1941
Born October 22, 1941
Cambridge, MA, USA
Wilbur Wood Marquee
b. October 22, 1941 · Boston Red Sox 1961–1964, Pittsburgh Pirates 1964–1965, Chicago White Sox 1967–1978
He made 49 starts in 1972 and 48 in 1973, the two largest totals since 1950 by four and by three. He threw 376 innings the first year and won 24, and won 24 again the second year while losing 20 — only Phil Niekro in 1979 has also won and lost 20 in a season since the war. The knuckleball let him start on two days' rest and he asked to.
He had been a reliever first: 88 appearances in 1968, the most in the American League, with a 1.87 earned run average. Seventeen seasons gave him 164 wins against 156, a 3.24 earned run average, 2,684 innings and 24 shutouts, and three All-Star selections.
A line drive off the bat of Ron LeFlore in May 1976 shattered his kneecap and he was never the same. Six writers' ballots got him to 30 votes of 427 at the peak. He died in January 2026, at eighty-four.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 3 | 1971, 1972, 1974 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1972 |
| The Sporting News Fireman of the Year | 1 | 1968 |
| The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year | 1 | 1972 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | BOS | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 1962 | BOS | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 |
| 1963 | BOS | 25 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 |
| 1964 | BOS/PIT | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 |
| 1965 | PIT | 34 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 |
| 1967 | CHW | 51 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 | .063 |
| 1968 | CHW | 88 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 0 | .091 |
| 1969 | CHW | 76 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 |
| 1970 | CHW | 77 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | .111 |
| 1971 | CHW | 44 | 96 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 57 | 1 | .052 |
| 1972 | CHW | 49 | 125 | 8 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 65 | 0 | .136 |
| 1973 | CHW | 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | CHW | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1975 | CHW | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1976 | CHW | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | CHW | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1978 | CHW | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 651 | 322 | 11 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 20 | 189 | 1 | .084 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | BOS | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 13.0 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5.54 |
| 1962 | BOS | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7.2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3.52 |
| 1963 | BOS | 0 | 5 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 64.2 | 67 | 27 | 13 | 28 | 3.76 |
| 1964 | BOS/PIT | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 23.0 | 29 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 7.04 |
| 1965 | PIT | 1 | 1 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 51.1 | 44 | 18 | 16 | 29 | 3.16 |
| 1967 | CHW | 4 | 2 | 51 | 8 | 4 | 95.1 | 95 | 26 | 28 | 47 | 2.45 |
| 1968 | CHW | 13 | 12 | 88 | 2 | 16 | 159.0 | 127 | 33 | 33 | 74 | 1.87 |
| 1969 | CHW | 10 | 11 | 76 | 0 | 15 | 119.2 | 113 | 40 | 40 | 73 | 3.01 |
| 1970 | CHW | 9 | 13 | 77 | 0 | 21 | 121.2 | 118 | 38 | 36 | 85 | 2.81 |
| 1971 | CHW | 22 | 13 | 44 | 42 | 1 | 334.0 | 272 | 71 | 62 | 210 | 1.91 |
| 1972 | CHW | 24 | 17 | 49 | 49 | 0 | 376.2 | 325 | 105 | 74 | 193 | 2.51 |
| 1973 | CHW | 24 | 20 | 49 | 48 | 0 | 359.1 | 381 | 138 | 91 | 199 | 3.46 |
| 1974 | CHW | 20 | 19 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 320.1 | 305 | 128 | 80 | 169 | 3.60 |
| 1975 | CHW | 16 | 20 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 291.1 | 309 | 133 | 92 | 140 | 4.11 |
| 1976 | CHW | 4 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 56.1 | 51 | 14 | 11 | 31 | 2.24 |
| 1977 | CHW | 7 | 8 | 24 | 18 | 0 | 122.2 | 139 | 68 | 50 | 42 | 4.99 |
| 1978 | CHW | 10 | 10 | 28 | 27 | 0 | 168.0 | 187 | 97 | 74 | 69 | 5.20 |
| Career | — | 164 | 156 | 651 | 297 | 57 | 2684.0 | 2582 | 965 | 724 | 1411 | 3.24 |
On this day & linked events
2026
Died January 17, 2026
1961
Major-league debut: Wilbur Wood
Wilbur Wood made a major-league debut on June 30, 1961.
1978
Final major-league game: Wilbur Wood
Wilbur Wood played a final major-league game on August 22, 1978.
Image: Unknown author Unknown, public domain