Athletes - Jimmie Wilson

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	Athletes - Jimmie Wilson

James Wilson (July 23, 1900, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - May 31, 1947, Bradenton, Florida) was a catcher, manager and coach in American Major League Baseball. In the 1940 World Series, the 40-year-old Wilson came off the coaching lines to take over as the regular catcher for the Cincinnati Reds when the starter, future Baseball Hall of Famer Ernie Lombardi, was injured. Wilson batted .353 in six games, playing a key role in Cincinnati's defeat of the Detroit Tigers, four games to three, for the world championship.

Wilson's National League playing career stretched over 18 seasons (1923-40) with the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals and the Reds. A righthanded batter, he hit over .300 four times as a regular catcher and for his career batted .284 in 1,525 games. From 1934 through 1938, he was the player-manager of his hometown Phillies, one of the worst teams in baseball at the time. He guided the Phils to three seventh place and two eighth (last) place finishes; in his final season, the Quakers lost 103 of 149 games. He then joined the Cincinnati coaching staff in 1939 and played only four games that season. But in August 1940 the Reds were stunned when Lombardi's backup catcher, Willard Hershberger, committed suicide in his Boston hotel room. Wilson joined the active roster during the pennant race and played in 16 games behind Lombardi, batting only .243. But pressed into service during the Series, Wilson came through.

His stardom in the 1940 Fall Classic led to his second and last major league managing job, with the Chicago Cubs (1941-44), but he never had a winning record in Wrigleyville and his highest finish was fifth, in 1943. The following season, the Cubs lost nine of their first ten games and Wilson was out, replaced by Charlie Grimm. His final record as a manager, over nine full or partial seasons, was poor: 493 wins and 735 losses (.401).

Wilson returned to Cincinnati as a coach in 1945-46. Released along with Reds manager Bill McKechnie at the end of the 1946 season, Wilson moved to Florida and entered the citrus growing business. He died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 46 the following May.

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