James Hoyt Wilhelm, nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, St Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers between 1952 and 1972.
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Hoyt Wilhelm grew up in North Carolina, fought in World War II, and then spent several years in the minor leagues before starting his major league career at the age of 29.
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Hoyt Wilhelm was best known for his knuckleball, which enabled him to have great longevity.
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Hoyt Wilhelm appeared occasionally as a starting pitcher, but pitched mainly as a reliever.
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Hoyt Wilhelm won 124 games in relief, which is still the major league record.
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Hoyt Wilhelm was the first pitcher to reach 200 saves, and the first to appear in 1,000 games.
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Hoyt Wilhelm was nearly 30 years old when he entered the major leagues, and pitched until he was nearly 50.
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Hoyt Wilhelm retired with one of the lowest career earned run averages, 2.
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Hoyt Wilhelm was born in 1922, long thought to have been 1923.
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Hoyt Wilhelm was one of eleven children born to poor tenant farmers John and Ethel Wilhelm in Huntersville, North Carolina.
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Hoyt Wilhelm played baseball at Cornelius High School in Cornelius, North Carolina.
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Hoyt Wilhelm practiced honing it with a tennis ball, hoping it was his best shot at Big League success.
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Hoyt Wilhelm made his professional debut with the Mooresville Moors of the Class-D North Carolina State League in 1942.
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Hoyt Wilhelm served in the United States Army in the European Theater during World War II and participated in the Battle of the Bulge, where he was wounded, earning the Purple Heart for his actions.
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Hoyt Wilhelm rose to the rank of staff sergeant while in the Army, and played his entire career with a piece of shrapnel lodged in his back as a result of the wounds he received in battle.
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Hoyt Wilhelm later recalled being dropped from a Class D minor league team and having the manager tell him to forget about the knuckleball, but he persisted with it.
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Hoyt Wilhelm made his MLB debut with the Giants on April 18,1952, at age 29, giving up a hit and two walks while only recording one out.
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Hoyt Wilhelm finished second in the Rookie of the Year Award voting to Joe Black.
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Hoyt Wilhelm was named to the NL All-Star team that year, but he did not play in the game because team manager Charlie Dressen did not think that any of the catchers could handle his knuckleball.
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In 1954, Hoyt Wilhelm was a key piece of the pitching staff that led the 1954 Giants to a world championship.
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When Stan Musial set a record by hitting five home runs in a doubleheader that year, Hoyt Wilhelm was pitching in the second game and gave up two of the home runs.
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On February 26,1957, Hoyt Wilhelm was traded by the Giants to the St Louis Cardinals for Whitey Lockman.
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In Baltimore, Hoyt Wilhelm lived near the home of third baseman Brooks Robinson and their families became close friends.
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Hoyt Wilhelm allowed two baserunners on walks and struck out eight.
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Hoyt Wilhelm started only one game the following year, but he was an All-Star, registered 18 saves and had a 2.
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On January 14,1963, Hoyt Wilhelm was traded by the Orioles with Ron Hansen, Dave Nicholson and Pete Ward to the Chicago White Sox for Luis Aparicio and Al Smith.
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In 1964, Hoyt Wilhelm finished with career highs in both saves and games pitched.
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In 1965, Wilhelm contributed to another passed balls record when Chicago catcher J C Martin allowed 33 of them in one season.
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Hoyt Wilhelm set MLB records for consecutive errorless games by a pitcher, career victories in relief, games finished and innings pitched in relief.
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Hoyt Wilhelm was noted during this period for his mentoring of relief pitcher Wilbur Wood, who came to the 1967 White Sox in a trade.
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Hoyt Wilhelm credited Wilhelm with helping him to master the knuckleball, as the White Sox coaches did not know much about how to throw it.
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On October 15,1968, Hoyt Wilhelm was chosen in the expansion draft by the Kansas City Royals as the 49th pick.
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Hoyt Wilhelm pitched 44 games for the 1969 California Angels and had a 2.
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Hoyt Wilhelm finished the 1969 season by pitching in eight games for the Braves, earning four saves and recording a 0.
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Hoyt Wilhelm then spent most of the 1970 season with the Braves, pitching in 50 games for the team and earning ten saves.
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On September 21,1970, Hoyt Wilhelm was selected off waivers by the Chicago Cubs, for whom he appeared in three games.
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Hoyt Wilhelm was traded back to the Braves for Hal Breeden on November 30,1970.
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Hoyt Wilhelm pitched in 16 games for the Dodgers in 1972, registering a 4.
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At the time of his retirement, Hoyt Wilhelm had pitched in a then major league record 1,070 games.
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Hoyt Wilhelm is recognized as the first pitcher to have saved 200 games in his career, and the first pitcher to appear in 1,000 games.
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Hoyt Wilhelm is one of the oldest players to have pitched in the major leagues; his final appearance was 16 days short of his 50th birthday.
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Hoyt Wilhelm worked as a minor league pitching coach for the New York Yankees for 22 years.
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Hoyt Wilhelm sometimes worked individually with major league players who wanted to improve their knuckleballs, including Joe Niekro.
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Hoyt Wilhelm was on the ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame for eight years before he was elected.
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Hoyt Wilhelm died of heart failure in a Sarasota nursing home in 2002.
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Hoyt Wilhelm knew where it was going when he threw it, but when he got two strikes on you, he'd break out one that even he didn't know where it was going.
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Hoyt Wilhelm was known as a "relief ace", and his teams used him in a new way that became a trend.
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Hoyt Wilhelm was the first relief pitcher elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Hoyt Wilhelm earned the nickname "Old Folks" while he still had more than a decade left in his playing career.
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Hoyt Wilhelm was the oldest player in Major League Baseball for each of his final seven seasons.
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Hoyt Wilhelm broke with tradition when he began throwing the pitch as a teenager and threw it nearly every pitch.
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The New York Times linked his knuckleball with that of modern pitcher R A Dickey, as Wilhelm taught pitcher Charlie Hough the knuckleball in 1971, and Hough taught it to Dickey while coaching with the Texas Rangers.
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