Willie James Wells (August 10, 1906 – January 22, 1989), nicknamed "the Devil", was an American baseball player. He was a shortstop who played from 1924 to 1948 for various teams in the Negro leagues and in Latin America.

Wells was a fast base-runner who hit for both power and average. He was at his finest with his glove, committing almost no errors and having the speed to run down anything that came in his direction. He is widely regarded as the top Black shortstop of his era and produced the three greatest single-season performances in Negro Major League history by wins above replacement (WAR), recording 6.9 WAR in 1927, 6.7 WAR in 1929, and 6.5 WAR in 1930. He also taught Hall-of-Fame second baseman Jackie Robinson how to turn a double play. He briefly attended Samuel Huston College in Austin before he was called up to the St. Louis team in the NNL.

Negro league career

After a short stint with the St. Louis Giants, he entered the NNL with the St. Louis Stars in 1924, playing for the Stars through 1931, when both the team and league folded after the 1931 season. In 1926 he hit 27 home runs, a Negro leagues single-season record. In 1930, he led the Negro National League in home runs (seventeen), runs batted in (114), and batting average (.411) to win the batting Triple Crown; he was the fourth player to achieve the distinction. From 1932 to 1935 he played for the Chicago American Giants and played for the Newark Eagles from 1936 to 1939. While with the Eagles, Wells was part of the "Million Dollar Infield," consisting of Wells, Ray Dandridge, Dick Seay, and Mule Suttles.

He played in Mexico in 1940 and 1941, where he said he experienced democracy, acceptance and freedom. Wells was nicknamed El Diablo by Mexican fans for his extraordinary intensity and the English translation ("The Devil") followed him as a nickname in the United States.

Stella Lee Wells, Willie's daughter, created a scholarship fund honoring her father, called the Stella and Willie Wells Scholarship Fund. The fund awards scholarships at Huston–Tillotson University in Austin, Texas.

See also

  • Disch Field

Notes

References

  • and Seamheads
  • and Seamheads