John Owen "Chief" Wilson (August 21, 1883 – February 22, 1954) was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball from 1908 to 1916 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals.
Wilson played minor league baseball for three teams until the end of 1907, when he signed with the Pirates. After spending six seasons with the organization, he was traded to the Cardinals, where he spent the last three seasons of his major league career.
Wilson is best known for recording 36 triples in 1912, surpassing Dave Orr's 1886 mark to set a single-season record that, as of 2026, still stands.
Early life
Wilson was born on August 21, 1883, in Austin, Texas. He grew up at a ranch owned by his family located approximately 50 miles north of Austin in Bertram. Wilson started his baseball career playing on several teams in independent leagues, before joining the Austin Senators in 1905. He was known for his introverted nature; his Pirates teammate and roommate Bobby Byrne recounted how Wilson "wouldn't say two words all day." resembled a "Chief of the Texas Rangers." During his rookie season, Wilson had a relatively disappointing year, batting .227, slugging .285 and finishing sixth in the National League (NL) in strikeouts with 66. Out of his 120 hits that season, only 18 were extra base hits. In the Opening Day game of the season, Wilson got injured and had to sit out for seven games, with Vin Campbell taking his place in the lineup. On July 3, against the Cincinnati Reds, he hit for the cycle. He finished the season with similar statistics as the previous year,
Wilson's record still stands today and is currently the third oldest single-season record, behind Lajoie's .426 batting average in 1901 and Jack Chesbro's 41 wins in 1904. It is considered one of baseball's most unbreakable records, as only Sam Crawford (1914) and Kiki Cuyler (1925) have come the closest to breaking the record; both players hit 26 triples. Wilson's record also accounted for part of the 129 triples amassed by the Pirates that year, setting a single-season record for most triples by a team since 1900. Due to his stellar and record-breaking performance, Wilson finished eighth in that season's voting for the Chalmers Award, the precursor to the MLB Most Valuable Player Award.
St. Louis Cardinals (1914–1916)
Wilson finished his career playing three seasons for the Cardinals. He played his last MLB game on October 1, 1916.
Later life
After he retired from baseball, Wilson returned to his family ranch in Bertram, where he became a stock farmer and held various positions in service to the community. He died on October 24, 1954, at the age of 70 and was interred at Austin Memorial Park.