Hack Wilson

Pro team(s)

New York Giants, Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies

Hall of Fame

⭐ National Baseball Hall of Fame

Lewis Robert "Hack" Wilson was born on April 26, 1900, in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, a small mill town on the border of Lawrence and Beaver counties, and left school before completing eighth grade to work in the shipyards and factories of the region. What he lacked in formal education, he made up for in sheer physical improbability: at 5'6" and 190 pounds, with an 18-inch neck, size-18 shoe, and arms like dock pilings, Wilson was built like a fireplug — and hit like a wrecking ball. He reached the major leagues with the New York Giants in 1923 and eventually landed with the Chicago Cubs in 1926. There he unleashed the most jaw-dropping offensive season in baseball history: in 1930, Wilson hit .356, clouted 56 home runs (still the National League record), and drove in 191 runs — a Major League Baseball record that has stood for over 90 years and may never be broken. The next year he hit 61 RBI in a single month. His career was truncated by alcohol, and he finished with a .307 lifetime average and 244 home runs over 12 seasons. He died in poverty in Baltimore in 1948 at age 48. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979 — recognition that came three decades too late. Born in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania.