Major League Baseball Player. For ten seasons (1951 to 1960), he played at the catcher position with the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians. Born Robert James Wilson, he attended Washington High School in Milwaukee. A two-sport athlete during his collegiate years at the University of Wisconsin, Wilson was an All-American center for the Badgers' football squad and earned Big Ten Conference MVP honors in 1949. He chose to pursue a professional baseball career and was signed by the White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1950. He marked his Major League debut as a late season call-up on September 22, 1951 and played in four games that year. In 1958 with the Tigers, Wilson produced career-highs in games-played with 103, hits with 89, with a .299 batting average. Additionally, he became a part of history on July 20, 1958, as he served as battery mate during Jim Bunning's no-hit game against the Boston Red Sox. In 602 regular season games, he compiled 455 hits with a .258 lifetime batting average. After retiring from baseball, he worked in the banking industry in his native Wisconsin. He was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991.
Major League Baseball Player. For ten seasons (1951 to 1960), he played at the catcher position with the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians. Born Robert James Wilson, he attended Washington High School in Milwaukee. A two-sport athlete during his collegiate years at the University of Wisconsin, Wilson was an All-American center for the Badgers' football squad and earned Big Ten Conference MVP honors in 1949. He chose to pursue a professional baseball career and was signed by the White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1950. He marked his Major League debut as a late season call-up on September 22, 1951 and played in four games that year. In 1958 with the Tigers, Wilson produced career-highs in games-played with 103, hits with 89, with a .299 batting average. Additionally, he became a part of history on July 20, 1958, as he served as battery mate during Jim Bunning's no-hit game against the Boston Red Sox. In 602 regular season games, he compiled 455 hits with a .258 lifetime batting average. After retiring from baseball, he worked in the banking industry in his native Wisconsin. He was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991.
Bio by: C.S.
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