R.I.P. - Negro League's Artie Wilson

Artie Wilson died in Portland, Oregon on October 31, 2010, three days after celebrating his 90th birthday. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease

Artie Wilson began his professional baseball career as shortstop for the Birmingham Black Barons. In his five years for the Barons, he averaged .371, led the league in 1948 with a .402 batting average, and never batted below .300. Wilson's contract was purchased by the Yankees, who assigned him to the Newark club in the International League.


Wilson refused to report there because the salary would have been less than what the Barons were paying him, so he negotiated a contract with the San Diego Padres in 1949. The Yankees appealed to the Commissioner Chandler, who immediately ordered Wilson off the Padres roster. Wilson was then sold to the Oaks, where he finished the 1949 season.

At the age of 28, Artie Wilson became the first African American to play full time for the Oaks. In 1949, he won the Pacific Coast League batting championship, and led the league not only in hitting (.348), but also in stolen bases (47). Of his 211 hits, 19 were doubles and 9 triples. The rest of his hits, singles, were usually to the opposite field. So much so that Seals' skipper Lefty O'Doul played all of his fielders on the left side whenever Artie came to bat. His roomie that year was Billy Martin.