Dick Wakefield Stats & Facts
VINTAGE BASEBALL MEMORABILIA
Dick Wakefield
Position: Leftfielder
Bats: Left • Throws: Right
6-4, 210lb (193cm, 95kg)
Born: May 6, 1921 in Chicago, IL us
Died: August 26, 1985 in Redford, MI
Buried: Resthaven Memory Gardens, Avon, OH
School: University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)
Debut: June 26, 1941 (9,074th in major league history)
vs. PHA 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: May 6, 1952
vs. STL 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Full Name: Richard Cummings Wakefield
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Relatives: Son of Howard Wakefield
Nine Players Who Debuted in 1941
Stan Musial
Phil Rizzuto
Bob Lemon
Vern Stephens
Dave Philley
Jim Hegan
Danny Murtaugh
Dick Wakefield
Virgil Trucks
The Dick Wakefield Teammate Team
C: Paul Richards
1B: Rudy York
2B: Jimmy Bloodworth
3B: George Kell
SS: Johnny Lipon
LF: Hoot Evers
CF: Joe DiMaggio
RF: Vic Wertz
SP: Hal Newhouser
SP: Dizzy Trout
SP: Fred Hutchinson
SP: Virgil Trucks
RP: Schoolboy Rowe
M: Steve O’Neill
Notable Events and Chronology for Dick Wakefield Career
Biography
University of Michigan star Dick Wakefield was the first big bonus baby signed by the Detroit Tigers. 20-year old Wakefield, a hard-hitting outfielder, received $50,000 to ink with the Bengals in 1941. In 1943, his rookie season, Wakefield lived up to the hype, leading the American League with 38 doubles and 200 hits, while batting .316 to finish second in the batting race. He was having an even better season in 1944, hitting .355 with more power at mid-season, when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. When he returned to the big leagues in 1946, he was not the same player, never hitting over .283, and was out of the game at the age of 31.
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Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts
Played For
Detroit Tigers (1941-1949)
New York Yankees (1950)
New York Giants (1952)
Best Season, 1943
He finished second to Luke Appling in the Al Batting race: .328 to .316.
Factoid
The $50,000 that Dick Wakefield received to sign with the Detroit Tigers in 1941, is equivalent to $500,000 in 2005 dollars.
Hitting Streaks
21 games (1943)
21 games (1943)
Transactions
June 21, 1941: Signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent.
December 17, 1949: Traded by the Detroit Tigers to the New York Yankees for Dick Kryhoski.
April 15, 1952: Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Giants.
May 19, 1952: Released by the New York Giants.
Wakefield’s record signing bonus was like an albatross around his neck. He was loved by Tiger fans in 1943 and 1944, when he hit well over .300 and wa sone of the best players in the league. But when he returned from militarys ervice in 1946, his struggles brought boos and catcalls. It’s probable that the youngster feasted on poor World War II pitching in ’43 and ’44, and settled down to his talent level when the ballplayers returned after the war. After so much promise as a stud off the Ann Arbor campus, he hit .293 in 638 games, with 56 homers and 315 RBI.
Replaced
Left fielder Barney McCosky, who went into the military in 1943.
Replaced By
Hoot Evers
Best Strength as a Player
Hitting to all fields
Largest Weakness as a Player
Playing the outfield. Wakefield posted a horrific, deadball-era-type .959 fielding average in the outfield. He committed an error roughly every 10 games.