Vic Willis

Victor Gazaway "Vic" Willis (1876–1947) was the workhorse right-hander who broke in with the Boston Beaneaters in 1898 and became one of the deadball era's most durable starters. Born April 12, 1876 in Cecil County, Maryland, he stood a strapping 6'2" and 185 pounds, throwing and batting from the right side. Willis ran a thirteen-year major-league career from 1898 through 1910, suffering through the rebuilding Beaneaters — he lost a modern-record 29 games in 1905 — before a trade to the Pittsburgh Pirates rescued his ledger. With Pittsburgh from 1906 through 1909 he won twenty-plus games four straight years and helped pitch the Pirates to the 1909 World Series title over Detroit. He pitched his last big-league season for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1910. His card presence is tied to the tail of his career, with appearances on E90-1 American Caramel and E95 Philadelphia Caramel. He died August 3, 1947 in Elkton, Maryland and is buried at St. John's Cemetery in Newark, Delaware. The Veterans Committee inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 1995.