Maury Wills

Maurice Morning "Maury" Wills (October 2, 1932 – September 19, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and manager who played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1959 to 1972. He spent his most prominent years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, an integral member of teams that won three World Series titles between 1959 and 1965, and also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Montreal Expos. Wills is credited with reviving the stolen base as part of baseball strategy.

In 1962 he was named National League Most Valuable Player, stealing a record 104 bases to break the modern-era mark of 96 set by Ty Cobb in 1915. That same year he became the first MLB All-Star Game Most Valuable Player. Wills was an All-Star for five seasons across seven All-Star Games and won Gold Gloves in 1961 and 1962. Over a fourteen-year career he batted .281 with 20 home runs, 458 runs batted in, 2,134 hits, 1,067 runs, 177 doubles, 71 triples, 586 stolen bases, and 552 bases on balls in 1,942 games.

Wills briefly managed the Seattle Mariners in parts of the 1980 and 1981 seasons. From 2009 until his death in 2022, he remained with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, serving as a representative of the club.