Hoyt Wilhelm

James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Dodgers between 1952 and 1972. Wilhelm was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985. Wilhelm grew up in North Carolina, fought in World War II, and then spent several years in the minor leagues before starting his major league career at the age of 29. He was best known for his knuckleball, which enabled him to have great longevity. He appeared occasionally as a starting pitcher, but pitched mainly as a reliever. Wilhelm won 124 games in relief, which is still the major league record as of 2026. He was the first pitcher to reach 200 saves, and the first to appear in 1,000 games. Wilhelm was nearly 30 years old when he entered the major leagues, and pitched until he was nearly 50. He retired with one of the lowest career earned run averages, 2.52, in baseball history. After retiring as a player in 1972, Wilhelm held longtime coaching jobs with the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves. Wilhelm was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985 with 83.8% of the vote in his eighth year of eligibility. He holds the record with Satchel Paige and Goose Gossage for the most franchises played for (9) by a Hall of Fame pitcher. Wilhelm lived in Sarasota, Florida, for many years, and died there in 2002.