Maurice Morning Wills was an American professional baseball player and manager.
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34 Facts About Maury Wills
2.
Maury Wills played in Major League Baseball primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1959 through 1966 and the latter part of 1969 through 1972 as a shortstop and switch-hitter; he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1967 and 1968, and the Montreal Expos the first part of 1969.
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3.
Maury Wills was an essential component of the Dodgers' championship teams in the mid-1960s, and is credited with reviving the stolen base as part of baseball strategy.
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4.
Maury Wills was the National League Most Valuable Player in 1962, stealing a record 104 bases to break the old modern era mark of 96, set by Ty Cobb in 1915.
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5.
Maury Wills was an All-Star for five seasons and seven All-Star Games, and was the first MLB All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in 1962.
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6.
From 2009 until his death in 2022, Maury Wills was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, serving as a representative of the Dodgers Legend Bureau.
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7.
Maury Wills was born in Washington, DC, the seventh of 13 children.
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8.
Maury Wills began playing semi-professional baseball at age 14, and played baseball, basketball, and football at Cardozo Senior High School.
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9.
Maury Wills was named an All-City player in all three sports in his sophomore, junior, and senior years.
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10.
Maury Wills signed with the then-Brooklyn Dodgers in 1950, after graduating from high school.
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12.
Maury Wills stole more bases than any team that year, the highest total being 99 by the Washington Senators.
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13.
In 1962, Maury Wills played a full 162-game schedule, plus all three games of the best-of-three regular season playoff series with the Giants, giving him a total of 165 games played, an MLB record that still stands for most games played in a single season.
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14.
Maury Wills batted first in the lineup for the inaugural game of the Expos on April 8,1969.
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15.
However, Maury Wills failed to work out during the 1972 Major League Baseball strike, and once the season finally started, he struggled with his reflexes and timing.
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16.
Alongside Chicago White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio, Maury Wills brought new prominence to the tactic of stolen bases.
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17.
Maury Wills was a significant distraction to the pitcher even if he did not try to steal, because he was a constant threat to do so.
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18.
Maury Wills studied pitchers relentlessly, watching their pick-off moves even when not on base.
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19.
Once, when on first base against New York Mets pitcher Roger Craig, Maury Wills drew twelve consecutive throws from Craig to the Mets first baseman.
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20.
Maury Wills let it be known he felt qualified to pilot a big-league club.
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21.
Maury Wills called for a relief pitcher although there was nobody warming up in the bullpen, held up another game for 10 minutes while looking for a pinch-hitter, and even left a spring-training game in the sixth inning to fly to California.
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22.
Maury Wills claimed he was trying to help his players stay in the box.
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23.
However, Julio Cruz, himself an accomplished base stealer, credited Maury Wills with teaching him how to steal second base against a left-handed pitcher.
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24.
Dave Roberts similarly credits Maury Wills with coaching him to steal under pressure circumstances.
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25.
Maury Wills was a coach on the team from 1996 to 1997 and served as a radio color commentator for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks on KNFL until 2017.
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26.
Maury Wills resumed making appearances with the Dodgers in 2000, serving as a guest instructor in spring training until 2016.
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27.
In 2014, Maury Wills appeared for the first time as a candidate on the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Golden Era Committee election ballot for Hall of Fame induction in 2015, which required twelve votes.
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28.
Maury Wills was on the 2022 ballot before the Golden Days Era Committee, but he did not receive enough votes for induction.
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29.
Maury Wills cut at least two records during this period—one under his own name, the other as featured vocalist with Lionel Hampton.
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30.
In 1969, Maury Wills appeared in an episode of the television series Get Smart, entitled "Apes of Wrath".
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31.
The Dodgers organization paid for a drug treatment program, but Maury Wills walked out and continued to use drugs until he began a relationship with Angela George, who encouraged him to begin a vitamin therapy program.
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32.
Maury Wills is the father of former major leaguer Bump Maury Wills, who played for the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs for six seasons.
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34.
Maury Wills' 97th stolen base occurred after his team had played its 154th game; as a result, Commissioner Ford Frick ruled that Maury Wills' 104-steal season and Cobb's 96-steal season of 1915 were separate records, just as he had the year before after Roger Maris had broken Babe Ruth's single-season home run record.
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