Major League Baseball Player. The 6-foot-4 left-handed batter was paid a reported $52,000 bonus to sign with the Detroit Tigers off the University of Michigan campus in 1941. He went 1 for 7 in 1941, but in his rookie year, 1943, he led the American League with 200 hits, 38 doubles and 633 at-bats as he hit .316. He appeared to be a superstar in the making. With World War II raging, he entered the Navy as an aviation cadet after the 1943 season. The program, however, was soon discontinued, and he returned in mid-1944 to bat .355 in 78 games. He missed the entire 1945 season when he was called back into the Navy. When he returned in 1946, he wasn't the same player. He also missed part of the season with a broken arm. The Tigers were patient with him until they traded him to the New York Yankees on December 17, 1949 for first baseman Dick Kryhoski. He played in three games with the Yankees in 1950, but when he was traded on April 28, 1950 to Chicago for outfielder John Ostrowksi and cash, he refused to report unless the White Sox restore a $5,500 pay cut inflicted on him by the Yankees. New York refused to return Ostrowski to Chicago, and the White Sox refused Wakefield's demand. Commissioner Happy Chandler stepped in and ruled in the Sox's favor, and both players returned to their previous teams. The Yankees then suspended Wakefield before selling him to Oakland of the Pacific Coast League on May 25, 1950. He played his last three games in the big leagues with the New York Giants in 1952. He batted .293 lifetime for nine years with 102 doubles and 56 homers. His father, Howard Wakefield, caught for the Cleveland Indians and Washington Senators from 1905 to 1907.
Major League Baseball Player. The 6-foot-4 left-handed batter was paid a reported $52,000 bonus to sign with the Detroit Tigers off the University of Michigan campus in 1941. He went 1 for 7 in 1941, but in his rookie year, 1943, he led the American League with 200 hits, 38 doubles and 633 at-bats as he hit .316. He appeared to be a superstar in the making. With World War II raging, he entered the Navy as an aviation cadet after the 1943 season. The program, however, was soon discontinued, and he returned in mid-1944 to bat .355 in 78 games. He missed the entire 1945 season when he was called back into the Navy. When he returned in 1946, he wasn't the same player. He also missed part of the season with a broken arm. The Tigers were patient with him until they traded him to the New York Yankees on December 17, 1949 for first baseman Dick Kryhoski. He played in three games with the Yankees in 1950, but when he was traded on April 28, 1950 to Chicago for outfielder John Ostrowksi and cash, he refused to report unless the White Sox restore a $5,500 pay cut inflicted on him by the Yankees. New York refused to return Ostrowski to Chicago, and the White Sox refused Wakefield's demand. Commissioner Happy Chandler stepped in and ruled in the Sox's favor, and both players returned to their previous teams. The Yankees then suspended Wakefield before selling him to Oakland of the Pacific Coast League on May 25, 1950. He played his last three games in the big leagues with the New York Giants in 1952. He batted .293 lifetime for nine years with 102 doubles and 56 homers. His father, Howard Wakefield, caught for the Cleveland Indians and Washington Senators from 1905 to 1907.
Bio by: Ron Coons
Family Members
Advertisement
