the
NL with 22 victories in '41, helping the
Bums to the World Series where they lost
to the cross-town rival Yankees.
Named to four squads, Wyatt would only
hurl in two Mid-Summer Classics. The
right-hander would start the '41 game,
tossing two shutout innings, walking one.
He would also twirl two scoreless innings
in the 1940 contest, fanning Joe Gordon,
but allowing a single to opposing pitcher
Bobo Newsom.
Wyatt would finish his 16-year career
with a 106-95, 3.79 mark, before
embarking on a coaching career.
He was an interesting character... and
one with a name that would have also
served him well riding atop a horse as he
drove cattle along the Red River.
Whit Wyatt's Obit, Deadball Era web site
(7/12/11)
