Willie Wilson (baseball player)

Willie Wilson
Wilson in 1978
Center fielder / Left fielder
Born: (1955-07-09) July 9, 1955 (age 61) Montgomery, Alabama
Batted: Switch Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 4, 1976, for the Kansas City Royals
Last MLB appearance
May 16, 1994, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
Batting average	.285
Hits	2,207
Runs batted in	585
Stolen bases	668
Teams
Kansas City Royals (1976–1990) Oakland Athletics (1991–1992) Chicago Cubs (1993–1994)
Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star (1982, 1983) World Series champion (1985) Gold Glove Award (1980) 2× Silver Slugger Award (1980, 1982) AL batting champion (1982) AL stolen base leader (1979) Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame

Willie James Wilson (born July 9, 1955) is a former professional baseball player. He played nineteen seasons in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, and Chicago Cubs. He was an outfielder known for his speed and ability as an effective leadoff hitter. Wilson's career total of 668 stolen bases currently ranks him in 12th place all-time among major leaguers.

Wilson was a highly regarded high school baseball, football, and basketball player while growing up in Summit, New Jersey where he attended Summit High School.

Wilson was drafted out of high school after spurning a University of Maryland football scholarship. The Kansas City Royals picked him in the first round of the 1974 draft. He started his professional career with the Gulf Coast Royals. He moved up to class-A in 1975 for the Waterloo Royals, leading the 1975 Midwest League champions in both RBIs and stolen bases, and in 1976 played for the Double-A Jacksonville Suns. He earned a September call-up in 1976, playing in 12 games. He was mostly used as a pinch runner or defensive replacement, but did start one game on the penultimate day of the season. He had just six at bats, getting one hit and stealing two bases.

Wilson began the 1977 season at Triple-A Omaha. In what turned out to be his last minor league action (not counting a stunt appearance in 2009), he batted .281 with 74 stolen bases. He was again called up in September, this time receiving more substantial playing time, batting .324 in 34 at bats with 6 steals.

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