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Biography of Early WynnName: Early WynnBirth Date: January 6, 1920 Death Date: April 4, 1999 Place of Birth: Hartford, Alabama, United States of America Nationality: American Gender: Male Occupations: baseball player Early Wynn No hitter was eager to bat against Early Wynn (1920-1999). One of baseball's most feared pitchers, he pitched 23 seasons, refusing to quit until he had won 300 games.Wynn learned how to pitch in an era when managers instructed their pitchers to knock batters down deliberately. That seemed to suit Wynn's temperament perfectly. Mickey Mantle said Wynn was so mean "he'd knock you down in the dugout." Ted Williams called him "the toughest pitcher I ever faced." Wynn made his feelings clear in one interview when he said: "That space between the white lines--that's my office, that's where I conduct my business. You take a look at the batter's box, and part of it belongs to the hitter. But when he crowds in just that hair, he's stepping into my office, and nobody comes into my office without an invitation when I'm going to work."Established a PresenceEarly "Gus" Wynn was …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…In his retirement, Wynn was an outspoken campaigner for increased pension benefits for players who played before free agency. Wynn had been instrumental in starting the retirement fund for players in 1947. But after retirement he received only about ,000 a year in benefits. Wynn was livid that current players didn't allocate more to veterans like him. "Modern ballplayers tell us, Too bad, you should have invested better," Wynn said. "But on salaries of ten thousand to fifteen thousand dollars a year, how many investments could you make?"Wynn died after suffering a stroke on April 4, 1999. At the time of his death, he was living in an assisted-living center in Venice, Florida. Further Reading The Baseball Encyclopedia, Macmillan, 1997.Condon, Dave, The Go Go Chicago White Sox, American Sports Publishing, 1960.Ryan, Nolan, Kings of the Hill: An Irreverent Look at the Men on the Mound, HarperCollins, 1992.New York Times, April 6, 1999.Sports Illustrated, September 2, 1985. |