The Outlaw

Let’s dive in.

Today’s story is about a man who lived hard and died hard.

On May 9, 1924 Bill Wilson was found dead on the floor of a speakeasy - stabbed 10 times.

Once you understand Bill, it’s pretty easy to see how things ended up that way.

In 1890, many prominent players of the time were defecting from the NL to the Players’ League.

This opened up roster spots on NL teams for scrubs like Bill Wilson.

Wilson’s Major League debut in 1890 was uneventful - he went hitless and his team, the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, lost 6-1.

They went on to have a brutal season, going 23-113 - Wilson hit .214.

After the 1890 season, the Players’ League failed and a lot of the players came back to their former teams.

Bill’s services were no longer needed, and he took off to play in the Pacific Northwest for a few years.

In 1894, Wilson signed with the Minneapolis Minnies and did very well; hitting over .300 two years in a row.

As his performance got better, he got bolder and cockier.

He was known for being a loudmouth who was never afraid to throw hands, even though he couldn’t fight at all.

He was also known to party a lot and cheat on his wife - basically an all-around terrible guy.

One time, Wilson got his ass kicked by an umpire twice in one day.

After a bad call, he tried to choke umpire Bob Clark, but Clark broke the chokehold and submitted Wilson.

Then Wilson waited for Clark after the game and attacked him, only to be whooped by the umpire again until the fight was broken up by the cops.

Wilson continued to bounce around over the years; his last season in the big leagues was with Louisville Colonels in 1898.

Bill “officially” retired in 1905, and after a couple of years he developed an alcohol addiction and descended into a life of crime.

In 1909, he was caught stealing postal money orders, but his accomplices saved him from police custody and he went on the run.

Eventually, he was arrested in Seattle and sent to prison for two years.

Upon his release, he started building a reputation for himself on the streets; he was known by the alias Baseball Wilson.

In the end, his bad decisions and combative nature cost him his life.

On the day he was killed, Wilson was in the same speakeasy he’d been thrown out of the week before.

When he returned on May 9, he got tuned up, started talkin’ a whole lotta shit, and a brawl ensued.

He was stabbed during the fight, and because of his criminal record and general bad reputation, no one really bothered to track down the killers.

Bill’s epitaph was short and simple: “Baseball Wilson lived hard and died hard.”

The Streak