Willie Kirkland

Willie Charles Kirkland (born February 17, 1934, Siluria, Alabama; raised in Detroit) was a right fielder and left-handed power hitter who appeared in 1,149 major league games over nine seasons. After signing with the New York Giants out of Detroit's Northwestern High School in 1952, he posted three minor league seasons of 35 or more home runs and won both a batting title and an RBI championship before a year of military service in 1957. He broke into the majors with the San Francisco Giants in 1958, their inaugural season on the West Coast, and went on to play for the Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Senators before spending six additional seasons with the Hanshin Tigers in Nippon Professional Baseball.